Defending champion Kendall will begin defense of its Section V Class D1 girls soccer title when the Lady Eagles host a quarterfinal game at 6 p.m. October 26 against the winner of Wednesday’s opening round game between No. 7 Finney and No. 10 Pavilion.

In the other local Section V girls playoff match ups, No. 4 Holley will face No. 13 Campbell-Savona in a Class C1 contest on Tuesday at a site to be determined and No. 11 Lyndonville/Medina will visit No. 6 Aquinas in a Class B1 contest on at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Section VI girls playoffs
Class B1
No. 9 Albion at No. 8 Maryvale, 6 p.m. Wednesday. The winner visits top seeded City Honors on Friday.
No. 10 Newfane at No. 7 Olean, 3:30 p.m. Wednesday

Class B2
No. 5 Southwestern at No. 4 Roy-Hart, 6 p.m. Friday
No. 11 Pine Valley at No. 6 Wilson, 3:30 p.m. Wednesday
No. 2 Akron will host the winner of the No. 10 JFK at No. 7 Falconer game at 3:30 p.m. Friday

Section V Boys playoffs
Class C1
No. 6 Holley vs. No. 11 Cuba-Rushford, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Warsaw
Class D1
No. 5 Alfred-Almond at No. 4 Kendall, 6:30 p.m. Friday

Section VI Boys Playoffs
Class B1
No. 3 Medina/Lyndonville will host the winner of Tuesday’s game between No. 6 Lackawanna and No. 11 I Prep at 3:30 p.m. Thursday
No. 10 Albion at No. 7 Iroquois, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. The winner plays at No. 2 East Aurora Thursday.

Class B2
No. 14 Akron at No. 3 Roy-Hart, 6 p.m. Tuesday
No. 10 Wilson at No. 7 DaVinci, 4:15 p.m. Tuesday at Riverside
No. 11 Falconer/Cassadaga Valley at No. 6 Newfane, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Albion’s Tyray White races up field as Medina/Lyndonville/Barker’s Andrew Hill closes in. The action took place during the host Purple Eagles win over the rival Mustangs this evening.

Building up a 17-0 half-time advantage, Albion went on to defeat rival Medina/Lyndonville/Barker 23-6 this evening in a regular season ending football game at Albion’s Spierdowis Field. (Click here to see Albion give Brett Decker “Doc’s Rock” for safe keeping at the coin toss.)

Albion took the lead for good by driving 88 yards for a touchdown on its first possession as Tyray White scored on a 6 yard run and quarterback Thomas Frurmanski added the extra point kick.

A pair of big 21 yard runs by White, along with a 14 yard run by Furmanski and a 13 yard Furmanski to Chris Shabazz pass completion, highlighted the drive.

The Mustangs then missed a golden opportunity to get right back in the game as they failed to capitalize on an Albion fumble at the Purple Eagles 8 yard line which was recovered by Emanuel Taylor.

The Mustangs were set back by a penalty on first down and the Albion defense then stopped the next four plays to get the ball back at their own 6 yard line.

Albion’s Kevin Hillman works to get away from Mustang defenders Caleb Cudzillo and Bobby Geiger.

“That was huge,” said Albion Coach Adam Krenning of the key defensive stand. “We turned the ball over a total of four times but the kids were resilient and our defense came up big. They’ve kept us in games all season.

The Albion offense then put together another long field length drive, highlighted by a 26 yard Furmanski to Kevin Hillman pass completion, a drive which produced a 20 yard Furmanski field goal and a 10-0 Purple Eagles lead.

(Click here to see Thomas Furmanski kick a FG for Albion to make the score 10-0.)

The Purple Eagles defense then stopped the Mustangs on downs at the Medina 41 and the offense was quick to capitalize.

Overcoming a holding penalty, a 22 yard Furmanski to Hillman pass and a 12 yard run by Brillance Johnson helped to move the ball to the 15. Johnson then swept around right end for the final 15 yards for a touchdown and Furmanski’s extra point kick made it 17-0 with 6:49 to go in the second quarter.

Albion again drove deep into Medina territory just before halftime as Furmanski completed passes of 17 yards to Shabazz and 14 to Hillman.

However, the Mustangs defense turned back that threat as Zach Blount came up with a clutch interception in the end zone.

(Click here to see Blount intercept Furmanski’s pass in the endzone to end the first half.)

The Mustangs defense then stopped two Albion drives in the third quarter, first on an interception by Brian Fry and later on a fumble recovery by Taylor and yet another at the outset of the fourth quarter on a fumble recovery by Bobby Geiger.

The Mustangs offense capitalized on that last turnover as Rodney Davis scored on a 1 yard run with 6:54 to go capping the 49 yard drive. A 19 yard pass completion from quarterback Chris Goyette to Dontea Rhim and  a 10 yard run by Taylor highlighted the drive.

Goyette was the third quarterback the Mustangs used as Brian Fry and Jarin Rhim both left with injuries.

Albion though got that one right back on a 3 yard touchdown run by White with 3:34 to go. Back-to-back runs by White of 18 and 15 yards ignited that 49 yard drive.

(Click here to see Tyray White score Albion’s last TD.)

Albion’s victory in the 122nd renewal of what is one of the state’s longest high school football rivalries, gives the Purple Eagles a 68-49-5 series lead.

The win also allows Albion to retain the “Doc’s Rock” Trophy which is given annually to the victor in memory of Larry “Doc” Decker who coached and taught in both school districts.

In addition, the Jeff Evoy Memorial Sportsmanship Awards were presented to Furmanski and Geiger. The awards are presented in memory of Evoy who served as a teacher and coach at Albion and as as administrator and superintendent at Medina.

Albion finishes the regular season at 6-1 and Medina/Lyndonville/Barker 2-5.

The Purple Eagles will next host a Section VI Class B quarterfinal round playoff game next Friday evening.

Akron 46, Roy-Hart 0
Akron blanked host Roy-Hart 46-0 in a C North Division game as Aidan Smith led the way with 5 touchdowns on a 75 yard kickoff return, a 17 yard pass reception and runs of 1, 28 and 15 yards.

Mustangs back Emanuel Taylor tries to go over Albion defenders Bailey Blanchard, Brillance Johnson and Deyonci Farley.

Contributed Photos – Neil “Ned” Parker boots a field goal out of the hold of quarterback Bruce Good during Albion’s memorable 9-0 victory over Medina in 1969, the last time the rivals met on Albion’s old Alumni Field.

Old Alumni Field was the site on a cold, drizzly Saturday afternoon 50 years ago that host Albion ended a 10 year long victory drought against rival Medina by a 9-0 margin.

That memorable 1969 contest was the last between the Purple Eagles and Mustangs on Alumni Field which is probably best remembered for its concrete bleachers built into the side of a nearby knoll.

The Alumni Field site is now occupied by a portion of the high school building and the boiler plant building. The current Spierdowis Field, which is named in honor of the long time Albion Coach Mike Spierdowis, became the Purple Eagles new football home in 1973.

Albion, which had lost 10 straight to Medina (1959-1968) claimed that elusive drought ending victory on muddy Alumni Field as Neil “Ned” Parker kicked a 28 yard field goal in the second quarter and quarterback Bruce Good ran two yards for an insurance touchdown in the third quarter.

Turnovers keyed both scores as the recovery of a fumbled Medina punt set up the field goal and a lost Medina fumble, which was recovered by Jerry Vandetti who returned it to the Mustangs 2 yard line, set up the touchdown.

Prior to that the Purple Eagles last win over the Mustangs had come in 1958 by a score of 26-0.

The coaching matchup that afternoon had first year Albion mentor Larry Graham facing John “Pinky”Loughlin who was in his 15th season at the Medina helm.

The victory earned Albion second place in the final Niagara-Orleans League standings at 5-1 behind only undefeated (6-0) champion Roy-Hart while Medina wound up at 3-3. The Purple Eagles only N-O setback was a narrow 6-0 loss to the champion Rams.

The Purple Eagles and Mustangs will renew their rivalry for the 122nd time at 7 p.m. Friday on Spierdowis Field.

Albion’s old Alumni Field with its concrete bleachers is shown here in a circa 1970 photo with a portion of the middle school visible at the right.