Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Line play will be key when Albion visits Dunkirk Friday in a clash of unbeatens for the B-2 Division title. Here Purple Eagle linemen Kirk Ellison (55) and Tyler Kast (64) lead the way for running back Demetrius Gardner during a recent win over Roy-Hart/Barker.

Looking to end an 11 year title drought Albion will visit Dunkirk at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a key clash of unbeatens for the Section VI Class B-2 Division football championship.

Albion, which last captured a division title in 2006, is 4-0 in B-2 competition and 5-0 overall while defending Section VI Class B champion Dunkirk is 3-0, 5-0. Both teams have already locked up sectional playoff berths.

“It’s a big game for the kids because they’ve worked so hard. They never give up and they haven’t broken yet,” said Albion Coach Adam Krenning. “We’ve got to win the battle up front because Dunkirk is a heck of a team. They are big and fast so our defense will have to come up big and our offense will have to fire on all cylinders.”

Quarterback Bryce Pritchard leads the Albion offense whose weapons also include running backs Ugene Harrison (8 rushing touchdowns) and Demetrius Gardner along with receivers Nate Moore (3 TD receptions) and JaQuess Harrison (2 TD receptions).  JaQuess Harrison has also returned two punts and a kickoff for touchdowns.

Keying the offense for the Purple Eagles is the front line quintet of center Tyler Kast, guards Ben Restivo and Caleb Pettit and tackles Kirk Ellison and Jon DePuy.

The meeting will be the third ever between the Purple Eagles and Marauders. Dunkirk scored narrow wins in the first two 20-19 in 2010 and 22-20 in 2014.

Medina/Lyndonville will visit Alden at 7 p.m. Friday in a B-3 Division matchup of two teams desperately needing a victory in order to keep their slim sectional playoff hopes alive.

Both teams are 2-2 in the division and on the outside looking in at the eight team field which will comprise the Section VI Class B playoffs. Alden is currently 9th with a plus 3 points while Medina/Lyndonville is 11th with a minus 9 points.

The Medina vs. Alden game, along with Friday’s Depew vs. Olean and the Oct. 13 Burgard vs. Pioneer contests, will play a major role in determining the final two teams which will complete the sectional field.

The top six teams which have already locked up playoff spots, and their point totals, include Maryvale (+54), Lackawanna (+53), Cheektowaga (+47), Albion (+45), Newfane (+44) and Dunkirk (+42). Depew is currently seeded seventh with +11 and Burgard eighth with +6.

Alden holds a 10-6 lead in the series but Medina/Lyndonville scored a 42-28 victory last fall to snap a six game losing streak to the Bulldogs.

Quarterback Izaiah Rhim, who has passed for 9 touchdowns, to five different receivers, and run for 4 more leads the Mustangs offense. Jalin Cooper has caught 3 TD passes, Brendan Luthart and Mason Lewis 2 and DaRon Bellan and Brian Fry 1 each.

Streaking Newfane, which has won four in a row after a season opening 22-6 loss to Lackawanna, will visit Roy-Hart/Barker (1-2, 1-4) in another B-3 contest at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Barker.

Holley will look to make it three wins in a row as the Hawks face Oakfield/Alabama/Elba at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Elba.

Quarterback Jeremy Mallett and running back Jacob Affronti have each scored 4 touchdowns and running back Camron Labarge 3 during the Hawks current two game winning streak.

Holley is 2-3 and Oakfield-Alabama/Elba 1-4 after losing 34-0 to Caledonia-Mumford/Byron-Bergen last week.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Je’ne Brown registers a spike kill during the Mustangs win over host Roy-Hart this evening.

Rebounding from an opening set loss and taking the clinching set in overtime, Medina downed host Roy-Hart 15-25, 25-21, 25-11, 28-26 this evening in a Niagara-Orleans League volleyball match.

Getting five spiking kills from Skyler Christopher and two from Aspen Moore, Roy-Hart posted a 25-15 win in the opening set.

Camri King serves up a point for Medina.

However, Medina battled back to knot the match by taking the second set 25-21 as Je/ne Brown had five kills, Elle Gross two and Camri King and Maddie Williams one each. King also served appoints 18-20 and Williams 22-23 to help the Mustangs close out the win.

Keeping the momentum and dominating at the net with a dozen spiking kills, Medina romped to a 25-11 win in the third set for a 2-1 lead in the match.

Brown erupted for seven kills to lead that surge as Williams added three and Gross and King one each.

The decisive final set was a great deal closer as down the stretch it was tied 22-22, 23-23, 24-24, 25-25 and 26-26 before Medina got the set and match winning final two points off serves by Williams. Brown’s fourth kill of the set polished off the go ahead 27th point.

Trailing 21-18 late in that set the Mustangs used kills by Brown and King along with an ace by Gross and a big return at the net for a point by Faith Henning to pull back even at 23-23.

Brown finished with a total of 19 kills as Williams had 8 and Gross and King 4 each.
Christopher and Moore both had six kills for Roy-Hart.

Medina is now 5-3 and Roy-Hart 4-3.

Both teams wore pink uniforms for the “Dig Pink” event in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Wilson 17-25-25-25, Albion 25-15-22-17

Wilson (5-3) rallied from an opening set loss to defeat host Albion (0-7) in four sets 17-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-17.

Raechel Blasius had 6 kills, 5 aces and 13 digs, Izzy Dinse 5 blocks and 4 kills and Anna Frerichs 15 digs for Wilson.

Taylor Walczak had 8 kills, Haley Smith 7 kills and Breanda Johnson 14 assists, 5 digs and 2 aces for Albion.

Akron 25-25-25, Newfane 16-6-20

Defending champion Akron stayed unbeaten at 7-0 with a straight set win over Newfane which slips to 1-6.

Roy-Hart’s Maddie Ciemny sends the ball over the net. At the left for the Lady Rams is Jessi Wood.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Norm McDonald goes for the ball for Medina/Lyndonville against Newfane defender Jarrett Gilson during the Mustangs loss to the Panthers this afternoon at Vets Park. Also shown are the Mustangs Andrew Houseman and the Panthers Matt Ditullio.

Roaring out to a 4-0 half-time advantage defending champion Newfane went on to defeat Medina/Lyndonville  8-0 at Vets Park this afternoon improve to 8-1 in Niagara-Orleans League boys soccer competition.

The victory, combined with runner-up Roy-Hart’s 6-3 loss at Albion, locks up a second straight N-O title for the Panthers.

Three goals by Mateo May and one by Trevor Moreland gave the Panthers the big half-time lead. Moreland then completed his hat-trick with two more goals in the second half as Trevor Heschke and Matt Ditullio each netted one.  May and Jarrett Gilson both had a pair of assists.

Medina/Lyndonville is now 2-6 in N-O action.

In other N-O action, Albion (3-5) upended visiting Roy-Hart (6-3) 6-3 and Wilson (4-3-1) defeated Akron (1-6-1) 3-1.

Kendyll Hadick scored three goals, Nate Scanlan two and Noah Goudreau one for Albion which held a 4-1 lead at the half. Hadick and Scanlan both scored twice in the first half.

Noah Kindron had two goals and Jamasen Johnson one for Roy-Hart which falls  two games behind front-running Newfane. The closest the Rams could get in the second half was at 5-3.

Holley posts narrow G-R win

In the Genesee Region League, Holley nipped Wheatland-Chili 2-1 and Byron-Bergen/Elba blanked Kendall 2-0. Goals by Kayden Servais, off an assist from Dalton Major, and Matt Skehan, on a penalty kick, earned Holley the narrow victory.

Kendall girls roll past Northstar
Six different players contributed goals as Kendall romped to an 8-0 victory over visiting Northstar in a non league girls soccer game.

Kayla Summers and Michela Hanlon both scored a pair of goals as Taylor ReQua, Madison Jacob, Abby Jenks and Adriana Passarell each netted one.

Hannah Ulmen and Katherine Pearson shared in earning the shutout in goal for Kendall which improves to 11-4.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Roy-Hart’s Anna Rickard took top honors against Albion and Wilson today at Wilson.

Medina trimmed host Akron 27-30 this afternoon in a Niagara-Orleans League boys cross-country meet as the Mustangs improve to 2-1.

The Mustangs were led by the 1-2-4 finish of Dan Heil, Aldan Cayea and Jack Hill as Zach Sanford’s third place finish was tops for the 1-1 Tigers.

Akron won the girls meet 22-40 behind the 1-2 finish of Margo Henley and Maddie Jimerson.

Medina’s Sabrina Quioris and Hannah Heil finished third and fourth.

Akron is now 2-0 and Medina 0-3.

The Albion girls scored a doubleheader sweep at Wilson defeating Roy-Hart 22-36 and Wilson 21-36. Wilson trimmed Roy-Hart 27-28.

Improving to 3-1, the Purple Eagles were paced by the 2-3-4 finish of Alanna Holman, Emma Mathes and Hannah Grammer.

Roy-Hart’s Anna Rickard won the race while Wilson’s Julie Reagan rounded out the top five finishers.

Wilson is now 2-1 and Roy-Hart 0-3.

The Wilson boys scored a sweep defeating Albion 15-50 and Roy-Hart 19-44 to improve to 2-1. Albion trimmed Roy-Hart 26-29.

Wilson’s Will Schwarzmüller won the race as the Lakemen also got a 3-4-5 finish from the trio of Nathaniel Johnson, Cal Seeley and Quinn Rees.

Roy-Hart’s Ozzy Moore finished second.

Newfane bested host Barker winning the boys meet 18-42 and the girls competition 15-46.

Sam Auernhamer and Collin McCabe finished 1-2 for the 3-0 Newfane boys as Barker’s Peter DiLorenzo was third.

Staying perfect at 3-0, the Newfane girls were sparked by the 1-2-3 finish of Kim Goerss, Vanessa Burkard and Lydia Chunco.

Oakfield-Alabama/Elba trimmed Kendall 25-18, 18-25, 25-23, 25-18 this evening in a Genesee Region League volleyball match.

Brianna Smith had 11 spiking kills and 2 service aces and Justina Pruski 26 assists to lead the way for the Lady Hornets.

Jenna Regan had 18 kills and 5 assists, Brittney Marks 11 digs, 8 assists, 2 kills and 1 ace and Sunni Brice 12 assists, 8 digs and 3 aces for Kendall.

Notre Dame 25-25-25, Lyndonville 17-20-12
Alecia Hinkson had 5 aces, 4 kills and 8 digs and Hannah Despard 11 digs for Lyndonville in the three set loss to Notre Dame.

Byron-Bergen 25-25-25, Holley 10-17-10
Undefeated Byron-Bergen bested Holley in three sets as Madison Farnsworth had 9 kills and 2 aces.

Nicole Mrztwka had 3 kills for Holley.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Albion’s Kendall Derisley looks to go up field as Roy-Hart’s Ellie Todd comes in to defend. The action took place during the Purple Eagles win over the visiting Lady Rams this evening.

A big first half scoring surge keyed Albion to a 3-1 victory over visiting Roy-Hart this evening in a Niagara-Orleans League girls soccer game.

Catherine Wolck, Kendall Derisley and Brylie Hapeman took turns scoring the goals giving the Purple Eagles a commanding 3-0 lead as the first two tallies came in the opening 11 minutes.

Meghan Washington scored the Roy-Hart goal in the second half.

Albion improves to 5-4-1 in the league while Roy-Hart slips to 2-8.

Newfane 6, Medina/Lyndonville 0
Kayleigh Daniels had 3 goals and 3 assists and Emily Foltz 3 goals and 1 assist to power Newfane (9-1-1) to a 6-0 victory over visiting Medina/Lyndonville (3-6).

The win, combined with Wilson’s victory over Akron, gives the Lady Panthers a game and a half lead.

Wilson 1, Akron 0
A first half goal by Lilly O’Lay off an assist from Sarah Lewis earned Wilson (7-3) a 1-0 victory over Akron (7-2). Emily Kelly made 10 saves to earn the shutout in goal.

Roy-Hart’s Meghan Washington tries to drive between Albion defenders Natalie DiCureia and Alexis Bentley.

Kendall trimmed host Alexander 2-1 this evening to lock up the Genesee Region League Division 2 girls soccer title.

Taylor ReQua gave Kendall a quick lead with a goal just five minutes into the game off an assist from Brianna Wakefield.

Wakefield then upped the Lady Eagles lead to 2-0 when she scored late in the half off an assist from Madison Jacob.

Alexander scored late in the second half.

The win boost’s Kendall’s league record to 8-3 (10-4 overall).

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Roy-Hart’s Alexis Lovewell brings the ball up field as Hannah Mahnke defends for Medina. The action took place during the Lady Rams win over the Mustangs this evening at Vets Park.

A lone goal late in the first half proved to be just enough to earn Roy-Hart a narrow 1-0 victory over Medina in a Niagara-Orleans League field hockey game this evening at Vets Park.

Ashley Hill scored the lone goal for the Lady Rams with three minutes to go in the first half off an assist from Alexis Lovewell.

Jamie Bower earned the shutout in goal for the Lady Rams.

The win improves Roy-Hart’s record to 7-2 and keeps the Lady Rams within a game of first place as Akron and Barker now share the top spot at 7-1 after the Lady Raiders 2-1 overtime win over the Lady Tigers this afternoon.

The loss drops Medina to 4-5.

Medina’s Lacey Kenward tries to keep the ball away from Roy-Hart’s Miah Glena.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Barker’s Ciara Gregoire and Akron’s Stephanie Yaeger go for the ball during the host Lady Raiders key win over the Lady Tigers this afternoon.

Gaining a share of first place, Barker nipped previously undefeated defending champion Akron 2-1 in overtime in a key Niagara-Orleans League field hockey game this afternoon at Barker.

Avenging an early season 2-1 loss, the victory pulls Barker into a tie for first place with Akron at 7-1.

Ciara Gregoire scored the game winning goal for Barker with 6:27 remaining in the 7 on 7 10 minute overtime period.

Akron had grabbed a 1-0 lead when Rebecca Breymeier scored seven minutes into the second half off an assist from Abby Stone.

However, Barker battled back to knot the contest as Natalie Menz scored with just nine minutes remaining off an assist from Gregoire to force overtime.

Wilson 2, Newfane 0
Wilson (4-5) blanked rival Newfane (0-9) 2-0 on goals by Hannah Day and Madeline Mocarski.

Barker’s Sarah Mason brings the ball up field as Kayla Wdowka defends for Akron.

Contributed Photos – Medina Coach PJ Bell and his starting six golfers celebrate today’s All-League Tournament win which locked up the Niagara-Orleans League golf title for the Mustangs. They include Toby Kiebala, Trevor Luthart, Jake Bensley, Andrew Fuller, Aidan Paul and Ian Wagner.

Capping off a perfect title season, the Medina High golf team captured top honors at the annual All-League Tournament held today at Willowbrook to complete an undefeated Niagara-Orleans championship campaign.

Individual champion Ian Wagner of Medina is flanked here by runner-up Nick Penna from Albion, left,and Nate Fox from Wilson.

Medina, which went 12-0 during the regular season, took the tourney title with a total of 447 points.

“Everybody really improved this season and it was a full team effort,” said Medina Coach PJ Bell of the Mustangs first N-O championship season since 2007.

Wilson finished in the runner-up spot in the tourney with 466 points followed by Albion 479, Akron 494, Roy-Hart 558, Newfane 563 and Barker 574.

Medina finishes the N-O season with a total of 30 points, Albion 21.5, Wilson 21, Akron 17.5, Roy-Hart 9, Newfane 4 and Barker 2.

Medina’s Ian Wagner successfully defended his individual title with a round of 80.

Albion’s Nick Penna finished second with an 81 and Wilson’s Nate Fox third with an 82.

Wilson’s Patrick Seeley took fourth with an 87 while four golfers finished tied at 89 including Trevor Luthart and Aidan Paul from Medina, Murphy Lang from Roy-Hart and Nick Seider from Wilson.

Newfane’s Paige Emborsky won the girl’s competition with a 91.