* These are the final Top 10 rankings until the 2025 Season Finale Rankings are published *
Large Schools
1. St. Joe's (AA) - The Manhattan Cup Semifinals begin on Wednesday evening with the Marauders taking on Nichols for a 3rd time, who they defeated by 12 points & then 24 points in the 2nd meeting. A victory for the Vikings in this one would be considered an upset on the level of the one they pulled off in 2014, when they ended a dominant Crusaders' season to advance to the Manhattan Cup Championship game, which they would win over Timon.
2. Canisius (AA) - As it should be, the Crusaders will take on Timon in a rubber match to decide which team plays for the Manhattan Cup Championship. Wednesday night is going to be fun.
3. Niagara Falls (AAA) - After enduring tragedy together, the Wolverines returned to the court on Tuesday night and picked up a win in their season finale, led by senior Nashaun Farrell. On Wednesday night, they host Lancaster, where the winner will advance to the Class AAA Final against Jamestown on March 8th at #BuffState.
4. Timon (AA) - Took the road trip down to Jamestown on Monday and outplayed the Red & Green on their home court. That should serve the Tigers well heading into Wednesday night's 3rd game against Canisius, after burying the Crusaders in Round One and taking it on the chin the 2nd time around. The Tigers have played for The Manhattan Cup Championship in 4 consecutive seasons.
5. Jamestown (AAA) - Closed out the season with a victory over Clarence to finish undefeated in ECIC I, two days after falling at home to Timon. Now they literally scrimmage teams and hold practices while waiting to play for a sectional title as the only team in WNY with a bye straight to the championship game.
6. Grand Island (A1) - League champions for the first time since 1979 after finishing the season 19-1 and avenging their only loss by defeating West for the title. If the Vikings defeat either Lakeshore or Ken West in the quarterfinal, the number 1 seed in Class A1 will be back under the bright lights chasing another championship.
7. Lockport (AA1) - The Lions path to the Class AA1 title game goes through the City of Buffalo, beginning with a home game against Hutch Tech in the quarterfinals. A victory there most likely puts them in a semifinal matchup against McKinley.
8. Health Sciences (AA2) - Another 1st place finish in league play for the Falcons and the top seed in Class AA2, where they will host the winner of Niagara Wheatfield at Starpoint, looking to make an annual return to #BuffState.
9. Williamsville South (A1) - The defending Class A1 Champions rolled over another team from that classification on Wednesday from Cheektowaga. The Billies enter sectional play by hosting a Friday quarterfinal, likely against the Sparks of South Park.
10. Amherst (A1) - Ended their regular season with a matinee victory over Lancaster and then the staff sat in and enjoyed an NFL championship game, hoping they were scouting a future opponent while watching Grand Island. In order to get there, they’ll likely have to overcome both the justice lights show and the defending champs from South who they split with in league play.
Small Schools
1. Westfield (C) - Stormed past Sherman on Monday night and now await their quarterfinal game, likely against Frewsburg.
2. Randolph (C) - Dropped their regular season finale at Allegany-Limestone on Thursday. The Cardinals will get the winner of Chautauqua Lake and Global Concepts on Saturday in the quarterfinals.
3. Panama (D) - The Panthers sure looked legit on Tuesday night in a victory at Cheektowaga. If there is a team in Section VI that I will put a CC guarantee on hoisting that championship plaque, this is the one. And trust me, their aspirations should be well beyond the section at this point.
4. Akron (B1) - The other 19-1 squad in WNY, the Tigers beat up St. Mary’s on Monday night, gaining a little more swagger for the postseason. They await the winner of Southwestern at East for the right to get to #BuffState.
5. Salamanca (B2) - Finished the regular season with a victory at Frontier after getting clipped for a 2nd time locally at the hands of Dunkirk. The Warriors will find out a lot about themselves very soon, starting and possibly ending with a 3rd contest at home against Falconer, who they split with this season.
6. Allegany-Limestone (B2) - A pair of victories to finish off the regular season have these Gators hungry to keep making noise heading into postseason play. That postseason begins against visiting Silver Creek on Thursday night, where the winner earns a date with MST on Saturday.
7. Middle College (B1) - Finished the season by winning 7 of their last 8 games, dishing McKinley one of their two league losses of the season. Saturday against the Fredonia Hillbillies will be a fun one.
8. Eden (B2) - The Raiders took down Lake Shore heading into the postseason, earning a date with Tapestry, who they’ve knocked off twice already this season.
9. MST (B2) - The best team MST has had in a while earns a bye to the quarterfinals, but they didn’t get any favors with who they will likely be facing… The Gators from Allegany-Limestone, who are playing like a sectional champ once again.
10. Fredonia (B1) - Ended the regular season on a high note, returning the favor to Southwestern by knocking them off at their place after a 13-point victory over Allegany-Limestone. The results from many teams have made things hard to gauge this season for rankings purposes. Thankfully, we have this postseason thing to settle all of it.
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