Both local teams ranked in the New York State Sportswriters' Association football polls fell out of the rankings after losses last Friday.
Fredonia (4-2), ranked No. 12 heading into last Friday's matchup with Akron (3-3), could have wrapped up a second straight Class C North title. However, the Hillbillies fell to the Tigers, 27-10, ending their bid for another division title and forcing them out of the Class C poll. The Hillbillies were listed as an honorable mention this week.
Chautauqua Lake, the other local team making the grade last week, fell to Randolph, 35-6. The Thunderbirds entered the game ranked No. 17 in the Class D poll.
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Chautauqua Lake’s Adam Carpenter (40) looks to get away from a Portville defender during a Class D game earlier this season.?With their 35-6 loss to Randolph last week, the Thunderbirds fell out of the New York State Sportswriters’ Association Class?D poll. They were listed as a honorable mention this week.
Elsewhere, in Class AA, New York State's largest classification, then No. 1 Orchard Park (5-1) saw its 18-game winning streak come to an end at the hands of Class AA South foe Jamestown (5-1), 35-28. The Red Raiders, No. 12 this week, were an honorable mention last week. The Quakers fell from the top spot to No. 13 this week.
Taking over this week at No. 1 was Rush-Henrieta (Sec. 5, 6-0), which was No. 2 last week. Oceanside (Sec. 8, 5-0) was No. 2, up one spot from last week, and was followed by Tottenville (PSAL, 5-0), New Rochelle (Sec. 1, 5-0) and Monsignor Martin Association representative, St. Joe's (6-0). Tottenville was No. 5 last week, New Rochelle No. 6 and St. Joe's No. 7.
Canisius (MMA, 6-0), which handed Rochester power Aquinas (Sec. 5, 4-2) its second straight loss to an MMA opponent last week, 35-7, last week came in at No. 10, up two spots from last week. Frontier (4-2) and Lockport (4-2) were listed as honorable mention.
In Class A, the top four teams stayed the same with Lawrence (5-0) remaining in the top spot. The Section 8 school was followed by Section 1's Harrison (5-0), Sweet Home (6-0) and Sayville (Sec. 11, 5-0). Eastridge (Sec. 5, 6-0) replaces No. 5 Victor (Sec. 5, 5-1), which it beat 35-20 last week, helping it move up one spot from last week. Victor fell seven spots to No. 12 following the loss.
West Seneca East (6-0) moved up one spot to No. 10 and Grand Island (6-0) remained at No. 16. Earning honorable mention in Class A this week in Western New York were Mckinley (4-2) and Iroquois (5-1).
Like Class A, the top four in the Class B poll remained the same, with Maine-Endwell (Sec. 4, 6-0) remaining on top. Alden (6-0) was No. 2 and was followed by Chittenango (Sec. 3, 6-0) and Geneva (Sec. 5, 6-0) for the second straight week. Our Lady of Lourdes (Sec. 1, 5-0) replaced Roosevelt (Sec. 8, 4-1) which fell to No. 10 after its 13-12 loss to Seaford (5-0).
Cheektowaga (6-0) was the highest ranked Western New York team this week, coming in at No. 8, up one spot from last week. Depew (5-1) also moved up a spot from No. 15 to No. 14. Earning honorable mention were Burgard (5-1), Nichols (5-1), Eden (5-1), Lewiston-Porter (4-2) and Pioneer (4-2).
In Class C, Hornell (Sec. 5, 6-0) extended its state-best winning streak to 45, helping it to maintain its No. 1 ranking. The rest of the top five remained unchanged from a week ago, as the Raiders were followed by Hoosick Falls (Sec. 2, 6-0), Waverly (Sec. 4, 6-0), Chenango Forks (Sec. 4, 6-0) and Babylon (Sec. 11, 5-0).
Cleveland Hill moved up three spots from No. 15 to No. 12, taking the spot of Class C North foe Fredonia. Honorable mentions went to Allegany-Limestone (4-2), St. Mary's of Lancaster (4-2), Salamanca (5-1) and Wilson (4-2).
Maple Grove (6-0) led the list for the fourth straight week in Class D and was followed by Tioga (Sec. 4, 5-1), Avon (Sec. 5, 5-1), Weedsport (Sec. 3, 6-0) and Tuckahoe (Sec. 1, 4-0-1). Tioga, Avon and Weedsport all moved up a spot while Tuckahoe, which tied 27-27 with Haldane last week, fell from the No. 2 spot.
No other Western New York team was ranked in the top 20, but Clymer (5-1), Ellicottville (5-1), Randolph (4-2) and Sherman-Ripley (5-1) all earned honorable mention.
This week marks the seventh and final week of the regular season, with teams still jockeying for playoff positioning.
