Gowanda Small Town Times

On Friday, December 14, the Gowanda wrestling team and the Varsity boys basketball team were the only two Varsity teams in action. Basketball was at Cassadaga Valley and wrestling was at Maple Grove.

In basketball, Gowanda got off to a slow start with Cassadaga Valley grabbing an early 7-0 lead. The last three points of that run came from 3-point range before Logan Ruff answered with a 3-pointer to open the scoring for Gowanda. Cassadaga Valley landed three more shots from long distance in the period as they secured a 22-14 advantage by the end of the opening quarter. Gowanda reversed that in the 2nd quarter. A 15-point Gowanda run sparked by a Blake Herman 3-pointer saw Gowanda go ahead 29-24. The game continued on in a very tight battle and Gowanda was up by just two points, 36-34 at halftime.

From that point, Gowanda was able to gradually expand their lead. A score by Ruff with 3 seconds left in the 3rd quarter put Gowanda up 50-42. That momentum continued into the final quarter. The Gowanda lead grew to 68-50 with 1:39 left to play. At that point, Gowanda swapped out all five players for the duration of the game. Gowanda’s total reached 70 by the end of the game while Cassadaga Valley closed out their scoring with a 3-pointer for a final score of 70-53.

Leading Gowanda were Quentin Centner (two 3-pointers; 20 points), Blake Herman (two 3-pointers; 13 points) and Trelin Warrior (one 3-pointer; 13 points). Also making single 3-pointers were Logan Ruff 7 points and Seth Geiger (5 points). Additional help came from Troy Jimerson (8 points). Everett Stevens (2 points) and Dominick Whalen (2 points).

Also on the 14th, the Gowanda wrestling was at Maple Grove. It turn out to a very tight meet with Gowanda winning 30-34. Forfeit wins at 116 and 124 turned out to be the difference in the meet. Gowanda also gave up a forfeit loss at 145. Four Gowanda wrestler earned wins by pin on the night. They were Kaleb Smith (152, 1:36) over Will Benson, Maddox Hudson (160, 0:26) over Matthew Ashbaugh, Michael (170, 1:00) over Logan Quattrone and Brody Mescall (190, 0:21) over Ezekiel Padd. Gowanda’s Nathan Warrior (138) won a 9-2 decision over Jaxon Kraft.

[photo] Screenshot from the December 12 boys Varsity basketball game at North Collins. Gowanda’s Seth Geiger (#3) is shown making a 3-point shot early in the game.

Basketball dominated the Varsity sports action on Tuesday, December 12. Both the Gowanda Varsity boys and girls basketball teams both had non-league road games that evening. The girls were at Jamestown while the boys were at North Collins.

In the boys match-up, Gowanda was dominant from the start scoring the first 8 points of the game. Aided by back-to-back 3-pointers from Seth Geiger and Everett Stevens, Gowanda soon held a 20-5 advantage. By the end of one quarter that lead was up to 32-14. Things evened out in the 2nd quarter with North Collins outscoring Gowanda, but only by a point, 23-22. Gowanda came out strong in the 3rd quarter nearly matching their effort from Quarter 1 adding another 29 to their tally against 14 for North Collins. Sparking that surge was Quentin Centner scoring 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. With Gowanda holding a huge 83-51 lead going into the 4th quarter, the period was mostly a scrimmage for bench players with North Collins closing the gap by 4 points 14-10. That still left Gowanda with a 93-65 win.

Topping the Gowanda stats were Quentin Centner (28 points) and Trelin Warrior (24 points). Centner hit from 3-point range 4 times and Warrior did the same twice. Seth Geiger contributed 8 points, including two 3-pointers. With single 3-point baskets were Blake Herman (8 points) and Everett Stevens (5 points). Also scoring for Gowanda were Logan Ruff (6 points), Dominick Whalen (6 points), Ben VanNote (4 points), Carson Huch (2 points) and Troy Jimerson (2 points).

The Gowanda Varsity girls basketball team had a rare early start at Jamestown playing before the JV game. It was a rough night for Gowanda, especially in the early going. Problems with errant passes and shots that frequently hit the rim and bounced out left Gowanda with only four points after one period. Complicating things was Jamestown’s Alyson Canfield having a particularly hot night. Canfield landed three 1st quarter 3-pointers towards Jamestown’s total of 11 in the period. She finished the game with nine 3’s, a Jamestown single game record, and a career high 39 points in the game.

The Gowanda deficit grew to 35-12 by halftime. Gowanda outpaced Jamestown in a wild 3rd quarter, 15-13. At times in the period one of the officials seemed to be looking to fouls to call on Gowanda. Questioning one of those calls triggered the official into throwing the Gowanda assistant coach out of the game. What followed was a string of 8 consecutive technical fouls shots for Jamestown. Gowanda closed out the last 3:31 of the third period with eleven unanswered points taking the score to 48-27. Jamestown padded their margin by 8 points with an 18-10 effort in the final period. That Jamestown run ended with four straight unanswered 3-pointers for a 66-37 win.

Corrina John led the Panthers with 19 points, including five 3-pointers. Lauren Kelly contributed 7 points. Lily Scanlan scored 4 points, including a 3-pointer. Also scoring for Gowanda were Karice John (2 points), Alhanna Gamble (3 points) and Autumn Pupo (2 points).

[photo] Gowanda’s Lauren Kelly (#45) goes up to score early in the December 8 home game against Forestville. Also seen are Layla Gamble (#22) and Christina Wilder (#30).

Friday, December 8, was a very busy day in Varsity sports for Gowanda. All of the Gowanda-based teams were active on the day.

It was the home opener for the Gowanda Varsity girls basketball team hosting Forestville, who arrived with only six players for the game. A minute and forty-five seconds into the game Corrina John scored a 3-pointer to open the scoring for Gowanda. A very busy Gowanda 1st Quarter saw the team up 14-5 as the period ended. A Gowanda slump, coupled with a Forestville spurt in Quarter 2, found the score tightened to 19-15 by halftime. Gowanda came out fast after the intermission for their best quarter of play in the game. Outpacing Forestville 17-7 in the period, Gowanda’s lead was back up to 36-22 heading to the final quarter. Stumbling again in the final quarter, Gowanda allowed Forestville to mount a comeback. That Forestville rally fell short as Gowanda pulled out a 44-39 win. The officials called 23 fouls on Gowanda during the game. Fortunately, Forestville only scored on 19 of 46 attempts from the foul line. Leading the Gowanda offense were Lauren Kelly (20 points) and Corrina John (13 points). Also contributing were Christina Wilder (3 points), Layla Gamble (2 points), Autumn Pupo (2 points), Lily Scanlan (2 points), Jules Hageman (1 point) and Marrisa Beaver (1 point).

The Gowanda Varsity boys basketball team was at Eden on the 8th for a non-league game. Their results were not as favorable as the girl’s. Eden opened the game scoring from 3-point point range and never looked back. By the end of the 1st Quarter, Gowanda was behind 19-9. Gowanda was hampered throughout the game by uncharacteristically poor ball handling leading to numerous turnovers. An overall off night for the offense found Gowanda down 33-16 by halftime on the way to a 66-41 final score. Making the situation worse. Eden landed a total of six 3-pointers in the game. The Gowanda offense relied on a heavy dose of Quentin Centner, who scored 24 points, including three 3-pointers. Just outside of double digits was Logan Ruff with 9 points. With two points each for Gowanda were Blake Herman, Troy Jimerson and Carson Huch.

The Gowanda boys and girls bowling teams opened their season on Friday the 8th hosting Cattaraugus-Little Valley at Gowanda’s K&L Lanes. both teams recorded big wins to start the season. The boys won their match 2767-1978 with game scores of 974-693, 911-600 and 882-685. With 500-range series for the Gowanda boys were Gavin Whitcher (264-200-121/585), Nicholas Smuda (159-181-188/528), Drezden Spire (207-170-143/520) and Morgan Ruff (138-162-166/466) Also bowling were Zachary Hojnacki (117-125-156/398) and Jarek Howard (89-73-108/270).

The Gowanda girls team had game scores of 755-679, 861-600 and 691-584 for a 2307-1863 win. The girls also had two 500-series bowlers. They were Aubrey Spire (204-170-200/574) and Bailey Shields (180-136-192/508). Also bowling complete series for the Gowanda girls were Makayla Kuras (142-158-102/402) and Emma Golden (124-133-97/354). Sierra Twoguns bowled two games for a total of 241 pins. Bowling single games were Lila Offenbach (128) and Tayleigh Williams (100).

Finally, December 8 & 9 saw the Gowanda wrestling team represented at the Southern Tier Wrestling Officials (STWOA) Tournament along with 25 other schools. Big winner at the tourney was St. Francis with 191 points. In 23rd Place was Gowanda with a score of 30.5. A few highlight Gowanda performances have been reported. In Consolation Round 2 Nathan Warrior (138) had a Technical Fall (15-0) win over Chase Campbell (Northwestern). Also in Consolation Round 2, Jayden Fish (138) earned an 11-6 decision over Dallas Green (Randolph). In Consolation Round 5 Domanik Clark (Randolph) had a 6-4 Sudden Victory win over Gowanda’s Nathan Warrior in the 1st Period of overtime. One Gowanda wrestler, Maddox Hudson (160), made it to the Quarterfinals where he lost by pin (1:22) to Caden Inkley (Randolph). Hudson had made it to the Quarterfinals by pinning Colton Hamilton (Chautauqua Lake-Westfield-Panama) in 2:31.

Boys Basketball (2-1)

Monday, December 4 -non-league -
Gowanda at Cattaraugus-Little Valley
Gowanda 64, Catt.-L.V. 43

Friday, December 8 -non-league -
Gowanda at Eden
Gowanda 41, Eden 66

Girls Basketball

Wednesday, December 6
Gowanda at Springville/West Valley
Gowanda 33, Springville 39

Friday, December 8
Forestville at Gowanda
Gowanda 44, Forestville 39

Wrestling

Wednesday, December 6
Springville at Gowanda
Gowanda 33, Springville 41

December 8 & 9
Southern Tier Wrestling Officials (STWOA) Tournament (26 schools)

1st St. Francis 191
23rd Gowanda 30.5
26th Cameron County (PA) 3

Bowling Boys (1-0) Girls (1-0)

Friday, December 8
Cattaraugus-Little Valley at Gowanda
Boys
Gowanda 4, Catt.-L.V. 0
974-693/911-600/882-685 [2767-1978]
Girls
755-679/861-600/691-584 [2307-1863]

Swimming (Eden/Gowanda)

Wednesday, December 6
St. Francis (Buffalo) at Eden
Eden 74, St. Francis 82
Gowanda’s Christian Merrill 4 gold for 12 points
200M Medley Relay team 1:59.85
200M Individual Medley 2:30.70
100M Backstroke 1:05.84
400M Freestyle Relay team 4:00.93

[photo] Referee signals 2 points for Gowanda’s Kaleb Smith (145) during the December 6 home meet against Springville.

The Gowanda Varsity wrestling team opened their 2023 season at home on December 6. Gowanda hosted Springville for what turned out to be a very exciting evening of wrestling. Before the Varsity contests two exhibition matches were held. The first of those was tied 8-8 after two periods. Gowanda ran up a 16-8 point advantage before getting a win by pin with just 0.04 seconds left on the clock. The second match was equally exciting as a 5-1 point advantage in period 1 tightened to 5-4 by the end of period 2. Gowanda gained a 7-4 point advantage before achieving a pin with 1:05 left in the 3rd period. Gowanda then won the opening coin toss as the focus turned to Varsity action.

Gowanda’s Kaleb Smith (145) won the first Varsity match with a pin in 5:29. In the 152 Class match, Gowanda got in trouble early and went down by pin in 1:04. The score was tied 6-6 and Maddox Hudson (160) was up for Gowanda. After ending the first period in a 2-2 tie, Hudson gained a narrow point advantage in Period 2 before locking down a pin in 4:39. That was followed by Michael Horth (170) gaining a win by a 5-0 decision. Gowanda was on the move and Brody Mescall (190) also won by pin (1:01). At this point, Gowanda was up 21-6. Springville answered in the 215 weight class match running up a 16-0 point total and winning by technical fall with 1:37 left in the third period. Springville followed that by taking a win by pin in 1:15 at 285. With Gowanda’s lead cut to 21-17 focus turned to the lower weight classes. At 101, Springville put up one of their female wrestlers against Gowanda’s Zack Stark. The apparent mismatch verified as Stark ran up a quick 5-0 point advantage before getting a win by pin at 1:02. Gowanda’s 27-17 lead was reversed as Springville achieved pins at 108 (1:03) and 124 (3:23) as well as taking a forfeit win at 116. Springville was up 27-29. Gowanda managed one final win in the meet. Owen Pfaffenback (124) got a pin in 3:23 putting Gowanda back in front 33-29. That advantage was short lived as Springville closed out the meet with back-to-back pins at 131 (5:04) and 138 (1:40). That gave Springville a 41-33 win.

The Varsity action was followed by 8 additional matches. Gowanda won half of those with pins in 4:33 and 1:08 plus a 9-6 decision as well as pin in 4:37 in the only girls match.

Meanwhile, the Gowanda Varsity girls basketball team was at Springville/West Valley. This battle between the two school ended up in nearly the same score as the wrestling match. It was a sluggish affair with no scoring in the first 2:29 of the game when Gowanda’s Corinna John scored a single point on a foul shot. Springville matched that single point before moving into a 6-1 lead. Gowanda stepped it up a bit but still trailed 9-6 after the 1st Quarter. The teams played a nearly even 2nd quarter with Springville bumping up their lead by a single point to lead 17-13 by halftime. Springville ballooned their advantage to 30-20 in an active 3rd Quarter of play. Gowanda went all out in the final quarter for their only double-digit period of the game. Outscoring Springville 13-9 Gowanda was still left with a 39-33 loss. It was a big final quarter for a couple players who had been silent up to that point. Karice John hit twice for her only 4 points in the game. Lily Scanlan also scored her only 4 points in that period on a 3-pointer and a foul shot.

Leading the Gowanda scoring were Lauren Kelly (13 points) and Corrina John (11 points, including a 3-pointer). Alhanna Gabel also scored in the game.