Sports Recap

WINTER SPORTS RECAP PHOTOGRAPHY BY: BR. TIM BLANCHARD & TONI LAMBERT

BASKETBALL

The Red Raiders faced one of the toughest schedules in WNY for the 2021-22 season. Highlights of the non-league schedule include wins over McKinley, Christian Brothers Academy and McQuaid and tournament wins over Williamsville East and Health Sciences Charter School which earned them the championship of the Live Like Luca Holiday Tournament hosted by St. Francis. They finished the season with an overall record of 12-13 and a league record of 4-8 which tied them for 4th in the MMHSAA. The season ended in the quarterfinals of the Manhattan Cup playoffs with a heartbreaking 62-60 loss to Bishop Timon St. Jude. Leading the way offensively was forward and senior captain Brendan Reid, 1st Team AllCatholic, who averaged 12.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game followed by forward Logan Reaska, 3rd Team All-Catholic, who averaged 12 points and 8.3 rebounds a game. Senior captain CJ Moore manned the point guard position and averaged 10 pts per game to go along with a 2 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. Junior Sammy Marry led the team on the defensive end while also scoring 10 points a game. Sophomore center Marcus Harrison controlled the paint for the Red Raiders. Off the bench, the team was led by senior guard/forward Darnell Dallas and sophomore guards Jeremiah Neely and Nick Bienko.

BOWLING

The Varsity Bowling season saw the squad make huge improvements to their game from the previous season, both in terms of individual performance and team achievement. The guys finished 21-24, finishing in 4th place. The team was led by freshman anchor Jack Tebeau, who finished 2nd in the league and 5th in the state in average (206), making 1st Team All-Catholic and finished 5th in the step-ladder finals at the NYSCHSAA State Championship. His high set of 718 was tops in the league and he rolled a high game of 277. Junior James Giallella finished with a 164 average and had the league high game with 278. The team was rounded out by Seniors Gerald Eberl, Anthony Snyder, and Ryan Adymy. Snyder’s high game was 230, while Eberl was a 213 and Adymy a 198. Freshman Matthew Kotlowski rounded out the starters this season. Congratulations to Coach Jason Cretacci who hit the 100th career match win milestone this season.

PREP HOCKEY

The Prep Hockey team was a junior class heavy team with only 5 seniors. The Red Raiders were competitive in the MPHL and traveled to Syracuse, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Lake Forest and Burlington for tournaments. The team finished the year 10-24 improving as the year went on and learning how to play at an extremely high level. Highlights of the season were the win against Shadyside in OT and beating undefeated Gilmour in league play. St. Francis was the only team to beat Gilmour in league play the whole year. The Red Raiders learned and grew as a team so much this season. It takes a huge commitment to play Prep Hockey and we are very proud of all the players. Congratulations to Colton Clendening and Hunter Nowak for being named MPHL 2nd Team All-Stars.

FEDERATION HOCKEY

The Fed Hockey Team was a veteran-heavy team with 13 seniors. The team finished with an overall record of 8 wins, 6 regulation losses, 2 overtime losses, and 2 ties. The team made the playoffs as the 4th seed and defeated Canisius for the third time this season in the quarterfinals thanks to a goal by Senior Kyle Wicka with 16 seconds left in the game. The team went on to defeat division winner St. Mary’s 1-0 in the semi-finals but lost 2-1 in overtime to Nichols in the Niagara Cup Championship game. The Red Raiders were led by senior captain Sam Chiavetta who was the leading point-getter with 8 goals and 14 assists. Goaltending was split between senior Jack Zuchlewski and junior Brendan Walczak. Zuchlewski helped lead the team between the pipes throughout the playoff run to the finals and was awarded the first annual Miguel Rodriguez Outstanding Goaltender Award at the Championship game.

VARSITY CLUB HOCKEY

The Varsity Club Hockey team had a competitive season with an overall record of 7-8-2. Despite a small roster of upperclassmen, the team still fought hard until the end and had several positives to remember the season by. The main highlight of the season included a 6-game winning streak toward the end of league play and defeating West Seneca in the first round of the WNYHSCHL playoffs. Goalie Nick Eckhert was terrific in net throughout the season and was a steadying force for the team.

INDOOR TRACK

After a 2020-21 canceled season, the Indoor Track team returned determined and focused. Distance runner Joe Pivarunas broke the school record in the Two Mile, running 10:13. He was also ranked 3rd in WNY and 8th in CHSAA in the 1000m and top 10 in WNY in both the Mile and Two Mile. In the 600, Mike Durski ran a top 3 time in WNY and top 10 in CHSAA. Mike was also the team’s top 55m sprinter. Juniors Bryce Roberts and Sam Hallmark also hit CHSAA qualifying times in the 55m. In the jumps, Junior Andrew Krug scored points in 2 events at the CHSAA meet, placing 2nd in High Jump and 3rd in Long Jump. Krug qualified for the NYS Federation Meet in the High Jump and finished ranked 2nd in WNY. He also posted a top 10 time in the 55m Hurdles. Also in the High Jump, Junior Erik Shattenberg ranked 3rd in WNY and 4th in CHSAA. In the throws, Senior Gerald Eberl led the way on the team in Shot Put while Connor Baker led the team in the Weight Throw.

SWIMMING

The St. Francis Swim team wrapped up competition with a 3rd place finish at the All-Catholic Championships. Junior Jude Strittmatter broke a 30-year-old school record in the 100 yard fly with a time of 51.88 at the meet. Strittmatter also won the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:47.87. Senior Tom Kashino placed 2nd in the 100 yard backstroke. The 200 yard freestyle relay of Sam Comstock, Jude Strittmatter, Tom Kashino, and Doyle Knodel placed second, while the 400 yard freestyle relay of Ben Zambron, Ethan Karalus, Sam Comstock, and Hunter LaMoy placed 3rd. The 200 yard medley relay consisting of Jude Strittmatter, Tom Kashino, Zach Seifert, and Doyle Knodel also placed 3rd. Overall it was a good season for the team, as all 13 members went personal bests throughout the season.

WRESTLING

The Red Raider grapplers won another championship this season, posting a perfect 4-0 record in Monsignor Martin league competition. Senior Captains Liam Edwards and Tyler Wilkinson, and junior captain Jimmy Gordon led the way for the Red Raiders. Edwards, ranked as HM in WNY all season, won the MMHSAA All-Catholic title at 145 lbs. He led the team in wins with 34 and earned his milestone 100 career win in his first match at the CHSAA championships where he finished 3rd. Wilkinson, who also achieved the 100 career win milestone this season, finished 3rd at the All-Catholic tournament and 6th at the CHSAA championships for the second time in his career. Junior Bryce Roberts (132) and Sophomore Jack Coughlin (285) both earned All-Catholic honors. Freshmen Gabe Chase (102), Migel Marquez (118) and sophomore Connor Miller (172) all earned 2nd place at the All-Catholic Tourney. Miller won 27 matches this season and earned 5th place at the CHSAA Tournament. At the All-Catholic tournament, Sophomore Brandon Drummond (172) and freshman Will Hanson (215) placed 3rd, Freshmen Tucker Jobe (145) and Joe Littlejohn (160) placed 4th, while freshman Karol Krzyszton (215), sophomore Ethan Metro (182), and junior Nick Siler (138) placed 5th. Congratulations to Coach Messore on receiving MMHSAA Coach of the Year honors.

SOCCER

Correction:

Junior Owen Mulderig was named 1st Team All-Catholic and All WNY Large School for the 2021 Soccer season. He finished the season second on the team in goals scored (7) and led the team with 5 assists.