CLARENCE TOPS WILLIAMSVILLE SOUTH ON FNL
The meeting of two undefeated flag football teams lived up to the hype on Friday Night Lights, as Clarence overcame adversity to defeat Williamsville South 25-14.
It was a perfect night for football at Clarence High School, over sixty degrees with a slight breeze, with the stage set for two teams with 7-0 records to clash for the top spot in the division. It was likely a late season preview of the potential Class B Sectional Championship.
The fireworks were flying early, with each team scoring on their opening drive. Clarence’s junior quarterback Olivia Bell marched the Red Devil offense down the field for the game’s first score less than four minutes in, capping the drive off with a 18-yard touchdown pass to freshman Emma Payne. The Clarence point after touchdown attempt was no good, making the score 6-0. Williamsville South responded with an uptempo possession of their own, with the Billie’s sophomore quarterback Grace Wagner finding junior Tessa Petrie in the endzone for the tying score. Then, junior Millie Schaefer converted for the extra point, giving South the 7-6 lead less than ten minutes into the game. That score ended a six-game shutout streak for Clarence.
Both defenses turned up the pressure from that point, with both teams bending but not breaking for the remainder of the first half. In total, there were five interceptions all game, with Will South’s Angelina Budelewski and Noelle Jurkowski collecting their team’s tenth and eleventh picks on the season. For Clarence, freshman Marissa Blonski snagged two interceptions on the game, bringing her season total up to five, and Mackenzie Truman added her fourth pick of the year.
In the second half, the Red Devil Offense came to life, with an explosive, 38-yard rushing touchdown from junior Breanna Hurley to give Clarence the lead back again on their first offensive drive of the game. Freshman running back Ellie LaDelfa bursted for a 38-yard touchdown off a hook-and-ladder from the Clarence offense, executed to perfection, giving the Red Devils a two-score lead.
Will South fought back to make it a one score game with just under nine minutes left, with Wagner connecting with Schaefor from thirteen yards out, making the score 18-14, but LaDelfa put the game on ice with a 28-yard rushing touchdown with just over three minutes left, sealing the 25-14 win. Clarence remains undefeated, moving to 8-0 on the season, as the top team in Class B. Despite garnering their first loss of the year, Williamsville South proved they can compete with the back-to-back regional champs and then bounced back Saturday night with a 28-0 win vs Maritime Tapestry, moving to 8-1.
Friday Night Lights wraps up the flag football regular season this week, with Williamsville East at Orchard Park.
ZUNNER: BANDITS SWEEP VANCOUVER, ADVANCE TO FIFTH CONSECUTIVE NLL FINAL
The Buffalo Bandits are once again NLL Finals bound after scoring a pair of wins against the Vancouver Warriors over the weekend in the semi-finals.
Buffalo got things started on Friday night, with a 9-3 win over the Warriors at KeyBank Center. Vancouver got on the board first, but after that it was all Buffalo, as the orange and black went on a six goal run that extended into the second quarter.
Bandits Goaltender Matt Vinc continued to be part of history, setting a new franchise record for fewest goals allowed in a playoff game.
“We have a big group back there, and we take up a lot of space. And especially when we start blocking some shots early, it maybe gets in their heads and we force a lot of, you know, shots that they're not willing to take. And again, we did a great job getting on hands and making them miss shots.”
Bandits Head Coach John Tavares knew they’d have a tough challenge ahead of them, needing to fly cross-country to take on the Warriors again Sunday night, but with a shot at an early series sweep.
“Of course, we don't want to go to game three. And, you know, we're going for a full intense win on Sunday. We're preparing the exact same way, and we're not trying to prolong it in any manner whatsoever. And the goal is to win.”
And win they did on Sunday. The Bandits, with a standout fourth quarter performance, beat Vancouver 11-9. Ian MacKay another force to be reckoned with, scoring three for Buffalo, and Chase Fraser putting up the same including a SportsCenter Top 10 worthy between-the-legs goal.
The elimination of Vancouver now means the Bandits are heading to their 5th straight appearance in the finals, with the chance to three-peat as champions. Tavares believes they have the right personnel.
“We have a lot of the same team from last year. The core is back, and we've won a couple championships, been to the championships, the guys know how to win in our changing room. It's a matter of keeping these guys hungry.”
The Bandits have the week off, as they wait to see who they’ll face in the NLL Finals. It’ll be the winner of the Saskatchewan Rush vs. Halifax Thunderbirds series, which the Rush are currently leading.
D’YOUVILLE SOFTBALL WINS EAST COAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
The D’Youville Saints softball team fought through the elimination bracket of the East Coast Conference Tournament and eventually defeated top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College twice to win the Championship.
As the fourth seed, D’Youville lost the first game of the ECC Tournament, falling to the host Spartans of St. Thomas Aquinas, 3-0.
On Friday afternoon, the Saints went into the seventh and final inning tied with third-seeded Molloy, in a scoreless pitcher's duel. In the top of the seventh, Molloy finally broke the draw and got on the board with ‘small ball’ working to a tee, resulting in a 3-0 Lion lead. With their backs against the wall, down to their final three outs, D’Youville’s Hailee Jenkins, Sophia Arno, and Gianna Adamo each batted in a run to tie the game at 3. With the bases loaded, freshman catcher Annie Jorgenson knocked a single into right field, scoring Arno to walk off Molloy, 4-3, and keep the Saints’ season alive.
Later Friday evening, DYU continued their trek through the elimination bracket, this time facing the second-seeded Mercy Mavericks. Picking up where they left off, Jorgenson blasted a two-run homer in the top of the first to open the scoring. Williamsville North HS graduate Sarah Parzych dominated in the circle for the Saints, holding Mercy scoreless through four innings. After Arno hit an RBI double in the top of the fifth to extend the D’Youville lead to 3-0, the Mavericks mounted their comeback. After loading the bases, Mercy drove in one run with a single, before scoring two unearned runs to tie it at 3 in the fifth. Comfortable entering the seventh inning tied, D’Youville exploded for seven runs, and ended Mercy’s season, advancing to the Championship series.
Needing to win two games against the same STAC Spartans that beat them in the first game of the tournament, D’Youville opened the first game on Saturday morning with five runs in the top of the first inning. Williamsville East grad and current DYU junior Summer Clark went the distance, allowing just one run, while striking out four batters en route to the 5-1 win, setting up a winner-take-all “if necessary” game.
Parzych got the start in the circle for the final game, with the D’Youville defense garnering a ton of momentum from the previous three straight wins. Once each team went scoreless in the first, it was the Saints’ junior Shannon Howes who lofted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring senior Laura Beck, who tagged from third base for the game’s opening run in the second inning. Despite D’Youville recording only two hits all game, Parzych allowed just three hits, striking out two batters. The Saints’ defense was terrific behind the four-year starting pitcher, helping to backstop D’Youville to a 1-0 shutout victory, on the road, to knock off St. Thomas Aquinas and claim the program’s first ever East Coast Conference Championship.
D’Youville punches their ticket to the NCAA DII Tournament, awaiting the selection show today to find out who they will play and when.
NHL DRAFT LOTTERY TONIGHT
For the 14th year in a row, the Buffalo Sabres are preparing for the NHL Draft Lottery, which will determine who will hold the top two picks in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft tonight.
This year’s draft lottery show adds a new, compelling element that differs from all of the lotteries since its inception thirty years ago. Tonight, rather than revealing the results of a previously held drawing of lottery balls with a countdown of the draft order, the NHL will, instead, air the actual drawing live on television, in real time.
Buffalo holds the seventh best odds to win the draft lottery, with the chance to move up to either the first or second overall pick, stay at seven, or potentially move down as low as ninth overall. The Sabres have won the Draft Lottery twice, in 2018 when they selected Rasmus Dahlin at number one, and in 2020, leading to the drafting of Owen Power first overall.
The NHL Draft Lottery will air live tonight on ESPN at 7PM.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS SERIES PREVIEW VS FLORIDA
After closing out the Battle of Ontario in six games, the Toronto Maple Leafs have advanced to the second round of the NHL Playoffs, set to face the Florida Panthers.
This series is a rematch of the 2023 second round that saw Florida win four games to one and eventually fall in the Stanley Cup Final. The Panthers enter this series as defending Stanley Cup Champions and having just handled the Tampa Bay Lighting in five games in the first round.
It’s hard to look at any position and give Toronto a decided edge. The Maple Leafs’ goaltender, Anthony Stolarz, was Florida’s backup last season, so even as well as Stolarz has played, you can’t give him the nod over the goalie that he sat behind just one year ago. On defense, while the Leafs are the deepest they’ve been in decades, Florida has just as much talent, size, and grit on the backend.
Up front, the Panthers have two Selke Trophy finalists for the NHL’s top defensive forward, in Sam Reinhart and Alexander Barkov. Despite Toronto’s core four being so highly touted, they’ve yet to consistently show up in the big moments in the postseason, so it’s again hard to give the edge to the Maple Leafs in this series. One thing is for sure; this series is set up to be one of the most intriguing across the entire league.
Game one of the Eastern Conference Semifinal is tonight in Toronto, with puck drop at 8PM.
The Scoreboard is presented by Zenner and Ritter Heating and Cooling.
