By JOHN LIKANJE
ROCHESTER – Pittsford Mendon (A), Greece Odyssey (B), Newark (B), Caledonia-Mumford (C), Elba (D), Prattsburgh (D), and Genesee Valley (D) all moved up in their respective classifications in the second week of this season’s rankings published Tuesday morning by the New York State Sportswriters Association (NYSSWA).
East (A), Northstar Christian (A), Irondequoit (A), and Marcus Whitman (C) made their debuts as well for Section V. Wellsville (B), Lyons (C), Charles G. Finney (C), and Avoca (D) remained at their same spots from last week.
With two comeback wins in overtime this week, East (6-0) vaulted to No. 15 in the Class A poll. On Thursday night, the Eagles rallied at the end of the third quarter to shock the NE Douglass Panthers, who were No. 16 in last week’s inaugural rankings. On Saturday night at the Bishop Kearney Christmas Showcase, coach Darrell Barley’s squad was down four points with 25 seconds remaining in regulation, but they were still able to pull out the victory over postseason contender Nottingham (III). Senior captain Chaz Washington led both rallies as he scored 41 points in the two games combined. This upcoming week, East will play a couple of RCAC opponents. On Tuesday night, they will play School of the Arts at School No.33 and travel to Leadership Academy Thursday night. Both games set to tip off at 6:15 PM.
It was a tumultuous weekend for the Northstar Christian Knights. On Friday, they were scheduled to play Orchard Park (VI) at Quicken Loans Arena and then watch the Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Milwaukee Bucks. However, due to issues with the flooring, the Knights could not play until after the game. They defeated Orchard Park, 81-59, loaded up their school bus, and left Cleveland after midnight to travel back to Rochester. To top it all off, the Knights had to play Leadership Academy on Saturday night at the Bishop Kearney Christmas Showcase. Fortunately, senior forward Miles Brown was fresh and ready to go as he dropped 48 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in an 83-74 win over the Lions. The Knights (4-0) made the Class A poll at No. 24 and will look to move up in the rankings this week as they host Rochester Prep on Thursday night at 6:00 PM.
Two-time Class A champion Irondequoit with back-to-back trip to the NYS semifinals been taking care of business. After opening the season with a 68-24 win at Spencerport on December 7, coach Chris Cardon’s squad took down Webster Schroeder in their home opener Wednesday night. The Eagles (3-0) followed that up with a victory over Gates-Chili Friday night, 64-58, to earn the No. 25 spot in the Class A poll. Senior forward Patrick Thomas is picking up where he left off from the football field in the fall as he scored 21 points against Webster Schroeder and dropped 26 against Gates-Chili. The Eagles will be out to prove themselves this week as they travel to Fairport on Tuesday night at 7:30 PM. Then on Thursday night, they play at Webster Thomas at 7:15 PM before hosting Canisius (VI) Saturday afternoon at 3:00 PM. Greece Athena, Leadership, NE Douglass, and Wayne earned honorable mentions in the Class A poll.
After taking down Dundee Tuesday night, 82-31, and Red Jacket Thursday night, 52-43, the Marcus Whitman Wildcats (5-1) have won four games in a row to earn the No. 16 spot in this week’s Class C poll. Of their five victories this season, four have been by double-digits, including two by 21 points or more. This upcoming week, the Wildcats will host South Seneca Tuesday night and Honeoye Thursday night. Both games set to tip off at 7:30 PM. Addison, Avon, Gananda, Geneseo, Lyndonville, Naples, and Red Jacket earned honorable mentions in the Class C poll.
For this week’s rankings, go here.
Leave a Reply