Photo by Mike Wertman – Anchoring the lineup for the Medina/Lyndonville football squad this season will be these five returning starters. In front are Jalin Cooper, left, and Izaiah Rhim. In back are Ian Joseph, Mason Lewis and Brendan Luthart.

Bolstered by the return of a veteran quarterback and receiving corps the Medina/Lyndonville varsity football squad is prepping for the September 1 interdivisional season opener against Burgard at Buffalo’s Riverside Field.

Junior quarterback Izaiah Rhim returns to lead the Mustangs attack and he has a trio of veteran receivers in seniors Jalin Cooper, Brendan Luthart and Mason Lewis.

Cooper, who has given a verbal commitment to accept a football scholarship from the University of Toledo, had team leading totals of 1,213 all purpose yards and 16 touchdowns last fall. He earned first team B East Division honors as did Lewis while Rhim and Luthart were both second team honorees.

The Mustangs running back spots face a bit of a rebuilding task with the graduation of the very productive duo of Jake Cotter, who is now playing Division 1 lacrosse at Canisius, and Eric Neace, who is now playing  football at Cortland. Senior DaRon Bellan along with juniors William Braswell and Damon Shatara look to help fill that void.

The offensive line also faces rebuilding as senior Ian Joseph is the lone returning starter with the graduation losses of Tyler Howard, Dawson Joy, Frank Carrasquillo, DaJohn Brown, Emmanual Sones and Powell Stephens. Joseph was a second team B East Division All-Star honoree.

Seniors Jesse Uniquez, Thomas Culmo, Zach Hill, Jorge Phillips, Mike Eckerd and Ed Sones along with juniors Cody Crane, Justice Hughes, Tim Roy and Blaire and Chase Prest are vying for spots on the line.

“We’re looking to spread the ball around a little more this year,” said Coach Eric Valley. “We’ve got some experience at the skill positions and the line is ahead of what we expected and hopefully that will continue.”

Medina, which captured the B East Division title last year at 5-0 (6-3 overall) is in the B2 Division this season along with Roy-Hart/Barker, Newfane, Tonawanda, Alden and Lackawanna.

The Mustangs will prep for the season by competing in a five team scrimmage on Saturday at Middleport along with Roy-Hart/Barker, Newfane, Wilson and Bennett.

Schedule
Sept. 1 – at Burgard, 7 p.m.
Sept. 8 – at Tonawanda, 7 p.m.
Sept. 15 – Newfane, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 22 – Lackawanna, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 29 – Roy-Hart/Barker, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 6 – at Alden , 7 p.m.
Oct. 13 – at Albion, 7 p.m.

Albion and Medina both scored home course victories this morning to open the Niagara-Orleans League golf season.

Albion defeated Roy-Hart 232-265 at Hickory Ridge and Medina downed Akron 223-257 at Shelridge.

Nick Penna earned medalist honors for Albion with a 42. Nick Perry added a 45, Patrick Ricker 46 and Victor Benjovsky 49 for the Purple Eagles.

Murphy Lang shot 44 and Madigan Lang 48 for Roy-Hart.

Ian Wagner shot a one under par 35 to earn medalist honors for Medina.

The Mustangs also had Andrew Fuller with a 45, Aidan Paul 46, Trevor Luthart 48 and Jake Bensley 49.

Brennan Murty and Stephen Wagner both had rounds of 47 for Akron.

Albion next hosts Barker and Medina entertains Newfane on Friday.  Barker is slated to open against Newfane on Wednesday.

Photo by Mike Wertman – Getting set to lead the Medina volleyball team into the upcoming season are veterans Alyssa Beyer, Faith Henning, Je’ne Brown and Maddie Williams. Missing from the photo are Grace Masse and Leah Sheelar.

A bit of a rebuilding task is at hand for the Medina volleyball squad which lost four of six starters to graduation.

Juniors Je’ne Brown and Maddie Williams, who both received Niagara-Orleans All-League Honorable Mention last year, return to the starting lineup to anchor the squad.

The Mustangs also return varsity experience in the senior quartet of Alyssa Beyer, Faith Henning, Grace Masse and Leah Sheelar.

Two sophomores up from the JV ranks, Elle Gross and Camri King, also look to see plenty of action.

“We’re excited for the year and we’re excited for the challenge,” said Coach Tim Lincoln whose Mustangs went 4-6 in N-O competition last fall.

The Mustangs graduation losses include N-O first team All-League honoree Emily Kams and second team selection Molley Gross along with Carley Schultz, Lexie Sargent and Lexi Neuman.

Medina is slated to get the season off to an early start by competing in the Gates-Chili Tournament on Wednesday.  The N-O opener is slated for September 6 at home against defending champion Akron.

Schedule
August: 23 – at Gates-Chili Tournament, 8 a.m.; 31 – Byron-Bergen, 6:15 p.m.

September: 1 – at Lyndonville, 6:15 p.m.; 6 – Akron, 6:15 p.m.; 9 – at Albion Tournament, 8 a.m.; 12 – Roy-Hart, 6:15 p.m.; 14 – at Wilson, 6:15 p.m.; 16 – at Starpoint Tournament, 8 a.m.; 18 – at Albion, 6:15 p.m.; 22 – at Newfane, 6:15 p.m.; 26 – at Tapestry, 6:15 p.m.; 28 – at Akron, 6:15 p.m.

October: 2 – Wilson ,6:15 p.m.; 4 – at Roy-Hart, 6:15 p.m.; 10 – at Kendall, 6:15 p.m.; 12 – at Albion, 6:15 p.m.; 16 – Lyndonville, 6:15 p.m.; 17 – Newfane, 6:15 p.m.; 23 – at Starpoint, 5 p.m.

Contributed Photo – Kyle Barna

Medina High graduate Kyle Barna participated in the National Championship of Box Lacrosse in Canada this past week.

Playing for the Seneca War Chiefs, he led his team in scoring with 11 goals and 7 assists in the tourney which is called the Founders Cup.

Barna had 4 goals and 2 assists in the medal game for third place which led the Chiefs scoring.

After playing for Pfeiffer University for two years, Barna has transferred to Lake Erie College which also also in Division 2. He scored 52 goals for Pfeiffer last season and earned second team Carolina Conference All-Star honors.

Lake Erie is joining the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) for lacrosse for the upcoming season.

Photo by Mike Wertman – Getting set to lead Albion into the upcoming football season are veterans Matt Kovaleski, Bryce Pritchard, Demetrius Gardner, Caleb Pettit, Ugene Harrison, JaQuess Harrison and Nate Moore.

Section VI’s decision to base the lineups of its football divisions on enrollment has given Albion several new opponents and a couple of long road trips for the upcoming season.

The Purple Eagles are now in the B2 Division along with Depew, Springville, Dunkirk, Olean and Fredonia/Westfield/Brocton.

The Purple Eagles will host Springville in the season opener on Sept. 1 and will also entertain Olean on September 29 but will travel to Depew, Dunkirk and Brocton (to face Fredonia/Westfield/Brocton).

Junior quarterback Bryce Pritchard returns to lead the offense for Albion which also has a number of other veterans at the skill positions including senior running back Demetrius Gardner, junior running back Ugene Harrison, senior receiver JaQuess Harrison and junior receivers Matt Kovaleski and Nate Moore.

Senior Tony Valleyo-Miller also looks to help out at running back as does senior Jerico Chudy at receiver.

Returning starter senior Caleb Pettit heads the offensive line contingent which also has some experience in seniors Justin Stritzinger and Tyler Kast along with juniors Brennen Hughes, Ben Restivo, Kirk Ellison and Jessy Cruz.

Gardner and Restivo both earned first team B East Division All-Star honors last fall. Moore was a second team honoree while Pritchard and Ellison both earned Honorable Mention.

“I’m highly optimistic,” said new head Coach Adam Krenning who has served as an assistant the last couple of years. “We’ve got a good number of kids returning but we’re still young. They’re competing for their love of the game.”

The Purple Eagles key graduation losses include running back Tommy Mattison, tight end Kory Reynolds and lineman Jared Hollinger.

Albion went 1-4 in the division and 3-5 overall last fall.

Schedule
Sept. 1 – Springville, 7 p.m.; 8 – at Depew, 7:30 p.m.; 15 at Brocton vs. Fredonia/Westfield/Brocton, 7 p.m.; 22 – Roy-Hart/Barker, 7 p.m.; 29 – Olean, 7 p.m.
Oct. – 6 – at Dunkirk, 7:30 p.m.; 13 – Medina/Lyndonville, 7 p.m.

The Albion Mini Division team blanked host Attica 40-0 Saturday to open the Niagara Orleans Football Associaiton (NOFA) season.

Noah Harrison had touchdown runs of 25 and 1 yards and a 50 yard TD reception from Nate Gibson for Albion which also had TD runs of 35 yards each by Wesley Olles and Gibson and of 30 yards by Ethan Cornick. Gibson also had two extra point conversions and Olles one.

On defense, Logan Kast made 6 tackles, Gibson 4 and Harris and Mason Snook 3 each.

In the JV Division, Attica downed Albion 33-0.

Auston Johnson had 7 tackles and a sack for Albion as Raekwan Riley added 6 tackles and Xavier Byrd and Blake Preston 4 each.

The Medina Colts and Broncos both scored victories over Holley Saturday at Lyndonville to open the Niagara Orleans Football Association (NOFA) season.

The Colts won 26-7 and the Broncos 20-0.

The Colts got a long touchdown pass from Preston Woodworth to Treyvon Shine, a long TD run by Lex Gray and a pair of touchdowns by Christian Moss, one on a long run and the other on a short carry, to round out the scoring in the fourth quester.

The Broncos here sparked offensively by Logan Gray (73 yards rushing and a TD), Justin Pitts (41 yards rushing and a TD), Julian Woodworth (56 yards rushing), Kaiden Cleveland (27 yards rushing and a TD), Liam Castricone (13 yards rushing) and Brody Fry (7 yards rushing).

The Broncos defensive shutout effort was led by Brandon Christiannsen and Caiden Class with 4 tackles each and Amari Soule, Breydin McEwen-Miller, Mavrik Hall, Castricone, Cleveland and Fry each with 2 tackles each.  Trenton Morley also had 2 tackles and forced fumble while Sawyer Kingsbury, Aiden Beach, Woodworth, Xavier Bloom and Cole Callard each had a tackle and  Gray a fumble recovery.

Photo by Mike Wertman – New Albion varsity volleyball Coach Melody Beecher meets here with the Purple Eagles veteran trio of Caitlyn Snook, Haley Smith and Isabella Gibbs.

Facing a bit of a rebuilding task, the Albion varsity volleyball squad is prepping for the upcoming season under new Coach Melody Beecher.

Senior Caitlyn Snook, along with juniors Haley Smith and Isabella Gibbs, return the lead the way for Albion. Junior Sierra Newton, who was a regular last year, is out with an injury.

“We are rebuilding so we are looking for some of our young kids to step up,” said Beecher. “We plan on teaching a lot this year. It will be a building process but the kids are excited. They are willing, excited and they want to learn.”

The Purple Eagles key losses to graduation include first team Niagara-Orleans All-League honorees Chanyce Powell and Emilie Barleben.

Albion, which went 7-3 in N-O action last year, is slated to host non league matches against Attica (August 28) and Alexander (September 1) before beginning the league campaign at Roy-Hart on September 6.

Schedule
August: 28 – Attica, 6:30 p.m.

September: 1 – Alexander, 6:30 p.m., 6 – at Roy-Hart, 6:30 p.m., 8 – Byron-Bergen, 6:30 p.m., 9 – Albion Tournament, 8 a.m., 12 – at Wilson, 6:30 p.m., 14 – Newfane, 6:30 p.m., 16 – at Starpoint Tournament, 8 a.m., 18 – Medina, 6:30 p.m., 21 – Akron, 6:30 p.m., 28 – Roy-Hart, 6:30 p.m., 30 – at Buffalo Niagara Court Varsity Tournament.

October: 2 – Notre Dame, 6:30 p.m., 4 – Wilson, 6:30 p.m., 6 – at Newfane, 6:30 p.m., 10 – at Alexander, 6:30 p.m., 12 – at Medina, 6:30 p.m., 17 – at Akron 6:30 p.m., 20 – at Batavia, 6 p.m.

Photo by Mike Wertman – New Kendall boys varsity soccer Coach Rich Esposito meets here with the Eagles veterans. In front are Miguel Aquirre, Jeremy Browe, Chris Butlin and John Rath. In back are Coach Esposito, Mickey Gardner, Allen Tonas, Hunter Menze and Nate Warters.

With a good nucleus of eight returnees leading the way the Kendall boys varsity soccer team is prepping for the season under new Coach Rich Esposito.

That veteran contingent includes seniors Jeremy Browe, Allen Tonas, Miguel Aquirre, and Chris Butlin along with juniors Mickey Gardner, Nate Warters, John Rath and Hunter Menz. Warters, who had 6 goals and 9 assists last season, is the Eagles top returning scorer.

The Eagles also look for contributions from a senior exchange student from Hungary, Tihamer Keresztes.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Esposito of his first season at the Eagles helm. “We have a young team but it looks very promising. I look forward to a strong season from our juniors.”

Graduation losses include 30 goal scorer Jake Adams, goalie Cameron Zinsmeister, midfielders Collin Lewis and James Longrod and defenders Joe LoSapio and Ben Frasch.

Kendall, which went 3-6-1 in Genesee Region League competition and 8-8-1 overall last fall, is slated to host Albion in the non league season opener on September 1.  The Eagles then begin G-R action at Pembroke on September 7.

Schedule
September: 1- Albion, 6 p.m., 7 – at Pembroke, 6:30 p.m., 9 – at Cal-Mum, 3 p.m., 12 – Attica, 4:30 p.m., 14 – Byron-Bergen/Elba, 6:30 p.m., 18 – at RAC, 4:30 p.m., 20 – Pembroke, 6:30 p.m., 23 – Marion, 11 a.m., 26 – Wheatland-Chili, 6:30 p.m., 28 – at Attica, 4:30 p.m., 30 – Holley, 11 a.m.

October: 2 – at Marion, 6:30 p.m., 4 – at Byron-Bergen/Elba, 6:30 p.m., 6 – RAC, 5:30 p.m., 10 – at Holley, 6:30 p.m.. 13 – at Wheatland-Chili, 6:30 p.m.