(Randolph's Tyler Hind watches teammate Gabe McCoy drop the #BOOM /Photo:Post Journal)
Monday, January 27th
Health Sciences vs East **at St. Joe's - 6 pm
UPrep @ St Joe's - 7:30 pm
Tuesday, January 28th
Middle College @ South Park - 6 pm
Lew-Port @ Niagara Falls - 6:30 pm
Orchard Park @ West Seneca West - 6:30 pm
Medina @ Newfane - 6:30 pm
Depew @ Cheektowaga - 6:30 pm
CSAT @ North Tonawanda - 7 pm
Akron @ Albion - 7 pm
Lancaster @ Jamestown - 7:30 pm
Iroquois @ East Aurora - 7:30 pm
Tapestry @ Clarence - 7:30 pm
Ellicottville @ Randolph - 7:30 pm
Wednesday, January 29th
Holland @ Akron - 6:30 pm
Williamsville South @ Amherst - 7:30 pm
Thursday, January 30th
Olean @ Fredonia - 7:30 pm
Salamanca @ Randolph - 7:30 pm
Friday, January 31st
Jamestown @ West Seneca West - 6:30 pm
Cheektowaga @ Iroquois - 6:30 pm
CSAT @ Sweet Home - 6:30 pm
Newfane @ Akron - 6:30 pm
Niagara Falls @ St. Joe's - 7 pm
St. Francis @ Canisius - 7 pm
Ken West @ North Tonawanda - 7 pm
Cardinal O'Hara @ Timon - 7:30 pm
Aquinas @ Lew-Port - 7:30 pm
Williamsville North @ Orchard Park - 7:30 pm
Saturday, February 1st
Tonawanda vs. Roy-Hart *at NCCC - 7 pm
Allegany-Limestone @ Randolph - 7:30 pm
* Game of the Week - Allegany-Limestone @ Randolph on Saturday, February 1st
As we enter the final week of January, there's only six teams left in WNY that have yet to lose to another team in the area. After Saturday night, that number is guaranteed to be lower.
Over the past several seasons, the Gators and the Cardinals were league rivals in CCAA I East, which brought a pair of annual battles in a home & home series, along with much familiarity with each other. But after divisional realignments in the offseason, Allegany-Limestone shifted over to CCAA I West, placing them in the company of teams like Olean, Fredonia, Chautauqua Lake, & Dunkirk. The move left Randolph with a less complicated path to a league title in 2020, after getting swept by the Gators in 2019 and seeing them crowned as the champs. I made the trip to see the first of those two battles in Randolph and was treated to a 53-51 thriller that was won in the final seconds on a corner trey made by Allegany-Limestone's Sam Flanders, who earned an All-Centercourt Honorable Mention pick a year ago as a senior.
Both teams would go on to claim Section VI championships, with Allegany-Limestone taking Class B2 and the Cardinals mowing through the competition in Class C2. And both teams did it with a bevy of underclassmen talent that would return for the 2020 season that we're currently enjoying.
The talented teams from both schools have delivered through the first two months of this season and on the first day of this season's third month, they get together in Randolph once again. This year, the two teams are both better than ever.
As I mentioned at the top, neither squad has lost to another team from WNY. Both teams are undefeated in their respective leagues and alone in first place. The Gators have already knocked off Top 10 small schools Fredonia (twice) and Olean, while dropping the hammer on Pioneer and Hutch-Tech in nonleague games. Randolph comes into the game having only lost at Rochester's East High - the same team that defeated The Park School. The Cardinals made all sorts of noise already in a pair of nonleague wins this season, defeating the defending catholic state champions from Cardinal O'Hara and absolutely drubbing CSAT.
It's a game between two teams that are state ranked and in the Top 5 of the local small school rankings. It's a game between two defending Section VI Champions, that are both the favorites to repeat those accomplishments in March. It's a game between the top two small schools in the Southern Tier. And it's most definitely going to be 'The Game of the Week'!
-centercourt
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