Story and photo gallery by CHRIS BROOKS, managing editor, wellsvillesports.com
FILLMORE —Both Wellsville and Fillmore have travelled in the same boat for much of the 2024 campaign.
They have both basked in the same heartbreak, especially when it whittles down to one-goal differences. In their previous meeting not too long ago in Wellsville, the Lions and Eagles went the entire 100-minute distance and settled on a score that did not exist, following a long and hard-fought battle.
Now on Tuesday, the two-game set between the foes made up for lost time with a bounty of goals, with the Lions having the upper-hand every step of the way. For the Eagles, they had to navigate their way back into the fray on three different occasions to level the playing surface one more time.
Because of their efforts late in the second half, they would once again force the Lions into overtime. But with the game advancing in time, the scoring came in high-octane, alternating fashion, with Wellsville starting the scoring early on before proceeding to end it on their own accord.
Ty Vogel was the man of the hour.
For the first time in seven years, the Lions have navigated their way towards victory over the Section V powerhouse Eagles, as Vogel scored the team’s last two goals of the game — his first coming past midway to give them their final lead change in regulation before his game-winning goal in overtime sealed the deal on a back-and-forth win to get back into the win column, as they edged Fillmore by a 4-3 count over the road.
“It was another heartbreaker tonight against Wellsville. After falling behind on three separate occasions, we battled back each time to draw even and force overtime,” said Eagles coach Jarrett Vosburg. “Unfortunately, Wellsville made one more play than us in overtime to capture the win. Credit to them on a game well played. Losses like this are always disappointing, but the hope is we learn from our recent adversity and become a stronger team, as we ramp up the approach to Sectionals.”
Out of the seven combined goals between both teams, three of them were scored in each half leading up to Vogel’s game-winner in overtime later on, with the Lions (6-3-4) climbing aboard first with a marker from Aiden Cowburn off a pass from Blake Kalkhof just over 10 minutes into the game.
Fillmore’s response was swift however, as Sam Cool fired right back with a game-tying marker of his own off a pass from Brayden Walton.
Wellsville would ensure they went into halftime with the lead, as the Lions jumped back ahead four minutes off Cool’s marker for the hosts, as Kalkhof found the back of the net himself off a slide dished along by Cam Lyons right near halfway to go until the break.
The visitors remained in control of a 2-1 lead approaching midway in the second half when the Eagles (5-4-3) found a way to tie the game again, as Jared Boon knocked away a perfect slide across from Isaiah Sisson.
A mere one minute later, Vogel answered right back with his first of two big strikes for the Lions, with Kalkhof recording a second assist on the game-tying marker to regain the lead for the final time in regulation.
In the 68th minute of regulation, it would ultimately reach penalty kick territory for the Eagles, with Sisson being credited for the score that ultimately forced extra time between the two foes.
In that first extra session, Vogel made sure his superhero cape was at the ready, as the Lions senior blasted home the game-winning goal from the top of the Fillmore box, officially capping off a victory over the Eagles that Wellsville has waited for since the 2017 season.
Both teams applied 15 shots on offense to their respective cages, with Gavin Haggerty scoring the win between the posts for the Lions, making 12 saves.
On the other end, Brayden Hennard made 11 saves for the Eagles, who will get set for battle on Thursday right back on their home field with a 7 p.m. visit from Friendship/Scio.
The Lions will stay over the road, this time, heading northwest to visit the Dansville Mustangs in a 4:30 p.m. first kick on Monday.
Genesee Valley/Belfast 6, Andover/Whitesville 0
BELMONT — If you think there was any slowing down the Genesee Valley/Belfast boys, think again.
On Tuesday, they used a rapid start out of the gate to set the tone early against Andover/Whitesville on their home grounds at Judy Bliven Field in Belmont, as they utilized a dynamic first half lead and never looked back from it to officially lock up the Allegany County League Championship all for themselves after a 6-0 home shutout.
Will Guilford and Ryan Snyder each led the offense for Genesee Valley/Belfast (11-1-1) with a pair of scores each, with Snyder chipping in an assist along the way to complete a five-point performance on the front line.
Ian McKenzie and Evan Turybury both scored once, with Callahan Tallman handing out one more assist for the hosts, who recorded a 5-0 lead on Andover/Whitesville going into halftime, never looking back on their lead in the same swing.
The six goals against Andover/Whitesville (6-5-2) were totaled off 16 shots at the opposing cage, as they went on to claim a 16-2 overall advantage.
In net, Zach Thomas made both saves to preserve the shutout for Genesee Valley/Belfast, while Skylar Orpet got down and recorded 10 saves for the visitors.
Both teams will make their return to action Thursday night, with Genesee Valley/Belfast staying put at Judy Bliven Field to host Bolivar-Richburg in a 7 p.m. first kick, while Andover/Whitesville heads back home to host Cuba-Rushford in a 6 p.m. contest in Andover.
Bolivar-Richburg 3, Houghton 2
BOLIVAR — After an 0-2 start to the campaign, the Houghton Academy Panthers have been absolutely destructive.
Along their path leading up to the home stretch of the regular season, they have lit the beacons at the perfect time to unleash victorious bombardments in nine of their next 10 games.
Looking to lock up one of the top seeds in Class D for Sectional play next week, they looked to keep their fire aflame at the hottest temperature with a stop to Bolivar-Richburg on Tuesday at Dunsmore-Latimer Field.
As for the Wolverines, they looked to bring out the fire extinguisher and cool their hot streak off.
For much of the battle, the Panthers and Wolverines were neck-and-neck across the first half, with just one goal from the hosts finding the back of the net. In the second half, a completely different story, as the intensity picked up every passing second. The two teams would go back and forth exchanging pleasantries, with Houghton Academy scoring back-to-back goals late to take their first lead of the game.
With the advantage evaporating in the late stages of combat, Bolivar-Richburg was pinned up against the wall. But despite it, they never put their heads down one bit. Instead, they showcased a tremendous amount of resilience.
Gary McDowell and Landon Barkley helped make all of that happen.
With the Wolverines mounting the pressure during their final stand against the Panthers, it ultimately boiled over. With 10 seconds remaining in regulation time, McDowell was the first to connect with the most clutch of goals, tying the game up to force overtime off a helper from Barkley. In the extra session, Barkley would then take matters into his own hands by putting away a perfect ball in front of the Panthers net with ease, finishing off a two-goal performance in Bolivar-Richburg’s biggest win of the season — a 3-2 thriller over the Panthers.
“We have lost many games this season by one goal, we have been in every game, but the message at halftime for the boys was to push forward,” Wolverines coach Mike Zilker said. “We have been talking about getting over the hump and how we need to trust each other and continue working the game plan. Tonight, we did just that. A very good Houghton team tied it up late and went ahead later. I thought we were going to struggle after that, but we kept our heads up and pushed forward with Landon leading the way on our last two goals to force OT and win it.”
All three of Bolivar-Richburg’s (3-9-1) goals were connected upon on special teams — a penalty kick, a direct kick and a corner kick, as they hung right with Houghton Academy early on in a battle of looks and opportunity across the midfield.
Following a corner kick from Braden Zilker that would reach the feet of Landon Barkley, only to be tripped up inside the Panthers box to set up a colossal early-stage penalty kick.
Barkley would not hesitate to knock in the free ball, as he delivered a perfect strike down the middle of the Houghton Academy (9-4) cage with 25:42 remaining in the half to score a 1-0 lead for the Wolverines.
Despite numerous attempts to keep the gas pedal locked down to the floor until the end of the stanza, the score would remain frozen with the hosts in black and red remaining unmoved in the driver’s seat.
In the second half, the Panthers managed to spin their way out from behind the eight-ball late, eliminating Bolivar-Richburg’s potential shutout bid with David Jatta picking up possession off a Josh Davidson pass and dribbling all the way to the Wolverines goal for a shot that ricocheted off the near points and into the net with 14:50 left in the game to tie it at one.
The momentum burst continued in Houghton Academy’s favor crossing the 10-minute mark left to play, as Davidson cashed in on a goal of his own, trapping a picture-esque pass from Jae Masiza behind him in front of the Wolverines goal, ripping it home next to the near post to score the second goal for the Panthers in just over five minutes time to take their very first lead of the game.
Houghton Academy’s advantage would hold firm leading up to Bolivar-Richburg’s final stand, as a foul against the Panthers set up a massive direct kick right at the top of the 18 with 10 seconds left.
Barkley elected to take the kick, and with everyone on the field, including goalkeeper Ayden Music, pushed up to make an impact, the ball was met with a touch of the head next to the Panthers near post by Gary McDowell in the middle of a jam-packed crowd next to it, tying the game at two to force overtime in the most clutch of moments.
Bolivar-Richburg kept on riding after that game-tying score, as with 3:25 left in the first overtime, they ended it on their own terms on a corner kick sent in on the Houghton Academy goal from Zilker. As soon as it declined from its apex, Barkley was the first to provide a touch, leaping up and trapping it straight into the net to help finish off a remarkable performance for the Wolverines — perhaps their biggest victory of the season.
“My team has been working their tails off,” Zilker said. “Our defense led by the leadership of Owen Unfus, played fabulously as well. I’m so proud of them to get this win and to now recognize what we are fully capable of. When we all show up together at the same time on the same night, we are a handful. I wish Houghton good luck on the rest of their season, and hats off to my team for displaying and playing up to their potential.”
Despite the defeat, the Panthers managed to outshoot Bolivar-Richburg by a 15-10 count. But the victory belonged to Music in net for the Wolverines, making 13 saves.
On the opposite end, Jerry Pham recorded seven saves for the Panthers, who will now get set for a 6:30 p.m. road trip to Keshequa on Friday.
Bolivar-Richburg will look to keep things moving in the right direction come Thursday over the road, visiting Genesee Valley/Belfast for their third and final meeting of the campaign at Judy Bliven Field in Belmont, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Cuba-Rushford 3, Friendship/Scio 0
HINSDALE — There was simply no time to waste for the Rebels of Cuba-Rushford, as they made their impact immediately known in the first two minutes of play to set the bar against Friendship/Scio on Tuesday, adding two more goals in the last five minutes of the opening half to help solidify what was a 3-0 shutout up the road in Hinsdale.
Nearly two minutes off the clock in the opening half, the Rebels (7-4-1) struck while the iron on the stove remained hot by the aid of Anderson Seigel, as he finished off a game-opening play dished along by Hunter Cassidy to break the ice.
The defending Class C2 champions kept the advantage frozen solid on the board leading up to their last two goals of the contest.
In the first half’s final five minutes, there was a ton of noise that sounded the alarm in Hinsdale, as Carter Brown and Robert Childs went back-to-back in nearly three minutes to triple their advantage over Friendship/Scio (0-13) in advance going into the break.
Chase Haas and Finn Ricketts each recorded a helper on the final two markers from Cuba-Rushford.
“It was an all-around, good performance from everybody that saw the field tonight,” Rebels coach Rob Wight said. “We were able to string together a lot of passes and get everybody a good amount on this playing field. Credit to Friendship/Scio, as always, they continue to work very hard and they have never stopped working.”
The three goals stemmed off a 27-shot application against Friendship/Scio, advancing forward to claim a 27-4 advantage. In net, the win was Caleb Elliott’s to declare, as he set aside all four shots he faced to record the blank.
On the other end, Deacon Brown put a stop to 24 saves for Friendship/Scio.
Both teams are back on the field Thursday night, with Cuba-Rushford hitting the road for Andover to battle it out against Andover/Whitesville in a 6 p.m. contest. As for Friendship/Scio, they will hit the road and take on Fillmore in a 7 p.m. contest.
