One school is making its first regional appearance in more than three decades. The other is its eighth and looking for a second state quarterfinal victory in a row. Friday night at Gates Chili High School Section V champs Rush-Henrietta take on Jamestown from Section VI in the AAA Far West Regional. Here’s the breakdown:
RUSH-HENRIETTA ROYAL COMETS (20-2 / Monroe County Division I / No. 14 NYSSWA)
vs.
JAMESTOWN RED AND GREEN (18-3 / Erie County Interscholastic Conference Division I / No. 13 NYSSWA)
Friday March 14, Gates Chili HS, 7:45 p.m.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM JENNIFER LAEMLEIN.
How they arrived here: Top-seeded Rush-Henrietta defeated No. 5 McQuaid (65-57) to reach the sectional title game and pulled out a victory against No. 2 Fairport 53-50 to advance to the Class AAA regionals. Jamestown defeated No. 2 Niagara Falls, 63-49 to clinch a spot in the state’s elite eight.
Scoring offense: Rush-Henrietta (67.2), Jamestown (72.2)
Scoring defense: Rush-Henrietta (56.8), Jamestown (54.1)
Trends: The Royal Comets are holding teams to 53.5 points a game. On the season, Rush-Henrietta is 4-0 in games decided by two possessions or less. Jamestown grabbed victories in six of its last seven all by double digits. The Red and Green have held opponents to under 60 points in six games while scoring 70-plus in four. In that stretch, Jamestown has outscored opposing teams 483-374.
Players to watch for Rush-Henrietta: Talhah Ali Jr. G (4.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG, two SPG); JahQuin Brown Sr. F (6.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.5 SPG); Jalen Taggart Jr. G (25.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.3 APG); Avery Council Jr. G (19 PPG, five RPG, 5.4 APG); Amir Abdul-Haqq-Bradford Sr. C (6.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 2.1 BPG).
Jamestown: Jaydian Johnson Sr. G 23.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 4.8 APG, 2.3 SPG; Dominic Gonzalez Jr. G 16.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 3.3 APG, 2.7 SPG; Elijah Farmer Jr. G/F 15.9 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.9 BPG; Gavin Johnson Jr. G 6.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG
SECTION VI NOTES COURTESY OF CHAD ANDREWS/CENTER COURT.
Coaches: Calvin Betts (Rush-Henrietta), Bill Miley (Jamestown)
History 101: Rush-Henrietta is making its second regional appearance having lost to LaSalle (69-52) in 1994. Rush-Henrietta Roth made two state quarterfinal trips going 1-1 in those games with a 71-51 victory over McKinley in 1980. Rush-Henrietta Roth and Rush-Henrietta Sperry combined in the late 1980s to form the current high school. Jamestown makes its eighth Far West Regional appearance and is 4-3 in previous matchups. The Red and Green look to go back-to-back after having defeated Victor (AA) in 2024. All three losses this year for Jamestown came against teams in the Buffalo-area Monsignor Martin Athletic Association. The Red and Green rolled to a 20-point victory over Rush-Henrietta on February 14 (74-54).
What’s at stake: A spot in the Class AAA NYS semifinals against either Port Washington (VIII) or Half Hollow Hills East (XI).
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