Medina will host Batavia on Friday

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Medina quarterback Preston Woodworth and his Mustangs teammates will host Batavia at 7 p.m. Friday at Vets Perk in a non league game to close out the regular season.

A new/old foe will provide the opposition as Medina hosts Batavia in a non league game at 7 p.m. Friday at Vets Park to close out the regular season.

For many years the final week of the regular season has meant Rivalry Weekend with Medina facing rival Albion. However, because of scheduling difficulties the Mustangs and Purple Eagles were unable to meet this season.

Albion instead will close out the regular season with a B2 Division game at Maryvale at 7 p.m. Friday.

Interestingly though, Albion and Batavia do have one thing in common – they are both Medina’s oldest football opponents.

Available records show that Medina played four games during its first football season in 1898 – two against Albion and yes, two against Batavia. Albion won both of those games 5-0 and 11-5 while Batavia had a win (6-5) and a tie (0-0).

This will be the first meeting between Medina and Batavia in over 50 years since 1967 when the Blue Devils downed the Mustangs 33-20. In fact, the two teams met five years in a row from 1963 to 1967 with Batavia claiming wins in four of those contests.

Medina brings a 5-2 record into Friday’s game while Batavia is 4-3.

The Blue Devils opened the season with four straight wins (41-21 over Honeoye Falls-Lima, 41-13 over Greece Athena , 54-6 over Cleveland Hill and 22-0 over Eastridge). However, the Blue Devils have lost their last three in a row (27-6 to Brockport, 34-12 to East and 50-0 to Monroe).

The Mustangs offense is led by 1,000 yard passer quarterback Preston Woodworth (1,180 yards and 15 touchdowns) and 1,000 yard rusher running back Christian Moss (1,036 yards and 14 touchdowns).

Medina’s interest this weekend will also be focused on a very important C North Division game on Saturday afternoon as division leading Barker/Roy-Hart visits Maritime at 2 p.m.

Medina, which has finished C North competition at 4-2, and Maritime, which is 3-2, are currently vying for the division’s fourth and final berth in the upcoming sectional playoffs.

A win by Barker/Roy-Hart (5-0), which has already clinched at least a tie for the division title, would give Medina the sectional berth. However, a Maritime win would have the final berth decided by power points.

C North Standings: Barker/Roy-Hart 5-0, 6-1; Akron 5-1, 5-2; Eden 4-1, 6-1; Medina 4-2, 5-2; Maritime 3-2, 4-3; Alden 1-4, 2-5; JFK 1-4, 2-5; Cleve Hill 1-4, 1-6; Tonawanda 0-6, 0-7.