Photos and stories by CHRIS BROOKS, managing editor, wellsvillesports.com
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Wellsville 3, Arkport-Canaseraga 1
WELLSVILLE — Lindsay Stuck was everything for the Lady Lions of Wellsville, and everywhere all at once on Monday, as she used all of her offensive prowess to aid the team in a strong start to their final week of regular season action with a four-set, 25-9, 25-20, 21-25, 25-14 victory — the team’s 10th of the campaign, over visiting Arkport-Canaseraga in the Lion’s Den.
Stuck was at the top of the Wellsville (10-4) ledger when the final point was recorded to close out their victory, as she finished with a game-high 17 kills on offense, pairing them with six aces from the service line, six digs and a block at the front of the net. Following behind was Natalie Adams, who pitched in with nine digs on defense along with seven more kills on the attack.
In addition, Teagan Burke recorded five more aces to couple alongside four digs on defense, while Lexi Irish set everything up for the offense up front with 35 assists.
The Lady Lions will hit the road tonight for their last road trip of the regular season, visiting Genesee Valley/Belfast in a 7:30 p.m. contest.
Houghton Academy 3, Genesee Valley/Belfast 0
HOUGHTON — A strong night of service from three different Lady Panthers helped aid a hot start on Monday against Genesee Valley/Belfast, as host Houghton Academy ripped and roared their way towards a straight-set victory to start the final week of regular season action on Monday with a 25-10, 25-18, 25-11 victory.
Captaining the efforts for Houghton Academy (10-6) was Jami Dover, who led the service department with five team-high aces. Right behind her, in addition to six team-high digs on defense, Emily Xie chipped in with four more aces to pair with three kills on the attack.
Rounding off the scoring was Christa Nguyen, who had three more aces to pitch in for the Lady Panthers.
Genesee Valley/Belfast (2-13) was led by Enasjah Koontz-Gibbs, who recorded a team-high five kills to go with one ace. Behind her was Paizlee Tilton and her four additional kills, along with an ace of her own.
The team will perform a quick turnaround tonight, as they head back home to host their final regular season match in The Jungle before another road trip later in the week, hosting Wellsville at 7:30 p.m.
The Lady Panthers will close out their regular season on Thursday with one final road trip, visiting the Cuba-Rushford Lady Rebels in a 7:30 p.m. first serve.
Bolivar-Richburg 3, Hinsdale 0
BOLIVAR — Senior Night for the Lady Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg did not go any better on Monday, as they took advantage of everything right out of the gate to help send their seniors out in style with a straight-set victory over the visiting Hinsdale Lady Bobcats, laying claim on what was a 25-10, 25-6, 25-9 decision.
Paving the way towards victory for the Lady Wolverines (12-3) was Carmen Crowley on the attack, as she dished out eight kills to go with seven aces. Right behind her was Joey Danaher, who chipped in seven more aces from the service line herself, pairing them with a six-pack of kills.
Hannah Mascho added more to the offensive efforts with three aces along with three digs, while Willow Worth handed out 12 assists to go with six aces and two kills.
Statistics for the Lady Bobcats (3-11) were not made available to report upon publication.
Both teams are back at it this evening in a pair of 7:30 p.m. contests, with Bolivar-Richburg hitting the road for a monster clash with Cuba-Rushford, while Hinsdale heads back home to welcome in the Fillmore Lady Eagles.
Fillmore wins
HINSDALE — At the end of the night on Friday, one of three different scenarios was going to become a reality for the Lady Eagles of Fillmore following their regular season-ending battle with the Cuba-Rushford Lady Rebels in Hinsdale.
Sitting at the top of the Allegany County standings all by themselves with Genesee Valley/Belfast breathing right down their neck, a tie would allow both teams to split the crown directly down the middle. However, a defeat to the Lady Rebels, and it would witness it slip away from their grasp and into the sole possession of Genesee Valley/Belfast in a potential changing of the guard.
But if they won, that would mark 10 straight years at the top of the Allegany County mountain for head coach Jon Beardsley and his perennial powerhouse of a program in Fillmore. There have been many trials and tribulations that the Lady Eagles have battled against, game in and game out through the regular season, but it became very clear that through it all, they wanted the entire kit and kaboodle.
They wanted everything.
The Lady Eagles asked, and they most certainly received it.
It would not be easy by any means, as Fillmore accepted yet another grueling and difficult challenge from the Lady Rebels. The two teams engaged in a back-and-forth conflict for possession, one that would ultimately result in the closure of a first half that did not witness an alteration in scoring.
But in the second half, a completely different story was told, as Fillmore came out firing on all cylinders in the opening seconds and set the pace for the future ahead, rolling towards a 10th consecutive League Championship crown with what was a 4-0 shutout of Cuba-Rushford.
“To come out of the regular season as the best team in the County, as County Champions, it means a lot to these girls,” Lady Eagles coach Jon Beardsley said. “It’s probably realistic to say that it wasn’t a definite thing coming into this year, but to go 15-1, win the County outright and earn the top seed for Sectionals is quite meaningful for this group. I am very proud of these girls. Sectionals is a whole other season, so for now, we are grateful and we will feel pretty good for what we did this regular season.”
The Lady Eagles managed to outlast Cuba-Rushford through all 40 minutes of play in the first half to help set the grand stage for what came to be out of the gate in the last 40 minute stanza, as they needed just 13 seconds to make a powerful impact on the pitch.
Leading off was Emalyn Mucher, who fought through a massive scrum in front of the Lady Rebels net to pry the ball free and knock her shot home for the game’s early capitalization.
Just a few short moments later, Mucher then looked to the special teams to fire off a pass in front to Tenlee Miller from the endline, as Miller wasted no time knocking it home to double the Lady Eagles lead in the first five minutes.
“Our first half was pretty good. We created some good chances and had some moments where maybe this game could have had a different look. They scored 13 seconds into the second half and they didn’t look back,” Lady Rebels coach Aaron Wight said. “Fillmore is tough and obviously well-coached. When you feel that momentum shift like that, you know it’s going to be a hard road to get back into it.”
The scoring for the Lady Eagles didn’t stop there, as they called upon Morghyn Ross to deliver the goods, scoring two more goals in a span of three minutes to set the tone even further, as Ross knocked in both goals from long range to turn up the heat even more.
Miller would collect an assist on Ross’ second goal with 10 minutes remaining in regulation play.
The 4-0 lead would remain intact until the final horn to help finish off what was another phenomenal Allegany County League Championship-winning season for Fillmore, as they posted a 14-2 advantage in the shots department. In goal, the shutout belonged to Grace Clark and her two saves for the Lady Eagles.
As for the Lady Rebels, Annaleece Melton went on to make 10 saves.
“First my respects to Cuba-Rushford, they made us work through some things in that first half and their counterattack caused us concern,” Beardsley said. “You don’t give their front group anything or they are dangerous. For us, it was a great second half. Scoring in 13 seconds certainly helps, but I thought it was just as valuable as our organized, disciplined and focused play. It was stellar, and I thought in all facets, we upped our game. Emalyn Mucher at left-mid all year has been a tireless asset.
Beardsley added on the efforts, noting that “Tonight, Grace Walton played center-mid second half and helped change the game, and Tenlee Miller had an amazing second half, while Morghyn Ross had two goals. Our defense went to work and really locked things down soon after.”
Both teams will now await Sectional seeding over the weekend, as Fillmore puts a bow on top-seed honors in Class D with a record of 15-1 overall, while Cuba-Rushford waits for their place in the playoff picture with a record of 10-5-1.
FOOTBALL: Wellsville vs Holley
Holley, Wellsville trade Homecoming barbs, but big sack, two big 4th quarter scores by Hawks halt Lions momentum in 44-28 win; Wellsville honors State title-winning softball team at halftime
WELLSVILLE — The anticipation for Homecoming weekend has been gradually building and building over the course of this past week in Wellsville. School Pride week, the Pep Rally, even a strong start to the evening before the big dance was delivered by the boys soccer team against Bolivar-Richburg just shortly after the final bell rang for the weekend.
Immediately after the boys soccer reached its conclusion, the playing surface was cleared off in time for Wellsville Lions football to make their long-awaited return to the gridiron for the first time in two weeks, with a jam-packed Homecoming crowd all settled in to take in the sights and sounds of what was an exciting back-and-forth shootout with the Holley Hawks.
Multiple lead changes were authored and the momentum with it, turned in every single direction imaginable. It was only appropriate for it all to come down to the last 12 minutes of the night in the Lion’s Den.
With the visitors clinging to a two-point lead of the Lions going into the fourth quarter, the goal was to keep them from reaching the end zone any further. On one of their very last drives of the game, the Lions were stopped on a big sack that allowed the Hawks to regain control of the ball once again.
That would allow the offense in turn, to set up not one but two Hunter Jewell-Smith scores on the ground that allowed them to seal the victory for good, as Holley went on to spoil Homecoming for Wellsville with a 44-28 victory.
After both teams came up empty on their first drives of the game in the first, the Hawks were the first team to strike just past midway behind the arm of Destin Kuyal under center, who delivered a strike to Vincent Golisano on a slant up the field. Golisano then used his finesse and awareness to shake his way through a trio of Lions (3-3) before extending the ball over the pylon on the near sideline to record the game-opening 24-yard score.
It would remain an eight-point lead for the visitors after both Kuyal and Wellsville quarterback Brennen Geffers each trade an interception on their next drive on offense, with the Hawks turning their turnover into big points at the start of the second quarter, reaching the end zone from eight yards out on a keeper from Kuyal — the score, stemming off a big 30-yard gain into the Wellsville red zone.
But it wasn’t long until the Lions found the scoreboard for the first time, as they scored 16 unanswered on back-to-back drives to tie the game, with their first score being set up by a strong 39-yard pass from Geffers to Trent Green up the field, reaching the Holley 10-yard line.
Two rush plays, including one from short distance by Matt Ritter, helped finish off their first scoring drive with 6:51 left in the half.
Then, the Lions defense forced the ball back to the offense on the next ensuing Holley drive, with Jack Davis heading the efforts by stripping the ball loose, followed by a recovery near midfield to tilt the momentum in their favor to close out the half strong.
With no time to waste, the hosts in black made the most of it, despite a bad snap squirting behind Geffers, as he picked it up and delivered an off-balance missile to a wide open JJ Howard, who sprinted away for the 26-yard touchdown, tying the game at 16 following their second successful two-point conversion.
The third quarter would witness a back-and-forth exchange of scores, with Holley and Wellsville each finding the end zone twice, with the Lions taking their first lead of the game on a long 30-yard keeper from Geffers — a touchdown signifying 22 unanswered points for Wellsville after an early 16-0 lead for the Hawks.
A short time later, the Hawks would respond with a 13-yard pass play from Kuyal to Golisano to tie the game following an unsuccessful two-point conversion. Proceeding a 75-yard touchdown from Geffers to Green that gave the Lions the lead back, Holley would ultimately unbuckle Wellsville from the driver’s seat once and for all before the end of the third quarter with a four-yard touchdown run from Kuyal, his fourth overall in the game.
Holley would go on to score 22 unanswered points to finish the game — 14 of them in the last 12 minutes off runs from Hunter Jewell-Smith, with the latter of the two runs coming off a big sack issued by the defense to the Lions to force the ball back over on downs.
The game was later sealed by the Hawks defense with one final interception off Geffers.
Statistics for the Lions were not made available to report upon publication.
Wellsville will look to climb back above .500 on the campaign next weekend, as they hit the road for the final time this regular season with a 7 p.m. visit to Pembroke on Friday.
Holley 8 8 14 14 – 44
Wellsville 0 16 12 0 – 28
Scoring Summary
1st
HOL – Vincent Golisano 24-yard pass from Destin Kuyal, 2-pts good (8-0 HOL)
2nd
HOL – Destin Kuyal 8-yard run, 2-pts good (16-0 HOL)
WLSV – Matt Ritter 2-yard run, 2-pts good (16-8 HOL)
WLSV – JJ Howard 26-yard pass from Brennen Geffers, 2-pts good (16-16)
3rd
WLSV – Brennen Geffers 30-yard run, 2-pts failed (22-16 WLSV)
HOL – Vincent Golisano 13-yard pass from Destin Kuyal, 2-pts failed (22-22)
WLSV – Trent Green 75-yard pass from Brennen Geffers, 2-pts failed (28-22 WLSV)
HOL – Destin Kuyal 4-yard run, 2-pts good (30-28 HOL)
4th
HOL – Hunter Jewell-Smith 2-yard run, 2-pts good (38-28 HOL)
HOL – Hunter Jewell-Smith 15-yard run, 2-pts failed (44-28 HOL)
More stories after photos:
Naples 3, Bolivar-Richburg 0
BOLIVAR — The bar was set by the Naples Lady Big Green in the opening half, paid in part of a defensive effort that saw them allow just a single shot from host Bolivar-Richburg to reach their net, as they transferred their prowess from one end to another to supply three big goals to set the stage for what was a 3-0 shutout of the Lady Wolverines at Dunsmore-Latimer Field, Friday night.
Out of the three goals, Mia Betrus recorded a pair to help aid the Naples offense, including a marker just past halfway in the frame to increase their advantage to a pair. Beforehand, the score would open behind the guidance of Sienna Carey, who headed the ball straight over the Lady Wolverines defense in front to break the ice.
Betrus’ final goal came right at midway in the second half, completing a solo rush to the net for her second of the game. The three goals for the Lady Big Green came off 14 total shots, as they finished with a strong 14-1 advantage in the shot department.
In goal, Rylee Whiting and Emma Sisson split time for Bolivar-Richburg, combining to make 11 saves.
The Lady Wolverines wrap up with a record of 4-11 overall, as they now await Sectional seeding over the weekend.
BOYS SOCCER
Wellsville 6, Bolivar-Richburg 0
WELLSVILLE — There was simply no better way to put the metaphorical cherry on top of what was a brilliant finish to the regular season for the Lions of Wellsville on Friday.
Before the football team took the field for battle under the lights, the boys soccer team illuminated every square inch of the field themselves with a six-pack of markers — three in each 40-minute stanza to establish what was a 6-0 shutout of visiting Bolivar-Richburg.
The Lions were quick to the punch in the first half, with Aiden Cowburn being the first to find the back of the Bolivar-Richburg net just over five minutes off the clock. With possession being carried up field by Ty Vogel, the ball eventually lands on Cowburn’s doorstep with the Wolverines goalkeeper, Ayden Music, caught out of goal, as the Wellsville senior proceeded to shake off multiple defenders to fire home a rocket straight into the empty net to break the ice.
The next two connections were capitalized on special teams — both of which on penalty kicks, with Lucius Griggs scoring the first with 10:05 remaining, and the next seeing Gavin Haggerty come out of goal and take the kick himself with 5:13 until the break, as the Wellsville lead grew exponentially to a 3-0 advantage.
When the second half arrived, the Lions showed no signs of slowing down, as they added their fourth goal right off the opening kick at midfield, with a long boot down field taking one giant bounce off the turf before finding the top of Vogel’s head next to the near post, poking it over top of Music in goal and into the net. That came just 11 seconds in.
The scoring would conclude with two Aiden Cowburn assists in the last 10 minutes of play, as he handed one off to both Cam Lyons and Kam Dodge respectively to aid in putting a wrap to their sixth win in their final eight games of the regular season.
The six goals for the Lions were accounted for off of 16 total shots, as they proceeded to claim a 16-7 advantage in shots against Bolivar-Richburg. All seven shots faced were set aside by Gavin Haggerty, who recorded the regular season-ending shutout.
For the Wolverines, Ayden Music made 10 total saves.
Both teams will now await Sectional seeding, which commences over the weekend, as Wellsville wraps up with a record of 8-4-4 overall, while Bolivar-Richburg concludes at 3-12-1 overall.
Fillmore 5, Cuba-Rushford 0
CUBA — After putting a challenging gauntlet of battles in the rearview mirror, the focus for the Eagles of Fillmore was a strong completion to their regular season.
With the second season right around the corner, the defending Class D Champions did exactly that on the road in Cuba, as they finished their campaign with wins in each of their last four games — the last of which came in the midst of a 5-0 blank of the host Rebels of Cuba-Rushford to spoil their Senior Night festivities, Friday evening.
“Hats off to Fillmore, they came out ready to play and pounced on us early. I’d like to thank my six seniors for all of their hard work this year and for their dedication to our program throughout their careers.” said Rebels coach Rob Wight.
Of the five markers the Eagles supplied against Cuba-Rushford, three of them worked their way into the back of the net during the first 40 minutes of play, with the first coming nearly two minutes into the game off the leg of Ezra Knapp.
Not long after, Fillmore doubled their advantage behind Knapp’s efforts again, this time from a corner kick that he delivered straight on the goal that ricocheted off the head of James Hillman with 34:45 on the clock.
Their lead would remain glued together until a third extension was provided before the end of the half by the first of two Braylon Hatch scores — both of which were unassisted, with the first coming with 12:30 left in the first half, and his second coming with 16:09 left in the game to make it a 4-0 Fillmore lead.
Tyler Voss would close out the scoring for the Eagles nearly four minutes later with a solo score of his own.
When it was all said and done, Fillmore accounted for all five goals off 19 total shots, as they outshot Cuba-Rushford by a 19-6 count. In net, Brayden Hennard made all six saves to record the shutout, while Finn Ricketts made 14 saves for the Rebels.
Both teams will now await Sectional seeding this weekend, as Fillmore wraps up their regular season slate with a record of 9-4-3 overall, while defending Class C2 champion Cuba-Rushford closes their campaign at 7-8-1 overall.
Genesee Valley/Belfast 4, Friendship/Scio 0
SCIO — Genesee Valley/Belfast built off their first half lead with some big time help from Evan Turybury in the opening act of the last stanza, as he put away two big goals in the first 10 minutes to further compensate their lead to help finish off an Allegany County League Championship winning regular season with a 4-0 win in Scio against Friendship/Scio.
After a battle for possession across a bulk of the first half, Genesee Valley/Belfast was able to claim control with the game’s first marker from Will Guilford at the 17:04 threshold, carrying the one-goal advantage into the halftime recess.
The advantage was given an extension in the first 10 minutes of the second half by Turybury, as he went back-to-back in a seven-minute span.
Logan Rice finished off the scoring with 23 seconds remaining in the contest.
All four goals were unassisted for Genesee Valley/Belfast, as they used a 14-1 shot advantage to the maximum against Friendship/Scio. In net, Zach Thomas made one save to preserve the shutout for the visitors, while Deacon Brown made 10 saves for the hosts in black and gold.
Both teams now await Sectional seeding this weekend, as Genesee Valley/Belfast finishes at 13-2-1 overall, while Friendship/Scio concludes at 0-16.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Bolivar-Richburg 3, Houghton Academy 0
HOUGHTON — The Lady Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg finished off their three-game, three-night gauntlet on the most positive of notes Friday night at Houghton Academy, as they took advantage right away to claim a big straight-set victory over the host Lady Panthers by a 25-17, 25-18, 25-19 count.
Paving the way for Bolivar-Richburg’s (11-3) offense was another dominant performance from Carmen Crowley, who recorded a team-high 16 kills to go with five blocks, four digs and a trio of aces. Kylee Whiting chipped in with a strong defensive effort, pitching in eight digs to pair with two kills and two aces.
In addition, Jayna Thomas had six aces, three digs and two kills, while setter Willow Worth handed out 22 assists for the Lady Wolverines.
Houghton Academy (9-6) was led by Julia Winkens, who tallied a team-high eight kills.
“Bolivar-Richburg is a talented team. They work well together, and they don’t get easily flustered. We learn a lot by playing against them.” Lady Panthers coach Kathie Hilsher said.
Both teams return to the court for action Monday night, with Bolivar-Richburg heading back home to host Hinsdale in a 7:30 p.m. contest, while the Lady Panthers stay home to welcome in Genesee Valley/Belfast for a 6:30 p.m. first serve.
Fillmore 3, Genesee Valley/Belfast 0
BELMONT — One of the strongest starts to the night was orchestrated by the Lady Eagles of Fillmore, who set the tone at an instant against host Genesee Valley/Belfast to score what ultimately shaped to be a straight-set, 25-3, 25-14, 25-9 victory on Friday inside The Jungle in Belmont.
The Lady Eagles (11-6) were propelled by the efforts of Mya Keeler on the attack, who scored a team-high eight kills and three aces. From the service line, Eevie Cox recorded 14 service points, pairing them with nine aces to help bolster the offense even more. Annalisa Bialek chipped in four kills and two aces, while Eleanor Reitnour and Kaitlin Troupe combined to hand out 17 assists.
Statistics for Genesee Valley/Belfast (2-12) were not made available to report upon publication. The team will return to action Monday night at Houghton Academy in a 6:30 p.m. first serve.
Fillmore will look to keep the gas down on Tuesday, visiting the Hinsdale Lady Bobcats at 7:30 p.m.
Cuba-Rushford 3, Andover/Whitesville 0
CUBA — Led by some strong offense from Lilah Stroud and some magnificent service from Kaylin Smith from the back line, the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford were able to take command of the driver’s seat from start to finish inside the Wighthouse on Friday against visiting Andover/Whitesville with a straight-set, 25-8, 25-5, 23-7 victory.
Cuba-Rushford (10-5) witnessed Stroud take charge of the attack at the front of the net, as she paced the offense with five team-high kills along with two blocks and an ace. From the back line, Smith contributed a momentous burst of service behind six aces, pairing them with four more kills and two blocks.
Kendall Tompkins followed with 11 assists to couple with seven aces, while Sarah Stadler had four more aces to add into the mix.
Statistics for Andover/Whitesville (0-14) were not available to report upon publication. The team will return to the court on Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. visit to Bolivar-Richburg.
The Lady Rebels will host the same Lady Wolverines squad right beforehand, as they welcome them to town on Tuesday in a 7:30 p.m. first serve.
