Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Medina/Lyndonville/Barker defenders Jacob Golding, Izaiah Rhim and Cam Babcock, shown here tackling Olean’s Alex Weakfall during last week’s game, and their Mustang teammates face a must win contest at Lackawanna on Saturday afternoon.

The phrase “must win game” is often overused but when it comes to the Medina/Lyndonville/Barker at Lackawanna B2 Division football game on Saturday (1 p.m.) that is certainly not the case.

One look at the B2 standings, which has Albion at 4-0, Olean 3-1 and both Lackawanna and Medina/Lyndonville/Barker at 2-1, clearly shows that this is a must win game in every sense of the word.

Since Albion, which has also ready clinched a tie for the division title, has only one B2  game remaining (at Medina on October 12) a second loss will drop Saturday’s loser right out of title contention.

Albion (5-0 overall) will host Iroquois (1-4) in an interdivisional game at 7 p.m. Friday.

The Purple Eagles road to claiming the division championship outright involves just one task – defeat rival Medina in the regular season finale.

However, the road is quite a bit more challenging for the three runners-up in their bid to claim a share of the title. Medina needs to defeat both Lackawanna and Albion. Lackawanna needs to defeat Medina and Olean on October 13 and have Medina defeat Albion. Olean needs to defeat Lackawanna and have Medina defeat Albion.

The Mustangs and Steelers both have B 2 wins over winless Depew and Springville (both 0-4, 0-5 overall). The Mustangs division loss was to Olean (14-13 in overtime) and the Steelers to Albion (43-8).

Quarterback Izaiah Rhim, who has thrown for 8 touchdown passes (4 to Brian Fry and 2 each to Rickie Pitts and Tyler Chinn)  and run for 5 more leads the Mustangs offense.

The Steelers hold a 7-3 lead in the series against the Mustangs including a 28-8 victory last year.

Both teams are looking to rebound from losses, the Mustangs from a 42-22 setback at the hands of first year varsity team Maritime/Health Sciences and the Steelers from a 33-0 drubbing by Cheektowaga.

Albion holds a 3-1 lead in the short series against Iroquois. It will be the first meeting between the Purple Eagles and Chiefs since 2006.

Quarterback Bryce Pritchard, who had passed for 5 touchdowns and run for 4 more, leads Albion’s balanced attack which also has Ugene Harrison with 5 rushing TDs, Brilliance Johnson 4, Nate Moore with 3 TD catches and Kevin Hillman 2.

Also on Friday, Roy-Hart will host JFK for Homecoming in a C North Division game and Holley will travel to Marcus Whitman for an 8 man contest, both at 7 p.m.

The Medina Colts shutout the Attica Blue Devils 25-0 on Saturday in the Mini Division of the Niagara Orleans Football Association (NOFA).

MacKoy Hall completed touchdown passes of 43 yards to Lex Gray and 60 yards to Elijah Doxey to lead the Colts offense. Doxey also had a 15 yard touchdown run.

On defense, Hall had 8 tackles and 2 fumble recoveries one of which he turned into a 92 yard touchdown return. Doxey and Preston Woodworth both had 7 tackles and Gray and Jayzon Wills each had 4. Woodworth also had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

In the JV Division the Medina Broncos blanked Attica 38-0 and in the Varsity Division Attica nipped the Medina Stallions 13-12. No detailed were reported for either game.

Photos by Tom Rivers: Alanna Holman of Albion finishes just ahead of Anna Rickard of Roy-Hart today. They were the top finishers in the race at Albion.

The host Albion girls squad defeated Roy-Hart 23-32 and Wilson 15-40 this afternoon to regain the .500 mark at 2-2 in Niagara-Orleans League cross-country competition.

Albion’s Alanna Holman won the race in a time of 20:33 as Malory Adams placed third and Emma Mathes fourth for the Purple Eagles.

Roy-Hart, which bested Wilson 15-41 in the other portion of the meet to go to 1-2, had Anna Rickard place second and Kennedy Lang fifth.

In the boys race, Wilson (3-0) defeated Roy-Hart (1-2) 24-32 and Albion (0-4) 15-50. Roy-Hart also topped Albion 32-50.

Wilson’s William Schwarzmueller won the race in 17:41. Roy-Hart’s Ozzy Moore placed second as Reuben Rivers (Albion), Will Rickard (R-H) and Alex Martinez (Wilson) rounded out the top five.

Akron downed visiting Medina 18-45 in the boys race and 15-41 in the girls competition.

In the boys race Casey Zuba placed first, Zach Sanford second, Darion Otten fourth and Nate Chubb fifth for Akron.

Cameron Castanon took third place for Medina.

Akron swept the first five places in the girls race. Lauren Wagner led that quintet which also included Maddy Jimerson, Kaila Szczygielski, Kayla Murray and Emma Esposito.

The Akron boys are now 2-1 and the girls 3-0 while the Medina boys are 0-2 and the girls 1-1.

The Newfane boys improved to 2-0 with a 18-43 win over Barker (2-1) as Robert Steverson won the race and Barker’s Peter DiLorenzo placed second.

The Newfane girls likewise improved to 2-0 with a 15-46 win over Barker (1-2) as Kim Goerss won the race.

Wilson’s William Schwarzmueller won the boys race at Albion today. Out in the cornfield he is shown leading Roy-Hart’s Ozzy Moore and Will Rickard, and Albion’s Reuben Rivers.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Guin Schalck takes a shot on goal as Sarah Nola defends for Newfane during the Mustangs win over the Lady Panthers this afternoon at Vets Park.

A lightning quick goal in the first two minutes ignited Medina to an 8-0 victory over Newfane in a Niagara-Otrleans League field hockey game this afternoon at Vets Park.

Sarah Cochrane scored just 1:58 into the game, off an assist from Guin Schalck, and Medina was off and rolling.

Schalck upped the Mustangs advantage to 3-0 by scoring twice in the final six minutes of the opening half.

Libby Cook then scored twice to highlight a five goal Mustangs second half scoring burst which also included tallies by Schalck, Cochrane and Hannah Kenward.

Medina improves to 5-4 in N-O action while Newfane drops to 0-8.

Barker 7, Wilson 0
Barker moved into a tie for first place with Roy-Hart at 7-1 by blanking Wilson 7-0 as Katrina Clare scored 3 goals and Emily Wagner, Natalie Bruning, Rachel Hurtgam and Lena Fazzolari 1 each.

Akron 5, Kenmore 0
Akron stayed in the thick of the N-O title race at 7-2 with a 5-0 victory over Kenmore (1-8) as Alexis Bell scored 4 goals and Olivia Diebel 1.

Roy-Hart 2, Sacred Heart 0
Goals by Sam Choate and McKenzie Rothwell, both off assists from Lexie Lovewell, earned Roy-Hart a 2-0 non league win over Sacred Heart.

Medina’s Sarah Cochrane looks to send the ball towards the goal as Autumn Christy defends for Newfane and Libby Cook moves in for the Mustangs.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Abby Scanlan, left, scored Albion’s first goal while at the right Brylie Hapeman heads in the game winner for the Purple Eagles as goalie Madalyn Traverse, Katie LaRuffa (15) and Angelina DiTullio (3) try to defend for Newfane. The action took place during the Purple Eagles foggy title tie clinching win over the visiting Lady Panthers this evening.

Putting together a clutch late scoring surge, Albion scored a foggy 3-1 victory over visiting Newfane this evening, a victory which combined with Akron’s 5-0 win over Wilson, clinches at least a tie for the Niagara-Orleans League girls soccer title for the Purple Eagles.

Albion, which stays undefeated at 8-0 in the league and 13-0 overall with only two league games remaining, now holds a two game lead over both Akron and Wilson which are deadlocked for second place at 5-2.

The N-O title is the first for the Purple Eagles since 2008.

Breaking away from a 1-1 deadlock, Albion regained the lead for good when Brylie Hapeman scored on a header on a rebound off an initial shot by Claire Squicciarini.

The Purple Eagles then put a lock on the key win when Hapeman scored on a breakaway with three minutes to go as Kendall Driesley earned the assist.

“They worked extremely hard,” said Albion Coach Maggie Orbaker. “They showed they can come back from a tie. I’m just very proud of them. They just kept going and never gave up. That’s been a mark of this team all season.”

Albion, which had a shot bounce off the crossbar in the first half and missed on a breakaway opportunity early in the second half, finally grabbed a 1-0 lead when Abby Scanlan scored on a breakaway off an assist from Hapeman 10 minutes into the second half.

Newfane, which dropped an equally close 3-2 overtime decision to Albion earlier in the season, battled back to knot the contest just seven minutes later on a goal by Sarah Milczarski.

However, Albion goalie Sydney Mulka and her defensive mates turned back the Lady Panthers the rest of the way to preserve the narrow win. Mulka also had three big saves in the first half including one diving stop and another leaping save off a Newfane direct kick opportunity.

Albion goalie Sydney Mulka goes high to knock the ball away off a Newfane direct kick opportunity.

Akron 5, Wilson 0
Natalie Karmazyn scored 2 goals and Kara Sequin, Jenna Robnett and Ava Martina each netted 1 to lift Akron to the key win over Wilson.

Roy-Hart 7, Barker 0
Roy-Hart (2-6) blanked Barker (0-8) 7-0 as Kara Choate scored 3 goals and Rylee Young, Mya Quinn, Maddie Fry and Meghan Washington each had 1.

Boys Soccer
Kendall vs. Holley postponed
Poor field conditions caused by the rainy weather forced the Kendall at Holley boys game to be postponed until next Tuesday.

Albion’s Paige Derisley battles with Newfane’s Sarah Milczarski for control of the ball in the fog.

Where’s the crowd? The fans in the bleachers on the far side of the field are barely visible through the fog.

Vets Club defeated Sacred Heart 40-30 on Monday to open the Medina Euchre League season with a one point lead over JR Wilson which downed Legion 39-31.

League competition continues next week with Sacred Heart at Vets Club and Legion at JR Wilson.

Standings: Vets Club 40-30, JR Wilson 39-31, Legion 31-39, Sacred Heart 30-40.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Lyndonville’s Riley Schmitt spikes as Maddie Williams goes up for the block for Medina. The action took place during the Mustangs win over the host Lady Tigers this evening.

Medina bested host Lyndonville 25-20, 25-12, 25-23 this evening in a non league girls volleyball match.

Lyndonville did grab an early 10-8 lead in the opening set as Alecia Hinkson served up points 7-10.

Medina though answered right back as Elle Gross served up points 10-14 to put the Mustangs on top to stay.

Back-to-back kills by Carlie Russo and Hinkson did pull the Lady Tigers within two at 18-16 but back-to-back aces by Camri King gave Medina a little breathing room at 21-16. Gross then had a kill for point 22 and n ace for point 24 to help the Mustangs close out the 25-20 win.

The second set saw King serve up points 9-12, including two aces, Gross 15-17 with one ace and Maddie Williams 20-24, including an ace and a kill by Devin Griffin, to key the 25-12 win.

Medina took the lead for good at 10-6 in the decisive third set as Wlliams served up points 2-4 and King added aces for points 9 and 10.

Lyndonville did rally back to within one at 24-23 late in the set after a three point run of service points by Natalie Ostrowski but Williams answered with a kill for the set point to close out the match for Medina.

Williams and Gross both finished with 3 aces as King had 10 assists, 4 aces and 2 blocks and Kharise Johnson 8 assists. Gross also had 3 aces and Brianna Islam 2.

In another non league match, Notre Dame defeated visiting Albion 25-14, 25-22, 25-13.

In a key Genesee Region League match, Byron-Bergen (9-1, 10-1) downed Attica (7-1, 9-2) 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 25-19 as Madison Farnsworth had 18 kills and Hannah VanSkiver 7 kills.

Medina’s Breanna Islam bumps a return over the net.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Nate Dillenbeck, who scored 4 goals, rushes up field for Medina/Lyndonville during this afternoon’s win over Global Concepts at Lyndonville.

A quick three goal scoring burst in the first 12 minutes sparked Medina/Lyndonville to a 6-0 victory over Global Concepts in a non league boys soccer game this afternoon at Lyndonville.

Nate Dillenbeck scored the three goal hat-trick to give the Mustangs the commanding early lead as he tallied at the 38, 32 and 28 minute marks with each score coming off an assist from Kody Leno.

The Mustangs lead increased to 4-0 at the half as Nate Sherman scored with 11 minutes to go off an assist from Caelan Holland.

In the second half Dillenbeck scored off an assist from Jon Slingerland and Evan Horn tallied from Oskar Heinsler to round out the Mustangs scoring.

Albion 12, CCA 0

Sam Sanchez, Kendyll Hadick, Spencer Lombard and Leonel Rosario each scored 2 goals as Albion romped to a 12-0 non league win over visiting Central Christian Academy. The Purple Eagles led 6-0 at the half.

Holley 2, Roy-Hart 2

Holley rallied for a pair of second half goals by John Mounts, from Matt Wilson, and by Kayden Servais, off an assist from Erik Balys, to earn a 2-2 tie with visiting Roy-Hart in a non league game.

Roy-Hart led 1-0 at the half on a goal by Matt Scott. Jacob Fritton scored for the Rams in the second half.

The teams will meet again at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Gasport.

Marion 5, Kendall 1

Leading by a narrow 1-0 margin at the half, Marion erupted for 4 goals in the second half to down host Kendall 5-1 in another non league contest.

Mickey Gardner scored the lone Kendall goal.

Girls Soccer

Holley 0, Byron-Bergen 0

Sarah Klatt made 5 saves in goal for Holley as the Lady Hawks played to a 0-0 overtime tie with host Byron-Bergen in a Genesee Region League game.

Andrew Houseman of the Mustangs splits between Global defenders Lee Kalimu and Adam Mohamed.

Contributed Photos – Dave March, left, and Louis Reale, shown during his days playing for the University at Buffalo, will be inducted into Roy-Hart’s Wall of Fame on Friday.

Highlighting Roy-Hart’s Homecoming celebration this coming Friday will be the induction of two new members into the Rams Wall of Fame.

Long time Roy-Hart coach and Athletic Director Dave March and four sport athlete Louis Reale will be inducted in ceremonies at 6:30 p.m. prior to the Rams 7 p.m. football game against JFK.

March, a 1941 graduate of Middleport High, played basketball and baseball during his scholastic days.

He returned to coach at his alma mater guiding Rams teams in basketball, cross-country, baseball, track and golf.

March’s 1968-69 Rams basketball team compiled a 19-3 record (the best in school history) and captured both the Niagara-Orleans League and Section VI Class A championships. The Rams won a three-way playoff to claim the league crown and then bested N-O foe Starpoint 51-46 to capture the school’s first sectional title since 1948.

March’s 1957 cross-country team also captured a sectional title.

In his role as Athletic Drector March established the school’s girls interscholastic sports program during the mid 1970’s.

A four sport star, Reale played football, basketball, baseball and track for four years during his scholastic days at Roy-Hart.

A 1954 Roy-Hart graduate, he helped the Rams win N-O football titles during the 1953 and 1954 seasons and the N-O basketball championship during the 1951-52 season.

He went on to star at the University at Buffalo and was co-captain of the Bulls 1958 team which went 8-1 and captured the Lambert Cup symbolic of eastern college football supremacy.  That Bulls team is best remembered for turning down a bid to the Tangerine Bowel which would not allow UB’s African-American players to play.

A 1959 U.B. graduate, he was inducted into the university’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 1983.

Friday’s Homecoming activities will begin with a parade at 4:30 p.m. and a Rams Fan Fest at 5 p.m.