Poll Ballots 2018 - Week 2

(Jayce Johnson & the Canisius Crusaders are 4-0 and flying high early in the season)

 

Large Schools

1. Canisius (MMA) - The Crusaders found themselves in a battle all game with Health Sciences at the ADPRO Challenge, but to their credit, were able to close the game out in the end and leave with an 11-point victory.  Four games in, Canisius has four wins by double figures.  That should change this week with home games coming against the defending NYSPHAA Class A state champion from Irondequoit, who will enter as the state's top ranked public school in Class A, followed by a visit from the always tough Cathedral Prep.

2. Park (MMA) - Also four games in with four double-digit victories, the Pioneers look every bit as formidable as Canisius.  While Noah Hutchins and Dan Scott are household names to hoop followers, it's been senior Brandon Smith who has been the team's standout in the early portion of the season.  They travel out of the area for their next four games.

3. Niagara Falls (AA) - The Wolverines host North Tonawanda on Tuesday, coming off a near 50-point victory against Niagara Wheatfield last week, and then travel to Ken West on Friday night.

4. West Seneca West (A1) - These boys are five games in and winning by an average margin of 33 points per game, with their closest test being a 17-point win over a Clarence team that defeated the Lockport Tournament champs from Williamsville East by 18 points. Yikes!

5. St. Francis (MMA) - At this point I can only assume the double figure loss to Orchard Park in the season-opener was a complete debacle.  Since then, Orchard Park has lost a ton of momentum, while the Red Raiders went into Williamsville South and put one on the Billies, among other wins.

6. Williamsville South (A1) - Want to see what Greg Dolan and Will South play like after taking it on the chin at home?  Timon sure didn't, but there was no stopping the Billies in the first half of their win over the Tigers in the ADPRO Challenge.  This week tells us who the team really is with road games at Cardinal O'Hara , along with a big rivalry outing at Amherst on Friday night.

7. Timon (MMA) - In the team's first action against a local squad, they felt the wrath of a scorned Greg Dolan and were looking up at a 19-point halftime deficit against Will South.  The second half was a different story, but not enough to change the outcome.  More challenges await this week with visits from Aquinas and Olean, before a trip to Bishop Kearney.

8. McKinley (A1) - They went 1-1 last week against the Yale Cup's two top small schools, losing at Middle College prior to a three-point win over East.  Home games with Hutch-Tech and Williamsville North await this week.

9. Amherst (A2) - Knocked off Jamestown by 20 points in their only game last week.  Williamsville's East & South visit this week, with the latter game being the Battle of Main Street on Friday night.

10. Williamsville North (AA) - With lots of teams to consider for this final spot, I went with the Spartans, who improved to 1-1 with a 16-point win over Orchard Park.  Road games loom against a pair of teams ahead of them on this ballot - West Seneca West and McKinley.

 

Small Schools

1. Olean (B1) - A postponed game with Maryvale kept the Huskies out of action last week.  They get a run with Falconer this week to prepare for Thursday night's clash with Timon in South Buffalo.

2. Health Sciences (B2) - The Falcons deserve serious props for the way they competed with the area's banner program from Canisius.  They led at halftime and took a brief lead in the final stanza, the Crusaders pulled away in the last couple minutes.  This weekend the Falcons play Starpoint in the St. Francis Christmas Tournament, where a victory could likely earn a date with the host Red Raiders.

3. St. Mary's (MMA) - These guys were well worth the wait.  The last team from WNY to take the court, the Lancers looked excellent in the first half against Lancaster on Friday night in the ADPRO Challenge and rolled up 49 first half points.  This is a team that loks like they enjoy playing hard and playing together.

4. Middle College (B2) - How bout them Kats???  During the preseason, the debates over who would win the Yale Cup this season included South Park, East, and McKinley.  But it's Middle College who sits alone in first place and already owns victories over McKinley, South Park, and Burgard, along with a nonleague win against O'Hara.  This is a fun team to watch and on Thursday night, they host the #1 Class C team in NYS, Northstar Christian.

5. Burgard (B1) - So the Bulldogs opened with a 27-point win at Medina, before a pair of losses to Middle College and South Park.  Then they just knocked off Franklinville at their place last week.  If beating the Panthers doesn't earn them a spot ahead of them this week, then why play the game?  There's a rematch coming in January, but Burgard deserves credit for a big win.  The Bulldogs crashing onto my ballot caused last week's #10 (Tapestry) to fall out, but with a common opponent of Medina, the Bulldog's 27-point win there was far more impressive than Tapestry's 10-point victory in the same gym.

6. Franklinville (D) - The Panthers needed to play some tough nonleague games with the state-mined team they have, and along with that comes the possibility for some losses like the one they suffered at the hands of Burgard.  They'll look to rebound against Pioneer on Friday, with the possibility of a game against defending Class C2 champ Randolph the following afternoon.

7. Niagara Catholic (MMA) - Tuck this team right behind the Franklinville team that bested them in overtime.  The Patriots pulled out a solid nonleague win over Class AA Clarence at the ADPRO Challenge and will enjoy the holidays, before playing in an out-of-town tournament over break.  

8. East (D) - Back-to-back losses for the Panthers will not make for fun practices on Northampton!  The Macks came into their place and left with a win after falling to Middle College, and the following afternoon, East fell on the road to an Aquinas team that Will South had little trouble with.

9. Dunkirk (B1) - The Marauders took a nine-point win from their game with Hutch-Tech last week, and have a very busy schedule over the next six days - four games, beginning with Chatauqua Lake on Monday night.

10. Cardinal O'Hara (MMA) - I kept the Hawks in on the strength of their win over Tapestry two weeks ago, even though they were not so impressive at the ADPRO Challenge.  So much talent though and if they ever find consistency, they will be scary.

 

-centercourt

Comments

[StateChamps2003]

Timon getting two very quality wins in Rochester shouldn't go unnoticed. Beat U Prep by double digits and then beat previously undefeated Rush-Henrietta on their own floor who just beat an Irondequoit team that narrowly lost to Canisius on their home floor.

Big game on Delaware Ave next Wednesday.