Gowanda Small Town Times

On February 11, 2023 five members of the Gowanda wrestling team were at the NY Section VI D2 Championships at Lake Shore High School in Angola, NY. Gowanda was one of 33 schools represented at the competition. The Gowanda boys involved are Owen Pfaffenbach (at 110), Greg Reid & Jayden Fish ( at 118) and Michael Horth & Nathan Warrior (at 145).

Two of the Gowanda boys made it into the finals. Greg Reid took 6th Place at 118. He lost an 8-2 decision in the 5th Place Match to Adan Harris (Newfane). Michael Horth took 5th Place at 145 pinning Christian Klonowski (Akron) in 2:59 in the 5th Place Match.

On February 10 the Gowanda Varsity girls basketball team was at Portville.

It was another tough game for the Gowanda girls. They were down 10-2 early in the 1st quarter and their offense never really got going. Despite a minor rally late in the period, they were still down 13-8 going into the 2nd quarter. Gowanda was totally ineffective in the 2nd quarter falling to 28-8. Then, at the end of that period, Gao:Wisa:S “Wassy” Stevens put five points on the Gowanda ledger. The last three of those came on a shot from the right side of mid-court at the buzzer.

Down 28-13 heading into the second half, things didn’t get better. Gowanda struggled to come up with 6 points while Portville added another 15 to their tally. With the game well out of reach to start the final quarter Portville was content to coast to the final buzzer. It would be Portville’s only quarter to fall short of double digits with just 8 points. Although Chloe Luther hit a 3-pointer in that period, Gowanda still only totaled six points as a team for the quarter. That left the final score at 51-25.

Crissa Scanlan had 10 points to lead Gowanda. Close behind, Gao:Wisa:S Stevens had 9. Also with one or more points for Gowanda were Chloe Luther, Lily Scanlan and Christina Wilder.

The Gowanda Varsity boys basketball team was at Portville on February 8. In the 1st quarter, Portville jumped out to an early 5-2 lead. Gowanda narrowed that to 8-7 before Portville hit on back-to-back 3-pointers to spark a rally that pushed their lead back out to 18-7. That margin held to the end of the period where the score stood at 21-11.

Gowanda fought their way back in the 2nd quarter. Outscoring Portville 11-2 Gowanda closed to within a point at 23-22. A pair of Quentin Centner 3-point baskets helped Gowanda pull ahead 30-29 by halftime.

A defense dominated 3rd quarter followed. Portville built a 4-point lead in the first half of the period and Gowanda countered that in the bottom half. After three quarters, the game was tied at 38.

In the crucial final period Portville opened up with a pair of 3-pointers as they went on a 12-point tear. With the score 50-38 at that point, Portville coasted to a win. Gowanda had only managed to reach 49 points when Blake Herman landed a 3-pointer from way outside at the buzzer. That left the final score at 57-52.

Leading the Gowanda offense was Quentin Centner with 18 points. Also in double digits for Gowanda were Blake Herman with 13 points and Tyler Smith with 10. Victor Rivera, Cole Herman, Tyler Smith and Andrew Barlow also scored for Gowanda.

February 8 also saw the Gowanda girls bowling team travel to Fredonia’s Lucky Lanes for a Rolloff involving 20 schools. Dunkirk finished in 1st Place with games of 1,219, 1,062 and 1,098 for a 3,379 series. Gowanda (1,031-1,079-1,004/3,114) was 4th and Randolph (918-956-1,007/2,881) was 18th. Cassadaga Valley (810-857-855-2,522) and Maple Grove (819-765-837-2,421) were there with less than 5 bowlers.

The Gowanda Varsity girls basketball team hosted Salamanca on February 7. The event also served as the Senior Night celebration for the team. Prior to the game time was taken to recognize the Senior members of both team. First, Salamanca Seniors, Mariah Downey, Aubrey Hogan and Makenzie Oates, were announced and given small gift baskets. All in attendance then gave them a round of applause. Then it was time to introduce the Gowanda Seniors and their families. They were also given commemorative gifts while their accomplishments were recounted. Those Seniors were Cece Rivera, Crissa Scanlan, Aurora Stevens and Gao:Wisa:S “Wassy” Stevens.

This was a very important game for the teams. Both Gowanda and Salamanca had just one league victory coming into the game. Salamanca’s win was over Gowanda in their previous meeting by score of 42-49.

Things started out slow. The scoring was close until a Salamanca 3-pointer put them up 7-3. They increased that to 11-5 before Gowanda got their game in gear. An 8-4 Gowanda surge to close out the 1st period reduced the gap to 15-13. The 2nd quarter was sluggish for both teams, but Gowanda was still able to score eight points. At the same time, they held Salamanca to just four points allowing Gowanda to take a 21-19 halftime lead.

In the 3rd quarter Salamanca took a 1-point, 25-24 lead before Gowanda fired back. Gowanda took the last six points of the period to pull back in front 31-25. Salamanca was held to five points in the final quarter, the last two of those coming with 3 seconds left in the game. Gowanda added 12 points in that period to lock down a 43-30 win.

Crissa Scanlan led Gowanda with 18 points. Behind her were Chloe Luther (9 points. including Gowanda’s only 3-pointer) and Gao:Wisa:S “Wassy” Stevens (8 points). Also contributing to the Gowanda point total were Cece Rivera (4 points), Layla Gamble (2 points) and Aurora Stevens (2 points).

The Gowanda boys bowling team was at Lucky Lanes in Fredonia for a rolloff on the 7th. Forestville came in 1st Place with games of 1,230, 1,106 and 1,165 for a 3,501 series. Gowanda (986-1,065-1,098/3,149) was 12th in a field of 22 schools. At the back of the pack was Franklinville (727-769-804/2,300).

The Gowanda Panthers Varsity basketball team hosted the Frewsburg Bears on February 6. It was Senior Night for Gowanda, but the Bears, who rolled over the Panthers 99-35 on January 10, made the occasion less joyful that it might have been.

Much like the previous encounter, Frewsburg got off to a fast start. Gowanda was down 11-0 when Quentin Centner scored the first points for the Panthers with 3:01 left in the 1st quarter. At the end of the period it was 23-9. Things got worse in the 2nd quarter. After scoring the 1st two points in that period, Gowanda went scoreless through the period on into halftime.

Gowanda started the 2nd half in an 11-40 hole and turned the 3rd quarter into their best effort of the game. The Panthers limited Frewsburg to twelve points in the period while adding twenty-one to their own tally. That brought to totals to 32-52.

Frewsburg answered with their best quarter of the game in the 4th. They outscored Gowanda in the final period 26-11 taking the final score to 78-43.

Leading Gowanda scoring was Quentin Centner with 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Right behind, with 10 points each, were John Ondus and Tyler Smith. Also, scoring for Gowanda were Blake Herman (5 points), Alex Pachucinski (2 points) and Andrew Barlow (2 points). In addition to Centner, Ondus and Herman also had 3-point baskets.

Being Senior Night, the pre-game included the introduction of the Senior players on the team along with their parents. The families were given small gift baskets and ballons while the player’s accomplishments were revisited. The Senior cheerleaders and their parents were similarly noted.

The lengthy list of senior players includes Andrew Barlow, Edoardo Comenga, Cole Herman, John Ondus, Alex Pachucinski, Ruben Rivera IV, Victor Rivera and Tyler Smith. Senior cheerleaders include Cami Clark, Emma Cross, Kailyn Farner, Jada Geiger, Kaitlyn Hastie, Rosalee LeBeau, Hannah Szalay, Shelby Weston and Gabriella Whipple.