Large Schools
1. Timon (AA) - Sitting pretty at 10–0 after a fast start against Nichols. A very busy week ahead for the Tigers with road trips to St. Mary’s, Park, and Cardinal O’Hara, before wrapping up the week with a visit from Jamestown on Saturday in a game that was rescheduled. If all goes well, Timon would be 14–0 next week at this time.
2. Niagara Falls (AAA) - Took on state ranked Cicero-North Syracuse shorthanded, and still almost came back with a dub. The other three losses the 8-4 Wolverines have suffered this season came from Timon, a Maryland state champ and a Pennsylvania state champ.
3. Canisius (AA) - Winning with defense, holding St. Mary’s to 20 points in a win this week. But they can also score, as they did at St. Francis in an 82-54 victory. It's certainly not a stretch to suggest ranking this team #2. The Crusaders have Round 2 with rival St. Joe’s going down on Delaware Avenue this Saturday.
4. Jamestown (AA1) -Scored a big win at Frontier for their ninth consecutive victory. The Red Raiders make their annual trip north to take on the Spartans of Williamsville on Tuesday night. Friday night brings Orchard Park to their gym before a quick turnaround against WNY‘s top team in South Buffalo.
5. Frontier (AA1) - After picking up a 16-point win over Ken West, the Falcons tasted defeat for the first time this season at the hands of Jamestown. To get back to their winning ways, they’ll have to go on the road to do it. A game at Lancaster should decide which team sits in second place in ECIC I next to OP, before Frontier finishes the week with a trip to Williamsville North.
6. Nichols (AA) - Playing without Parker Rey, the Vikings scored an emphatic 44-point win over O’Hara, and after getting off to a slow start, went at it for the last three quarters with Timon at their place in a 10-point loss - the closest game any local team has given the Tigers. They will try to keep their play consistent this week, when they look for two more wins in games against St. Francis and St. Mary’s.
7. Health Sciences (AA2) -Lopsided victories over East and I-Prep was the only action for the Falcons last week and they'll look for more of the same in the week ahead, with a trip to Bennett and both of their league contests against South Park.
8. Lancaster (AAA) - Jamestown wasn’t the only team to spoil an unbeaten last week, as these Legends cashed in a big victory over Orchard Park. They are hoping to carry that momentum into their game against Frontier this week, and finish up Friday with a game at Clarence.
9. Orchard Park (AA1) - The Quakers host Clarence on Wednesday night, looking for a bounce back win after taking their first 'L' of the season to Lancaster. On Friday, they visit the defending league champions from Jamestown.
10. St. Joe's (AA) - Points were at a premium last week in Tonawanda, when the Marauders escaped from Cardin O’Hara with a victory. They’ll try to get back to filling up the basket against Park this week, in order to have their mojo back for the weekend tilt at Canisius.
Small Schools
1. Randolph (C) - Ran into a Falconer team that was hitting shots, gutting out a tough win. They took care of business against Frewsburg, before the big tilt against York was postponed. Next up for the Cardinals are Gowanda and Southwestern.
2. Salamanca (B2) - Continued its strong play with consecutive 20+ point victories, one of them over the always tough Allegany-Limestone. Thursday night features what looks like an exciting battle in the Southern Tier, when Fredonia comes calling.
3. Newfane (B1) - Medina and Roy-Hart were the latest victims of the buzzsaw Panthers. It sets up a battle of league unbeatens on Tuesday night when Akron arrives.
4. Fredonia (B1) - A pair of double digit wins against Dunkirk and Southwestern were added to the column for the Hillbillies. It sets up another battle of teams unbeaten within their league, along with a rematch of a fantastic Class B2 Final from 2023.
5. Middle College (B1) - I moved this team up one spot after seeing them in action in a win at McKinley, their second victory last week, after topping South Park earlier in the week. These guys will be a problem in sectionals.
6. Westfield (C) - Beat up on Brocton, before a close call against Chautauqua Lake, where they came out on top. After hosting Sherman this week, the Wolverines have an interesting trip to Maple Grove.
7. Akron (B1) - The Tigers took it to Cleveland Hill on Friday night, winning by 22 points, and holding them under 30, coming off of a four-point win against Roy Hart. Akron will get its first indication of where the rubber meets the road on Tuesday against the defending league champs from Newfane.
8. Panama (C) - Breezed past Sherman and Clymer last week to keep the wins coming. They have a tough game at the end of the week at Chautauqua Lake, after games against Pine Valley & Brocton.
9. Eden (B2) - Last week in this forum, I opened my dumb yap and said I was using the eye test to move the Raiders out of the rankings after losing their first game, predicting they would lose again to Cleveland Hill. I failed my test miserably and now have pairs of readers scattered throughout my house. Eden won that game by 13 points and added a victory to CCA. Welcome back.
10. Maple Grove (C) - I’m debuting the Red Dragons with this last spot in the rankings, a team that split a pair of meetings with Falconer, and other loss was to Panama. Hanging on to the spot will be tough with the games coming up for MG, Chautauqua Lake, and Westfield.
-centercourt
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