(Jamestown turned a rebuilding year into another league title & another run at a crown in Class AA / Photo by James McCoy)
As a pollster for the Buffalo News, I'm asked to send in my weekly ballots ranking the top ten large and small schools. The polls are based on games played through Saturday of each week. Here's a look at how I see them and some of the rationale used to get there.
** This in the last poll until the 'Final Poll', which will be out after the season is over.
Large Schools
1. Canisius (MMA) - Three league wins away from a fourth consecutive undefeated regular season in the Monsignor Martin.
2. Park (MMA) - It's crazy to me that any pollster has voted someone other than Park at the #2 spot. It can't be Amherst - they lost on a neutral court to the Pioneers. It can't be McKinley - they lost to Canisius by more points in one game than Park lost to Canisius in two games. The Pioneers' only loses this season were all by single digits (Canisius x 2 & Aquinas). No other team can touch their laundry list of quality wins either: Bishop Kearney, a pair of 20-point wins over Timon, Niagara Falls, Starpoint, Walsh, St. Mary's, Middle College, & Health Sciences.
3. Amherst (A2) - Finally got a some competition for the first time in two months, as Jamestown visited on Thursday night. The Tigers won the game by nine points to tune up for a 'Glens Falls or bust' mission.
4. Williamsville South (A1) - Undefeated champions of ECIC II and the top seed in Class A1 after sweeping Starpoint with a 17-point win on Thursday. The Billies' focus now shifts directly to McKinley.
5. McKinley (A1) - The Macks finished the regular season off with a second straight Yale Cup Championship, after winning their 26th straight city game. They have revenge on their minds, after Will South ended their season in the Class A1 semifinals last season. A rematch with the Billies would only be the third ranked large school McKinley played this year (the others were Canisius & North).
6. Timon (MMA) - Rebounded from a 12-point loss at Canisius to win by 14 points at St. Francis. The Tigers will look to figure out a way past Park in the Manhattan Cup playoffs in a quest to reach a third final in four seasons.
7. Jamestown (AA) - They just keep creeping up as they continue to improve. After gaining a share of the ECIC I title with North, the Red Raiders will go after what seemed nearly unthinkable in early December - another title in Class AA. After winning five of the last six, I'm not betting against it.
8. Niagara Falls (AA) - Completed an undefeated campaign in the NFL and snagged the top seed in Class AA after their ECIC I foes took turns beating each other up. The Wolverines find out if their nonleague schedule against teams like Vaughan, Park, Bishop Kearney, & Father Henry Carr made them better when they attempt to bring the Section VI hardware back to Falls.
9. Williamsville North (AA) - In a must-win regular season finale on senior night, the Spartans scored a convincing victory over Lancaster to earn a share of ECIC I with Jamestown. Now they are a win away from potentially meeting up with the Red Raiders on the big court at Buff State for the ultimate rubber match.
10. Starpoint (A2) - At this point in the season, when you get to this last spot, there are several teams that could make an argument to be here. I went with the Spartans, who I think are the best team after the nine ahead of them and who I project to be battling with Amherst on Championship Saturday at 3:30 pm.
Small Schools
1. Olean (B1) - For just the second time in school history, Olean finished the regular season undefeated (20-0). The last time was 2006, when they lost the Class A2 final to Maryvale. I made a bold 25-0 arrival at Glens Falls prediction December 13th, that I'm very comfortable with.
2. Walsh (MMA) - Moved to 17-4 on the year with wins over Niagara Catholic and St. Joe's last week. The Eagles host Timon on Thursday - a team that their neighbors in the city of Olean (yes, the undefeated Huskies) beat by 15 at Timon without Ben Eckstrom. I throw that out there because I've heard much made of the matchup between Olean & Walsh that will never happen - with many believing Walsh would win it. That leaves me to offer scores from common opponents as we speculate on how the game would go. The only other common opponent this year was Maryvale. Olean won at home by 35, Walsh won on a neutral court by eight.
3. St. Mary's (MMA) - Snow delayed the 'Game of the Week' that the Lancers were set to host on Friday. Now, St. Mary's faces a week with games against Canisius & Walsh, before the Manhattan Cup playoffs begin on Sunday.
4. Health Sciences (B2) - Lost out on a game with Lancaster due to Friday's snow, which moved the Falcons to the #4 seed in Class B2. That meant they avoided a quarterfinal matchup with Fredonia.
5. Middle College (C2) - I predicted the Kats to win the Yale Cup this year. After losing in OT at McKinley and again by two at home on Thursday, they came up just short of that. A run to Glens Falls in Class C to claim a state championship would make that a big fat whatever for Middle College, who came into this season with that goal in mind and the seniors to make it happen.
6. Fredonia (B2) - The best team in the sectionals with a #6 seed or lower will have to beat Southwestern for a second time (and for the first time at home after the Trojans won in Fredonia by two earliuer this year), then win at Gowanda to make it back to Buff State. The Hillbillies road to a sectional title is not an easy one this year.
7. East (C1) - Not the same East team of recent years, with a very young group that plays up & down. After leading McKinley all game and ultimately losing by two, the Panthers go to South Park and get beat up pretty handily. A very intriguing quarterfinal against Chautauqua Lake and Devin Pope looms, and the Panthers are not used to long bus rides. They have won eight sectional titles in the last nine years, but all those came at Buff State. Now in Class C1, the road to 9 in 10 years now goes through the Southern Tier and ends at JCC.
8. Gowanda (B2) - The Panthers won CCAA I East, their first league title in hoops in 30 years. After finishing with a 17-3 record, they will likely host Fredonia on Friday, who would easily be the best team they've faced all season. That game seems to be calling me.
9. East Aurora (B1) - The Blue Devils have only won two of their last six games heading into sectionals, however, they've been facing Class A schools and state ranked Livonia in Class B during that stretch. They could have to show the would have won the N-O to reach the Class B1 final, with potential matchups with Newfane & Medina setting up in the Class B1 bracket.
10. Tapestry (C1) - The defending Class C1 champions get a return trip to JCC with a win over Bennett on Friday night, and find themselves on the same side of the bracket as Olmsted if they make it back.
-centercourt
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