(Joe Jamison & the Crusaders host the 'Game of the Week' /Photo: Harry Scull,Buff News)
Monday, January 21st
Middle College @ Timon - 1:30 pm
Tuesday, January 22nd
Amherst @ Sweet Home - 6:30 pm
CSAT @ Medina - 6:30 pm
Depew @ Niagara Wheatfield - 6:30 pm
Cardinal O'Hara @ Lew-Port - 7 pm
Jamestown @ McKinley - 7:30 pm
Allegany-Limestone @ Wellsville - 7:30 pm
Wednesday, January 23rd
West Seneca East @ Iroquois - 6:30 pm
Tapestry @ Cardinal O'Hara - 6:30 pm
Amherst @ Lockport - 6:30 pm
West Seneca West @ Health Sciences - 7 pm
Niagara Wheatfield @ Maryvale - 7:30 pm
Thursday, January 24th
St. Francis @ Canisius - 7 pm
Ellicottville @ Franklinville - 7:30 pm
Randolph @ Silver Creek - 7:30 pm
Friday, January 25th
Lew-Port @ Park - 6 pm
Olmsted @ City Honors - 6 pm
BASCS @ MST Seneca - 6 pm
Timon @ Nichols - 6:30 pm
Health Sciences @ Middle College - 6:30 pm
Williamsville South @ West Seneca East - 6:30 pm
Maryvale @ Cheektowaga - 6:30 pm
JFK @ Lackawanna - 6:30 pm
Cardinal O'Hara @ St. Joe's - 7:30 pm
Clarence @ Jamestown - 7:30 pm
Orchard Park @ Lancaster - 7:30 pm
CSAT @ East Aurora - 7:30 pm
Saturday, January 26th
Depew @ Salamanca - 1:30 pm
Canisius @ Cathedral Prep - 3:30 pm
St. Joe's @ Aquinas - 7:30 pm
* Game of the Week - St. Francis at Canisius on Thursday, January 24th
While Park remains the resident bad boy of the Monsignor Martin Association after completing the first round of league play with wins over its competition in Class A, the gap is closing. Thursday night's meeting between the Crusaders and the Red Raiders will determine which team moves into sole possession of the second seed for the Manhattan Cup playoffs.
Both teams have already earned wins over St. Joe's and Timon, and both looked good against Park, with the Red Raiders falling by just one point in overtime. The two are each top 10 large schools in WNY and have already flipped positions in the poll, with St. Francis currently ranked higher. But as we learned two seasons ago, even when Frannies appears to have the edge, winning on Delaware Avenue is a rare occurrence. In 2017, St. Francis lost at Canisius just prior to going into Park and stunning the then #1 ranked team in NYS Class A. The Red Raiders would go on to defeat the Pioneers twice more that year, en route to a Manhattan Cup Finals appearance, only to fall to Canisius for the title. St. Francis did knock off the Crusaders at home in 2017, the only win the team has earned over Canisius since 2006, which was also the last time they won on Delaware Avenue.
The 2019 season bears parallels to 2017 between these two with St. Francis coming in as the more experienced squad, while the Crusaders are supposed to be in a "down year". The Red Raiders have four starters back from last season, while Canisius graduated all five of its starters from last year and starts just three players who even saw minutes for them in 2018.
In Brian Ferris and Kyle Husband, both teams are coached by guys who played in the MMA. Good friends off the court, Husband and Ferris are both dedicated to their programs and fierce competitors. Each of them have teams that consistently and effectively execute on offense, while priding themselves at the defensive end.
While recent history does not favor St. Francis in this matchup, the Red Raiders have a team this season that they feel can win the Manhattan Cup. In order to make that happen, they will almost certainly need to get through Canisius, who has collected championships like trading cards in the past decade. They get their first chance on Thursday, looking to end a 13-year drought at the home of the Crusaders and earn their first ever win at the Bernard J. Kennedy Fieldhouse, which opened in 2010.
-centercourt
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