Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Leading the Barker/Lyndonville girls varsity soccer team into the upcoming Niagara-Orleans season is this quartet of All-League honorees. They include Arnie Sturtevant, Braelynn Dillenbeck, Alexa Robinson and Natalie Rath.

Looking to keep the momentum from last fall’s successful Niagara-Orleans League debut season, the Barker/Lyndonville girls varsity soccer team returns a large group of over a dozen veterans.

Barker/Lyndonville, which went 5-4-3 in the league and 9-6-3 overall last fall, is led by a quartet of N-O All League honorees. That foursome includes junior Alexa Robinson who was a first team honoree, junior Arnie Sturtevant and sophomore Natalie Rath who were both second team selections and sophomore Braelynn Dillenbeck who was an Honorable Mention pick. Robinson had 33 goals and 9 assists.

The other returnees include seniors Melodi Murphy, Leah Costello and Cheyenne Rouse; juniors Abigail Alexander, Alina Riches and Lila Bloom; sophomores Delaney LaFever and Noralee Pierce and freshman Elysse Dillenbeck.

Barker/Lyndonville’s graduation losses included goalie Isabella Groves and defender/midfielder Brooke Robinson who were both Honorable Mention All League selections.

Barker/Lyndonville will open the season on Thursday at 6:45 p.m. against the host Purple Eagles in the opening round of the Albion Tournament. The contest will also count as a league game. The tournament’s consolation and championship games will be held on Saturday.

Weekly Schedule
Monday
Golf – Wilson at Albion, Akron at Barker, Medina at Newfane

Tuesday
Boys Soccer – Albion at Holley, 7 p.m.
Volleyball – Albion at Holley, 6:30 p.m.
Golf – Wilson at Roy-Hart

Wednesday
Boys Soccer – Roy-Hart at CSAT
Volleyball – Lyndonville at CSAT, 6:30 p.m.
Field Hockey – Barker vs. Pioneer at Starpoint, 4 p.m.
Golf – Medina at Barker, Akron at Albion

Thursday
Football – Albion/Medina vs. Akron, 7 p.m. site to be determined
Boys Soccer – Lyndonville/Barker at Park, 5 p.m.; Albion at Pembroke, 6 p.m.
Girls Soccer – Barker/Lyndonville at Albion, 6:45 p.m. (Albion Tournament)
Volleyball – Holley at Wheatland-Chili, 5 p.m.; Medina at Alden, Albion at Alexander, Roy-Hart at Oakfield-Alabama, Kendall at Newfane, 6:30 p.m.
Field Hockey – Sacred Heart at Roy-Hart, 5 p.m.

Friday
Football – Newfane at Barker/Roy-Hart, 7 p.m.
Boys Soccer – Roy-Hart at Niagara Falls, 5 p.m.
Girls Soccer – Roy-Hart at Tonawanda Tournament, 5 p.m.
Golf – Albion at Roy-Hart, Medina at Akron, Wilson at Newfane

Saturday
Football – Holley/Lyndonville at South Seneca, 1 p.m.
Girls Soccer – Holley vs. Lake George at OEJ High, 1:30 p.m.; Albion Tournament 4:45 and 6:45 p.m.; Roy-Hart at Tonawanda Tournament

Sunday
Girls Soccer – Holley vs. Frankfort-Schuyler at Central Valley, 12:15 p.m.

Contributed Photo – Albion’s Kairo Bennett making the catch over Newfane defenders for a 2 point conversion.

Albion’s youth football teams went 2-2 in Niagara Orleans Football Association (NOFA) competition at Newfane on Saturday.

Beginners Division
Newfane 20, Albion 13

Albion’s Beginners battled hard in a close 20-13 loss to Newfane.

Myles LaBarge had a huge day on the ground, rushing for 229 yards and 2 touchdowns. James Mahoney added 10 rushing yards and converted a PAT run, while Levi Purnell picked up 8 yards.

Defensively, Hudson Hodgins led Albion with 6 tackles. Mahoney and Tanner Beecher each recorded 3 tackles, LaBarge added 2, while Milo Mackenzie, Aliano Garcia, and Nicholas Gifaldi also got in on stops.

Mini Division

Newfane 7, Albion 0

Albion’s Mini Football team battled hard in a defensive struggle but fell to Newfane, 7-0.

Tre Ellis led the offense with 23 rushing yards, followed by Hudson Palmer with 22. Elijah Cornick and Gunner Jackson each added 4 rushing yards.

Ellis, Lexington Pridgen, and Palmer led the defense with 8 tackles apiece. Xavier Weis recorded 7 tackles, while Arlen Beecher, Colton Daggs, and Xavier Richardson each had 5. Cornick, Carter Hall, Quinton Gottberg, and Max Rivera added 4 tackles each. Patrick Westlund, Drake Neri, Jaxon Francis, KK Harper, Gunner Jackson, and Jai’heem Drisdom each recorded 2 tackles. Roman Pridgen, Chazz Monacelli, Noah Button, Neil Farley, and Mayson Vosbugh also got in on tackles.

Ellis also made a big impact with a fumble recovery and an interception.

JV Division
Albion 14, Newfane 7
Albion’s JV Football team earned a strong 34-14 victory over Newfane.

Jayce Torres led the ground game with 161 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Cayden Farrell added 53 rushing yards, Jai’Kaih Drisdom had 44, Jaidyn Harper rushed for 32, and Greyson Roberts contributed 10 rushing yards and a touchdown. Farrell also connected with Elijah Warren on a 10-yard touchdown pass. Easton Hodgins added 17 receiving yards.

Kaydence Russaw, Kyle Schomske, Kairo Bennett, Harrison Froman, Arkell Lewis, Parker Gardner, and Farrell each recorded tackles. Mason Cornick and Conor Murphy had 4 tackles apiece, while Torres and Harper each had 3. Chase Armer, Hodgins, Zion Richardson, Khrystopher Wilston-Jones, and Carter Conrad also got in on stops.

Wyatt Purnell, Bennett, and Harper each recorded a sack.

Varsity Division
Albion 46, Newfane 26
Albion’s Varsity Football team overcame an 18-0 deficit to earn a 46-26 victory over Newfane. The Purple Eagles scored 4 touchdowns in the second quarter to take the lead and held on for the win.

Camden Holt led the ground game with 223 rushing yards. AJ Lewis added 148 rushing yards and four touchdowns, while Damareon Shine rushed for 62 yards and two touchdowns. Matthew Colmenero contributed 20 rushing yards.

Shine led the defense with seven tackles, followed by Holt with six and Ryan Gardner with five. Roman Allport and Lewis each recorded four tackles. Jace DiMatteo, Colmenero, Jace Wright, and Conner Hinkley also recorded tackles, while Kayden Brigham and Brady Graham added three tackles apiece.

Shine added a fumble recovery. Holt and Colmenero each recorded an interception, and Allport added two interceptions.

Contributed Photos  – Sawyer Joy, at left, picks up yardage for the Lyndonville Cubs during Saturday’s home game against Akron. At right Zack Allen fights for yardage in the Majors game.

The Lyndonville Youth Football program took two out of three games from the visiting Akron Tigers on Saturday.

In the Beginners Division, Lyndonville earned a 20-6 victory. Sawyer Joy scored all three touchdowns and added one conversion, while Teddy Tartabone added the second. After Akron tied the game with a long run, Lyndonville responded with two scores. Runs by Brody Suhr, Cam Kirkpatrick, Jack Meindl, Luke Joy, and Hank Petry all had solid runs as well. Defensively, JW Hetzel, Carson Dix, Noah Allen, and Harry Joy anchored the effort.

In the Minis Division, Akron edged Lyndonville 7-6 in a game that came down to the final minutes. After falling behind 7-0, Lyndonville answered with a touchdown by Kam Griffin to pull within one, and the rest of the game was a defensive battle. Lyndonville’s defense was led by Preston Rath who forced two fumbles and recovered one.

In the Majors Division, Lyndonville rallied from an early 20-0 deficit to earn a thrilling 33-32 victory.

Akron built its lead after capitalizing on two Lyndonville turnovers, but Kannon Pangrazio scored twice before halftime to close the gap.

The second half turned into an offensive shootout, with Scotty Nesbitt and Zachary Allen adding touchdowns. Allen also had two on the night. The go-ahead conversion came on a pass from Allen to Scotty Nesbitt. Akron threatened in the closing seconds, driving inside the 5, but Lyndonville’s defense held firm, with Kanyon Stephens strong in the middle, Aric Fox and Mason Hetzel helping control the line, and edge defender Raymond Farrow-Dix containing Akron’s attack.

Lyndonville will return to action in two weeks when it hosts Attica.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Anchoring the lineup for the Roy-Hart volleyball team will be this group of returnees. In front are Jaycie Heck, Casey Burch and Alyse Drees. In back are Liliana Stanton, Tessa Degenhardt, Zoe Healey and Lauren Snyder.

Two time defending champion Roy-Hart volleyball team faces a bit of a rebuilding task this season having lost five starters, all Niagara-Orleans All League honorees, to graduation.

Junior Lauren Snyder, who earned first team N-O All-League honors, heads the Lady Rams group of returnees which also includes seniors Zoe Healey and Liliana Stanton, juniors Casey Burch and Alyse Drees and sophomores Jaycie Heck and Tessa Degenhardt.

The graduation losses for Coach Eliza Feocco’s Lady Rams  included first team N-O All-League honorees Grace Pearl and Peyton May, second team selections Kylie McOmber and Raegen Kern and Honorable Mention pick Ryleigh Capen.

Roy-Hart, which claimed the N-O title last fall with a 10-0 record, will visit Oakfield-Alabama in a non league match on September 3 before opening the N-O season at home on September 9 against Albion.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Senior captains Jesus Reyes, Brody Hazel and Michael Alexander will lead the newly merged Lyndonville/Barker soccer squad.

For the past several years Lyndonville and Barker have merged for a girls varsity soccer team which competes in the Niagara-Orleans League.

Now this fall, Lyndonville and Barker will also be combining for a boys varsity soccer team which will compete in the Genesee Region League.

Anchoring the squad will be Lyndonville’s veteran group of seniors Jesus Reyes, Brody Hazel, Michael Alexander and Ethan Franks along with juniors Jacob Franks, Chanse Amsdill, Logan Fonda, Amir Zimmerman, Gavyn Draper; sophomores Maddox Smith, Barrett Alexander and Iziah Rodriguez.

The Tigers graduation losses included Colton Smith, Raul Morales, Greyson Romano and Austin Fonda.

Coach Casey Winiecki’s squad went 6-6 in G-R action last fall and 10-8 overall.

The fledgling Lyndonville/Barker squad will open with a non league game at Park on September 3 and then begin G-R competition at home on September 9 against defending champion Kendall.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Albion’s veteran groiup includes, in front, Aaliyah Jones. In the first row Madison Frasier, Yaritza Fernandez Perez, Lena Grillo and Alayna Flugel. In back are Isabella Truelson, Jane Nesbitt, Lux Froman, Ava Woolston, Brittany Lewis and Dulce Sanchez. Missing is Shayla Higgins.

Albion will open the girls soccer season by hosting a tournament on September 3 and 5.

The opening round on Thursday will have Attica vs. Oakfield-Alabama and Albion vs. Barker/Lyndonville. The Albion vs. Barker/Lyndonville contest, which will be at 6:45 p.m., will also count as an Niagara-Orleans League game.

Albion returns a good nucleus including seniors Ava Woolston, Shayla Higgins, Brittany Lewis, Yaritza Fernandez Perez, Dulce Sanchez and Isabella Truelson along with junior Alayna Flugel; sophomores Aaliyah Jones, Lena Grillo, Lux Froman, Jane Nesbitt and freshman Madison Frasier. Lewis was a second team N-O All-League honoree last fall and Wooston earned Honorable Mention.

“We have most of our team back and they are working hard so we should be improved,” said Coach Maggie Orbaker.

Albion went 2-6-4 in N-O action last fall.

For the second day in a row bogey problems proved costly as Medina’s Melanie Green has missed the cut at the LPGA Tour’s FM Championship Tournament being played near Boston.

Green, who opened with a 5 over par 77 on Thursday, had a similar 4 over par round of 76 today to finish at 9 over missing the cut which was at even par.

On the day, Green had three bogeys, two double bogeys and 3 birdies.

Contributed Photo – Aidan Papaj

Fresh from helping lead Medina High to the state baseball tournament finals in mid June, shortstop/pitcher Aidan Papaj kept sharping his diamond skills over the summer by competing in half a dozen major baseball tournaments in Florida, Alabama and Long Island.

Papaj, who will be starting his senior year at Medina High next month, tuned up for the busy summer on the road by playing locally with the East Coast Pipeline 17U Showcase in the Hilbert College Showcase Tournament. The team won the tournament going 4-0 on the weekend. Papaj played shortstop, pitched and hit 2 home runs in 3 games one of which was a grand slam.

All four weekends in July Papaj played in tournaments down south with the national team of USG/Elev Rawlings out of Texas. He was teammates with players from California, Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and NY to name a few, including the PBR NY Top 2027 Players, Derek and Ryan Yormack, who are already committed to Vanderbilt.

The team got off to a fast start going 4-0 to win the 17U PG Freedom Classic at Fort Myers, Florida.

Next came the PG 17U National Elite Championship at Hoover, Alabama where the team went 2-1 in pool play, won 1st round of playoffs but lost in round of 16 game.

Returning to Fort Myers, the team competed in the PG 17U BCS National Championship which was an invitational tournament. The team went 4-0 in pool play, won 1st 2 rounds of playoffs only to lose in the quarterfinals 6-1 and finished in top 8 of 62 teams.

Next at Jupiter, FL. the team competed in the PG WWBA Florida Invitational. The team went 2-0 in pool play but lost in quarterfinals to the Puerto Rico Scout Team which went on to win the event but again finished in top 8 of 26 teams.

USG Elev8 Rawlings was 15-4 on the summer national circuit. Papaj played 2nd base, shortstop and third base throughout the month of July. His batting average was .258.

Then in mid August Papaj headed out to Long Island for a regional event. He played for USG NY 18U Showcase Team, in the LaSorda Legacy Park All-American Invitational. The team went 4-0 to win the championship as he played shortstop and pitched.

Overall, Papaj played on 3 different teams this summer: 1 local, 1 regional and 1 national. All three of those teams won a tournament that Aidan participated in. His overall team record for the summer was 22-4. He played middle infield at all levels as well.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Holley’s large veteran group includes, in front, Aidan Kelley, Jasmar Hernandez, Dylan Warner and Cameron Kelley. In back are Cooper Wolf, Chase Kempa, Gage Yockel, Isaac Bartlett, Tarek Garrett and Breyden Crawford. Missing is Hawkins Daly.

Anchored by a large contingent of nearly a dozen veterans, the Holley boys varsity soccer team will tune-up for the Genesee Region League season by hosting Albion in a non league opener at 7 p.m. Tuesday September 1.

The Hawks veteran group includes seniors Chase Kempa, Cooper Wolf, Breyden Crawford, Aidan Kelley, Jasmar Hernandez, Hawkins Daly and Gage Yockel along with juniors Dylan Warner, Tarek Garrett, Isaac Bartlett and sophomore Cameron Kelley.

Kempa earned G-R All-Star honors last fall while Wolf, Aidan Kelley and Warner were all Honorable Mention selections. Kempa had 5 goals and 8 assists and Wolf 6 goals and 3 assists while Warner made 61 saves and had a 0.67 goals against average in goal.

“We’ve got a good returning group,” said Coach Zach Ritz. “It is a pretty balanced team.”

The Hawks graduation losses included G-R All-Stars Cam Mosier and Hunter Pacha and Honorable Mention selection Blake Coleman.

Holley, which went 7-5 in the league and 10-8 overall last fall, will open the G-R campaign at home against Pembroke on September 9.