Saturday Roundup: Sissons, Ward help Fillmore engineer dominant balanced effort to win 7th straight; B-R grapplers win B3 title for 4th time in 5 years, Wellsville’s Layfield wins Sectional patch

Written By Chris Brooks

BOLIVAR — With two straight days of an epic winter vortex now in the rearview mirror, the Saturday afternoon spotlight shined on the lone game in action — in Bolivar for the host Wolverines, who were aiming for a big rebound after a 96-62 loss to the hands of perhaps one of the State’s best in Avoca/Prattsburgh, this past Wednesday.



As for their opposition — the Eagles of Fillmore, they took aim at building onto their hot streak, having won six in a row entering the day. The Wolverines knew what was on the table in order gain momentum going into Sectionals. The Eagles did as well.



Something had to give.



That came right in the opening quarter where a lead was established early, and it would prove to become an enormous tone-setter. It was provided by two up-and-coming cogs in the machine — Carter and Zach Sisson.



The Fillmore Senior and Sophomore siblings were absolutely dynamic on both ends of the floor for the Eagles, with Carter starting the game off behind stellar defense that transitioned into key fast-break buckets right from the get-go, and later on, Zach adding to it with some incredible help from downtown, launching all six of the team’s three-pointers to set a bar that Bolivar-Richburg could not match to pick up their eighth win in the last nine games by a 59-48 count over the road.



“Zach Sisson led the way in the first half with those three-pointers, and then Carter’s defense and Mitch (Ward) stepped up with some big transition buckets,” said Wolverines coach Jeff Margeson. “We couldn’t make a basket, and they maintained the tempo all game and moved the ball really well, because of it. We tried to match that tempo ourselves, but we couldn’t get any shots to fall. There were a lot of defensive lapses on our part, and it felt like we were two big steps behind them from the start. They came ready to play, and we did not.”



Right from the start, the Eagles (12-3) landed the first punch in the first 90 seconds with Carter Sisson cashing in off a pair of Wolverines turnovers, driving back down to the opposite end of the floor with a pair of runners. The quick beginning allowed the visitors in black and green to build a fast 12-2 run that saw the three-point game of Zach Sisson begin to blossom.



Two big pieces in a lineup for head coach Randy Crouch, that have begun to take it to a completely different level.



“In a lot of ways, Carter is the foundation of our team. His ballhandling, his defense, he’s the ultimate team guy that gets us going,” said Crouch. “We’ve also been working hard on getting Zach to speed up his release, and to be more aggressive about when he looks to shoot. That work is finally paying off. He’s become more focused on defense, and rebounding as well. It’s really all about balance, great team defense and scoring in a variety of ways.”



It would wind up being a seven-point lead for the Eagles after the opening quarter, after Bolivar-Richburg (10-6) overcame the slow start by cutting their deficit to as small as six with the help of Landon Danaher, who ended a 9-0 Fillmore run with a basket downlow in the waning minutes of the opening quarter.



Just as the Wolverines managed to catch up, Fillmore jumped back out to another extension of their lead with Zach Sisson leading the way once more with the team’s first five points of the second quarter, including his third three-pointer of the half. It would grow into double-digit territory — a point where the Eagles remained for the rest of the game, as they took a 33-22 lead at the break.



Through a back-and-forth third quarter, the Eagles would find a lead by as much as 17 in the last two minutes, with Sisson continuing to fire on all cylinders from downtown, while Mitch Ward’s inside game reached new heights. But a chance for the Wolverines to jump back into the game came right at the buzzer, when Reiss Gaines airlifted a desperation heave to the basket, which found its way in to see the deficit come down to 49-35 going into the final eight minutes.



But the Eagles defense would remain at its best to close out the afternoon, as they held the Wolverines to just four points through the first four minutes while they broke away from their grasp to maintain their position in the driver’s seat to collect their seventh straight victory.



“We are really doing a great job of finding one another,” Crouch said. “We had 18 assists on 25 field goals, and that is a product of guys really committing to making each other better. Bolivar-Richburg has a great team, and they have a good balance, but our defense was able to really force them to work hard for their half-court opportunities. Jeff (Margeson) has them playing a really tough half-court trap, which leads to a lot of transition baskets. I challenged them to be smart against it, protect the ball and limit their chances on the break, and we were able to really do that.”



With all six of Fillmore’s three-pointers in the contest, Zach Sisson would wind up finishing with a game-high 24 points to pair with his 11 rebounds, completing an outstanding double-double effort. Following behind was Mitch Ward, whose inside presence was unmatched, earning 17 additional points of his own, while Will Roeske had eight points.



The Wolverines were led by Aydin Sisson, who bucketed a team-high 11 points. Helping the cause was defensive stalwart Wyatt Karnuth, and Cam MacDonell, each tallying a team-high 10 points, with MacDonell completing a double-double of his own doing with 11 rebounds. Landon Danaher recorded nine points to pair with five assists and four steals.



Fillmore will return home to welcome in Houghton Academy after the weekend for a 7:30 p.m. contest on Monday inside The Rock, while Bolivar-Richburg remains pat at home themselves with a 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night tip-off against Genesee Valley.

Fillmore 18 15 16 10 – 59

Bolivar-Richburg 11 11 13 13 – 48

FILLMORE: Carter Sisson 2 2-5 6, Luke Colombo 2 0-0 4, Mitch Ward 8 1-4 17, Zach Sisson 9 0-1 24, Will Roeske 4 0-1 8. Totals: 25 3-11 59.
BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Aydin Sisson 3 3-6 11, Landon Danaher 3 2-4 9, Wyatt Karnuth 5 0-0 10, David Baldwin 1 0-0 2, Reiss Gaines 1 0-2 3, Evan Pinney 1 0-0 3, Cam MacDonell 5 0-1 10. Totals: 19 5-13 48.

3-point goals: Fillmore 6 (Z. Sisson), B-R 5 (Sisson 2, Danaher, Gaines, Pinney).
Total Fouls: Fillmore 18, B-R 14. Fouled out: None.

WRESTLING

B-R grapplers capture 4th Class B3 title in 5 years, Wellsville’s Layfield wins Sectional title

LYNDONVILLE/EAST ROCHESTER — During the Winter season, the sport of choice at Bolivar-Richburg has been wrestling. The Wolverines have provided one dominant season after another, with the end result being a Sectional championship. Leading up to the beginning of the pandemic, the wrestling squad had gathered three straight Class B3 titles.

Saturday afternoon provided a chance to make it a fourth in as many years, but they would have to leave their own backyard to do it.

The road they would have to travel to get back up to the top of the mountain went through Lyndonville, and after establishing the foundation for another brilliant season on the mat during the regular season, it would pay some major dividends. The Wolverines had eight chances to rack up the individual Sectional titles with the overall team lead in hand.

At the end of competition, the team would collect five in all, including patches for both Trent and Teegan Sibble, as the brother-sister duo were named the Heavyweight and Lightweight division’s Most Outstanding Wrestlers, as well as a Coach of the Year Award for first year head coach Andrew Taylor to complete a perfect day that saw them clinch their fourth Class B3 team title in five years with 218 points.

“We made the trip three hours on the bus being unsure of how our day would turn out being down on numbers and with only 10 kids, with most teams having 13 to 15 kids in their lineup,” said Taylor. “We had to grind and work hard, and I told the kids to get the win first, and then work on bonus points. Each round clicked by and we were trailing by eight, 10 points going into Semis. We had nine advance, and then eight made it to the Finals, and it gave us the lead ultimately for good. All the kids wrestled tough, and they did exactly what we expected from them, and they deserve this.”

Five first place finishes were collected by the Wolverines, with the first beginning at 102 pounds with Gary McDowell, who dominated the mat by defeating Caledonia-Mumford’s Jakob Bishop with a pin coming in just 22 seconds.

In the next match, Teegan Sibble trailed by a 3-1 count to Lyndonville’s Christian Garver with under a minute to go in regulation. Even with all the pressure in the world, Sibble rallied back with a massive reversal and picked up a near-fall along the way, scavenging four go-ahead points to become Bolivar-Richburg’s first female wrestling champion in school history with a 5-3 decision at 110 pounds.

Trey Buchholz would keep the winning ways going for the Wolverines at 126 pounds, as he dominated his bout with a 9-1 decision over Perry’s Holden Kelly to clinch his second straight Sectional patch. In the Middleweights, Tavyn MacDonell gathered the team’s fourth individual Sectional title in a thriller over Alfred-Almond’s Scott Mills, squeezing by with a 9-7 decision victory of his own at 152 pounds.

The Individual titles wrapped up with Trent Sibble remaining undefeated on the season with a record of 44-0 after he defeated Lyndonville’s Sam Doolan with a pin-fall coming right at the end of the opening period at 215 pounds.

Bolivar-Richburg would have several top three finishes to add in, helping their championship-winning efforts, with Ethan Coleman (138 pounds), Kadin Tompkins (145 pounds) and Lloyd Kinnicutt (285 pounds) all recording second place finishes in their respective bouts.

Coleman fell in a 9-1 decision over South Seneca’s Caleb Sweet, while Tompkins was edged by Alfred-Almond’s Ben Lloyd in a 4-2 overtime decision, and Kinnicutt was pinned by Campbell-Savona’s Damian Elliott at 1:08. Caden Allen would add a third place finish at 160 pounds, falling to Alfred-Almond’s Zack Ledbetter to a pin-fall.

All nine Wolverines that placed in the top three will now advance into next weekend’s State Qualifiers, which will begin in Brockport on February 13.

In East Rochester at the Class B2 Championships, Wellsville has a Section V wrestling champion for the first time since 2012.


John Layfield at 189 pounds won the B2 Section V title with an 8-0 win over North-Rose Wolcott's Alan Anthony. Layfield, a Senior, had pins to get to the Finals and didn't give up a point on the day. Layfield, and five other Wellsville wrestlers will advance to the Super Sectionals next weekend at Brockport State University, with a trip to the State Tournament on the line.

Junior Evin Rought at 285 pounds pinned Holley/Kendall's Zane Christakes at 1:39 of the first period in the Consolation Finals to take third. Juniors Shane Davidson at 172 pounds (fourth) and Brayden Riley at 132 pounds (fifth) also placed on the podium to advance to Super Sectionals.

Two eighth graders, Jack Cicirello at 126 pounds, and Xander Outman at 152 pounds both took sixth and advanced to Super Sectionals as well.


The team took fifth overall with 103 total points, as Canisteo-Greenwood took the team title.

"Having missed last year (Wellsville did not allow wrestling because of COVID), John Layfield is a second-year wrestler," said Wellsville wrestling coach Tyler Carman. "He went from fourth as a sophomore to first. He is a coachable kid. You give him a playbook and say 'go.' He puts in the extra work, he stays to do sprints, goes to additional tournament and works out in different wrestling room and gyms. All of that hard work paid off."

Carman was also pleased with the overall team effort.

"We put two 8th-graders in Class B Super Sectionals, I could not be more proud of the Wellsville wrestling program. Plus, we had three juniors place who are coming back. But we really got a lot out of our Seniors and the Senior leadership," he said. "It was a great day for the Wellsville wrestling program. Our guys wrestled hard, and they all wrestled great today."

*Additional reporting by John Anderson/Wellsville Sun

Chris Brooks
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Wednesday Roundup: Lady Eagles roll behind school record-breaking performance from Cole in 66-47 win over Finney; Rebels volleyball capture 2nd County Title in 3 seasons in sweep of Ark/Can