Friday Roundup: Lady Lions send Riley, Seely out in style, claim 10th win of season with 4-1 Senior Night victory over Fillmore; Down to B-R, Cal-Mum/B-B scores buzzer-beating TD, capture 24-22 win
Photo gallery and stories by CHRIS BROOKS, wellsvillesports.com
WELLSVILLE — The Lady Lions of Wellsville wanted to send out their two phenomenal seniors, Meagan Riley and Kelsey Seely, out in the only way they know how this year: with victory. To close out the week on Friday, they would do just that against the Fillmore Lady Eagles, as they gathered four victories to ignite what was a 4-1 triumph — their 10th on the season to remain undefeated.
Leading the way for the Lady Lions (10-0) were a trio of 10-0 victories, two of them resulting in a complete sweep of both doubles matches, with the first doubles team of Caitlin Bittel and Hanna Miles and the second doubles squad of Peyton Cawley and Sarah Mattison each claiming the victorious honor at the end of the night.
In the singles matches, Samantha Bidzerkowny picked up a 10-0 win herself over Fillmore’s Claire Schilke in first singles action. Meagan Riley claimed a strong 10-1 victory over Molly Mahoney to finish off the Wellsville wins at second singles.
Fillmore (2-6) was able to garner one victory from Spencer Hopkins at third singles, as she survived a back-and-forth battle with Kelsey Seely to record a 10-8 victory.
Both teams are back on the court Monday night in a pair of 5 p.m. first serves, with Wellsville traveling to Addison, while Fillmore heads back to Houghton University to play host to Avoca/Prattsburgh.
Singles
1. Samantha Bidzerkowny (WLSV) def. Claire Schilke (FIL), 10-0.
2. Meagan Riley (WLSV) def. Molly Mahoney (FIL), 10-1.
3. Spencer Hopkins (FIL) def. Kelsey Seely (WLSV), 10-8.
Doubles
1. Caitlin Bittel/Hanna Miles (WLSV) def. Kira Morley/Kirra Bentley (FIL), 10-0.
2. Peyton Cawley/Sarah Mattison (WLSV) def. Lena Tucker/Indigo Knapp (FIL), 10-0.
FOOTBALL
Caledonia-Mumford/Byron-Bergen 24, Bolivar-Richburg 22
BOLIVAR — It would all come down to one final play with eight seconds to go. The Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg were clinging to a big-time touchdown by Maddox Davison that gave them the lead with less than a minute remaining over visiting Caledonia-Mumford/Byron-Bergen on Friday at Dunsmore-Latimer Field.
Precious seconds kept ticking away on the Raiders, but found themselves within striking distance of flipping the game completely on its head with eight seconds left. Quarterback Austin Pittman received the final snap of the game, and he was looking to go for it all. With every receiver and every Bolivar-Richburg defender in the secondary making their way to the end zone in one foul swoop, one last heave was let go in the air.
The ball declined from its apex and in the midst of doing so, a Wolverines defender reached up to try and make a play. The ball was tipped, and with the aid of some incredible sleight-of-hand and awareness from Dillon Alcott, it allowed him to snag what was deemed as the game-winning touchdown as time expired, as Caledonia-Mumford/Byron-Bergen ended the battle in heroic and dramatic fashion with the 25-yard score that gave them a 24-22 win over the Wolverines.
Before a wild fourth quarter came into fruition for both teams, the night began with the Wolverines (2-2) claiming responsibility for the game’s first lead on their opening drive, as a series of rushes led to the first of two Tavyn MacDonell scores on the ground, going for 49 yards before a two-point conversion finished up an early 8-0 lead.
On the very first play of the second quarter, Caledonia-Mumford/Byron-Bergen would respond by cutting their deficit down to a pair from the goal line, as Austin Pittman kept the ball himself and ran it in. But the 8-6 lead for the Wolverines would jump back out to eight right towards the end of the first half with MacDonell’s second score.
With the help of a 39-yard pass from Caden Allen to Trey Buchholz to help set it up, MacDonell finished off another brilliant scoring drive with a goal-line run and score to make it a 14-8 ball game at halftime.
After the break was over, it was back to work for the visitors in white and maroon, as they scored on their opening drive of the second half with two big runs by both Pittman and Anthony Leach helping set up a seven-yard carry from Pittman to trim their deficit back down to a pair of points once again.
The score would remain in Bolivar-Richburg’s favor heading into a fourth quarter where the action grew more nerve-racking by the second. The Raiders would go on to claim the lead for the first time in the game after a lengthy offensive series was capped off by a 17-yard run from Leach in the backfield, taking the 18-14 advantage.
But like the Wolverines did to start the game, they drove right back down the field on their next series on the field and scored to reclaim the lead after a 24-yard touchdown pass from Allen was caught by Maddox Davison to earn the 22-18 lead with less than a minute remaining.
With little wiggle room to work with in the game’s final minute, the Raiders were presented with a chance to go for the win, once and for all. With a couple of rushes to pair with a 14-yard pass from Pittman to Damon Linzy to send the visitors even deeper into Wolverines territory, the clock was stopped with eight seconds left at the Bolivar-Richburg 25 yardline.
While under immense pressure from the Wolverines front, Pittman was able to use every bit of time left on the clock and then some, to deliver a game-ending strike that was tipped near the goal line and into the arms of Alcott for the 25-yard strike to stun Bolivar-Richburg in front of their home crowd with an unbelievable two-point victory at the buzzer.
The Wolverines collected 323 yards of total offense in the battle, with a bulk of the yardage coming from their backfield. Leading the way was MacDonell, who had 16 rushes for 121 yards and his two first half touchdowns. Under center, Allen finished going 6-for-12 for 112 yards, with a touchdown and pick.
On defense, Zach Mitchell was the leading tackler for Bolivar-Richburg, recording 10.5 tackles. MacDonell had 9.5 tackles, while Caden Allen had nine tackles to go with an interception.
Up next, the Wolverines will now get set for Homecoming weekend next week, as they welcome in Red Jacket next Friday night for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Cal-Mum/Byron-Bergen 0 6 6 12 – 24
Bolivar-Richburg 8 6 0 8 – 22
Scoring Summary
1st
B-R – Tavyn MacDonell 49-yard run, 2-pts good (8-0 B-R)
2nd
C-M/B-B – Austin Pittman 1-yard run, 2-pts failed (8-6 B-R)
B-R – Tavyn MacDonell 2-yard run, 2-pts failed (14-6 B-R)
3rd
C-M/B-B – Austin Pittman 7-yard run, 2-pts failed (14-12 B-R)
4th
C-M/B-B – Anthony Leach 17-yard run, 2-pts failed (18-14 C-M/BB)
B-R – Maddox Davison 24-yard pass from Caden Allen, 2-pts good (22-18 B-R)
C-M/B-B – Dillon Alcott GW 25-yard pass from Austin Pittman (24-22 C-M/B-B)
Total Yards: C-M/B-B 308, B-R 323.
Passing: C-M/B-B 140, B-R 112.
Rushing: C-M/B-B 168, B-R 211.
First Downs: C-M/B-B 19, B-R 17.
Turnovers: C-M/B-B 1, B-R 1.
Penalties: C-M/B-B 2-17, B-R 7-56.
Punts: C-M/B-B 0, B-R 1.
T.O.P: C-M/B-B 25:24, B-R 25:33.
BOYS SOCCER
Fillmore 2, Genesee Valley/Belfast 0
BELMONT — While Fillmore and Genesee Valley/Belfast were giving the fight of their lives on the pitch Friday night at Judy Bliven Field, the opportunities that would come throughout the game were at an absolute premium.
Between both teams, just nine shots on the attack were taken. But when it came down to brass tax, the undefeated Eagles made sure they made the most of their golden chances, as they scored a big goal in each half of play to help set up shop for their eighth straight win after another hard-fought battle — a 2-0 shutout.
“It was a hard-fought battle both ways. You know whenever you play a Mark Sullivan-coached program, they are never going to back down by any means. But I thought we played a fundamentally sound game that was disciplined, and we capitalized on enough of our chances to get the job done.” said Eagles coach Jarrett Vosburg.
The Eagles (8-0) were able to get a quality opportunity to knock on the door first against Genesee Valley/Belfast, using it to their fullest advantage beginning with a pass from Noah Strickland that found the foot of Henry Sardina up the middle, putting it to the back of the net nearly six minutes into the game to claim a 1-0 lead.
The advantage for the visitors in white and green would hold for much of the time ahead, despite the midfield battle for possession raging on between both squads. But when time continued to tick away, the window for insurance began to close. The Eagles would make sure that was left open near midway, as Eben Schilke helped punctuate the team’s win with a massive goal to branch out their lead to a pair, ultimately holding onto it for the remainder of the game.
The two goals would come on six Fillmore shots, while the defense only let three reach goalkeeper Brayden Hennard, who set aside them all to record the team’s seventh shutout of the season. On the other end, Kyle McCumiskey made four saves for Genesee Valley/Belfast (5-3).
Both teams return to the pitch Tuesday night over the road, as Fillmore hits the buses for a visit to Avoca/Prattsburgh in a 5 p.m. first kick, while Genesee Valley/Belfast looks to rebound with a 6 p.m. visit to Wellsville.
Cuba-Rushford 3, Bolivar-Richburg 1
HINSDALE — The theme of the night in Hinsdale was quick responses. With two goals in each half finding the back of the net, the four total scores between Bolivar-Richburg and host Cuba-Rushford were separated from one another across a span of two minutes.
With a 1-1 tie waiting to be unlocked after the break, something had to give way. Despite Bolivar-Richburg holding a portion of the momentum after navigating their way towards the deadlock, the Rebels would find their way back out front.
And in a hurry.
Just one minute off the clock to start the second half, Tanner Lewis added to his resume with his second strike of the game to give Cuba-Rushford the lead back. Almost immediately after the go-ahead strike, they would add to it once more with an early and massive piece of insurance, branching their lead out to a pair where it would remain for the rest of the game, as they secured a big 3-1 home win over the Wolverines on Friday.
“Tonight was a big game for us, and it kicks off a really tough eight days coming up. I thought we did a great job of controlling the middle of the field and creating chances going forward,” Rebels coach Rob Wight said. “Jacob Elliott was all over the place tonight and I felt like he really left his mark on the game. We still have to work on making the most of our opportunities to put teams away. We missed two PKs and hit two posts. On another night or if B-R is full strength, those misses could really hurt us. All in all, I’m proud of the effort the guys brought tonight.”
The fast and furious goalscoring occurred right out of the gate with the first of Lewis’ pair of tallies, as he broke free from the Bolivar-Richburg defense to receive an indirect kick from midfield by Jake Elliott, knocking it home short side to break the ice. The lead for the Rebels (5-2-1) wouldn’t last long however, as the Wolverines bounced right back and capitalized on a massive penalty kick taken by Reiss Gaines, as he tied the game at one on the successful try.
It would remain even until the very beginning stages of the second half, when a beautiful passing play set up near midfield on the run allowed Cuba-Rushford to cash in again with Lewis’ second of the game from Braeden Wight just 39 seconds in. The scoring wrapped up just 2:02 later with Elliott handing out another strong helper to Robert Childs for the finish, giving them the room they needed to capture their second victory over the Wolverines (5-4) this season.
The Rebels went on to take the 8-5 advantage in shots over the Wolverines. The win was awarded to Alex Baron between the posts, as he made four saves. On the other end, David Abdo made five saves for the visitors in white and red, who will now get set to host Andover/Whitesville-Jasper-Troupsburg back home on Thursday at 5 p.m.
Cuba-Rushford is back in action on the road Tuesday night, visiting the Campbell-Savona Panthers in a 5 p.m. first kick.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Genesee Valley/Belfast 3, Hinsdale 1
HINSDALE — After a predominantly controlled first set for Genesee Valley/Belfast, the Lady Bobcats of Hinsdale brought it back together in a second set featuring a back-and-forth battle that required extra serves to complete, recording the game-tying victory.
But the visitors in black and gray would not allow it to faze them across the next two sets, as they rebuilt a big amount of momentum and used it in full to provide the biggest of bounce backs for the four-set victory over the road on Friday, claiming the 25-13, 24-26, 25-20, 25-18 win in Hinsdale.
Genesee Valley/Belfast (2-5) was paced by an outstanding tenure of offense provided by Liliana Porter-Long, who scored a team-leading 10 kills to go with four aces. Kendra Bigelow chipped in with six more kills, five aces and a helper, while the team’s setter Cassidy Hand dished out 15 helpers to pair with four aces from the back line and two kills.
“After going down in the third set, we had to figure out a way to come back. We talked things over, and they found a way to claw back to win and seal it in the fourth.” said GV/Belfast coach Darren Bradt.
Statistics for Hinsdale (1-6) were not made available to report upon publication. The Lady Bobcats are on the road this morning with an 11 a.m. visit to Houghton Academy.
Genesee Valley/Belfast will look to keep their winning ways rolling with a 5 p.m. visit from Keshequa, Monday night.
