PIONEER FLAG FOOTBALL ADVANCES; OP AND CLARENCE FALL AT REGIONALS
One Section VI Representative is headed to the New York State Semifinal, as the Pioneer Panthers defeated Finney in the flag football Class C Far West Regional on Saturday. Orchard Park and Clarence fell to their Section V opponents, Penfield and Webster Schroeder, in the Class A and B crossover games, also held at Highmark Stadium.
In Pioneer’s 12-6 win, sophomore quarterback Ellie Edwards threw for two touchdowns, connecting with sophomore Aidan Watson and junior Ella Spielvogel. On the ground, while she didn’t score, junior Jayden Leederman continued to prove why she is in contention for player of the year honors in Class C, with 189 yards rushing. Not only that, Leederman led the Panthers with six flag pulls defensively, and the team’s only tackle for loss all game. Junior Cora Hirsch aided the Panther defense by recording her third interception on the season.
Pioneer will face Section VIII’s Plainedge in the State Semifinal on Saturday at Cortland High School.
SECTIONAL WEEKEND RECAP: BASEBALL, SOFTBALL, LACROSSE
Dozens of blue patches were handed out to Section VI Champions over the weekend, with the Baseball, Softball, and Lacrosse title games in the books.
Baseball
Niagara Falls defeated Lancaster two games to one to win in the best-of-three Class AAA Championship series.
With an interim Head Coach, the 8th seeded Williamsville East Flames took down Frontier 5-0 to win the Class AA Championship.
Amherst defeated Iroquois in the Class A1 title game, and Dunkirk topped Lew-Port for the A2 Championship. In the crossover, Amherst took down Dunkirk to advance to the Far West Regional.
Medina baseball shutout Southwestern in the Class B Championship on Saturday, winning 4-0.
Second-seeded Gowanda upset the number one seed, Frewsburg, 3-0 in the Class C title game.
Franklinville claimed the Class D Championship, defeating Brocton in the final on Saturday.
The baseball Far West Regionals will take place this week, from Thursday through Saturday, with the winners moving on to the State Final Four, to be played in Binghamton next weekend.
Softball
Lancaster beat Niagara Falls two games to none to win the Class AAA crown.
Orchard Park stunned Frontier 6-0 in the Class AA Sectional Championship on Saturday.
Williamsville South advances to the regional after defeating Iroquois in the Class A title game.
Fredonia outlasted Alden 7-5 for the Class B title.
In the Class C final, Chautauqua Lake held on to defeat Barker, 2-0.
Forestville beat Franklinville 2-0 for the Class D crown.
The softball Far West Regionals will be held at Frontier and Grand Island High Schools this week, before the winners move on to the State Semifinal in Rochester next weekend.
Boys Lacrosse
Orchard Park won the Class A Championship, defeating the combined Lew-Port/Niagara Falls team 22-7.
Lake Shore/Silver Creek beat Frontier 14-9 for the Class B title.
Hamburg bested Grand Island 4-2 in the Class C Championship.
Akron outscored East Aurora 19-11 for the Class D title.
The boy’s lacrosse Far West Regionals begin Wednesday, when Hamburg and Akron take on the winners from Section V, before OP and Lake Shore/Silver Creek play their Rochester-area counterparts on Saturday. The state semifinal will be held next week in Middletown, NY.
Girls Lacrosse
In a thriller, Orchard Park upset Lancaster, 12-11, in Overtime of the Class A Sectional Championship.
Clarence edged Frontier 9-7 for the Class B title.
Lake Shore/Silver Creek took down Hamburg 12-11 in the Class B title game.
Eden/North Collins defeated top-seeded Salamanca for the Class D crown.
The girl’s lacrosse Far West Regionals will have the Class C and D games at Williamsville South on Thursday, then Classes A and B will play on Saturday at Clarence High School.
TEAM USA CLAIMS GOLD AT PARALYMPIC HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS IN BUFFALO
On Saturday, the Para Ice Hockey gold medal game took place at LECOM HarborCenter, as Team USA defeated Team Canada 6-1 for the Championship. New Jersey native Jack Wallace scored a hat trick for the Americans, helping to lead Team USA to their seventh world title.
The Scoreboard is presented by Zenner and Ritter Heating and Cooling.
