2024 Week 11 (Great Lakes)

2024 Week 11 (Great Lakes)

I wasn’t planning to be home during Week 11. In fact, I had already planned to be in Montana again. But things don’t always go as planned. And finding myself at home I looked around the great lakes states and found some Wednesday and Thursday games in New York that I could attend. Not just Pennsylvania games.

On Wednesday night there was three games to choose from in Section VI. On Thursday, there was just a single game. I knew which Wednesday game I wanted to attend. That being the Class A title game for the Chuck Funke Bowl in Sanborn, New York.

The other options were in Akron and at Southwestern. I had been to Southwestern and seen them play. But had never seen Roy-Hart/Barker. However, I had never been to Niagara-Wheatfield or had seen them or North Tonawanda. Plus, they had a relatively new field. A team that formerly always played Saturday afternoon games now had turf and lights. I was going to head there. But, I was planning to drive all the way home. A cost of a hotel wasn’t worth it for just one extra game. And I wasn’t making the drive on back-to-back days. That’s nearly 7 hours in a car to save $60 or so.

But, I had points through Hotels.com and I used them toward a room and found one in Niagara Falls for just over $35. This meant I was also seeing the Thursday night game between Medina and Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove. Rechristened as the Herd and not the Golden Cougars.

With New York settled, and a doubleheader only available in Pennsylvania, I decided to pick a Friday night game in Ohio. There were a lot of options. And I wasn’t too keen on any of the District 10 or District 7 games in Pennsylvania.

Early on Wednesday, I drove into Pennsylvania and north on I-79 to Erie. I-90 into New York and opted to stay on the Thruway. I didn’t really want to but I also didn’t feel like the added time. But I did get off at NY79 in Hamburg and followed that to NY5 near St. Francis HS and continued across the Buffalo Skyway and up I-190 onto Grand Island, and back off the island into Niagara Falls. I stopped at my hotel and checked in. Then found a late lunch.

Seeing great reviews for Viola’s, I had to check it out. It was just a quick drive from the hotel and along the way to Niagara-Wheatfield. Home of the “Original” Submarine, I was expecting a lot. And it delivered. The only real negative was the decor inside, and the lack of credit card payments. Though I had the cash. And despite the higher prices for sandwiches it was quite busy the entire time I was there having my sandwich.

I saw the Steak and Cheese highly recommended. There wasn’t a ton of options. So, I went with the large Double Steak and Cheese. And it delivered. It’s not a huge sandwich. But the seasoning, dressing, onion and lettuce (not getting tomatoes) made for a great sandwich. Served in tightly wrapped cellophane. The decore of the place was 1990s Subway booths. In the original yellow.

After that, it was the back way up through some north/south back roads into the Town of Niagara and further into the Town of Lewiston. In New York, they don’t have townships. They call them all towns. But they’re functionally the same. Unless it’s a city, ‘towns’ as you might call them elsewhere are villages. So the village of Lewiston is surrounded by the Town of Lewiston. Which is where Niagara-Wheatfield High School is located. Its mailing address is Sanborn, but the two towns the school covers don’t house the actual school itself.

I checked out the school and made my way around the east side of the campus to the athletic fields. The old stadium sits right behind the new all-purpose stadium. It does not yet have a name. I did confirm with the school the game was being played and had asked the name of the new stadium. As the old stadium had a name, but the new stadium was simply called the Niagara-Wheatfield Turf Field. As it had turf, and was a combination of football, soccer, baseball, and softball. A rather common setup taking root in New York. Building just one stadium for several sports.

#58 – Niagara-Wheatfield v. North Tonawanda

This was part of the Chuck Funke Bowl. A post-season consolation tournament for teams that don’t qualify for the sectional playoffs. Technically there is one for each class, but AA and D don’t have enough teams to have a tournament. In Class A, there’s just two teams playing a single game for the championship. Between 1-7 Niagara-Wheatfield and 2-6 North Tonawanda.

Both teams were new for me. And of course the new stadium was new. The game was entertaining. Niagara-Wheatfield slowly pulled away and won, 28-15.

After the game, I headed back to Viola’s and got another hoagie. After several failed attempts elsewhere. The Topps grocery store did not have any hot foods left. And I didn’t want regular chain fast food. So, instead of the Steak and Cheese, I ordered the Steak and Capicola on the advice of the girl behind the counter. It was just as good, possibly better, than the Steak and Cheese.

Back at the hotel I got the photos situated and called it a night around 4am.

After leaving, I went for lunch. Southeast of Niagara Falls State Park, and well within the tourist trap area, there was International Buffet. Which is primarily Indian, with some Italian. They had lamb meatballs, chicken wings that was a little overcooked, and some chicken curry. Which was well worth the $19 lunch buffet price. The naan was decent.

With time to kill I took the long way to Medina. Heading to the Niagara Scenic Parkway which has been greatly truncated within the city. But it follows the river north of town and into Lewiston. Where it becomes the four-lane parkway like other New York parkways. Stopping at Fort Niagara and then east to the abrupt end of the parkway. Continuing east along Lake Ontario’s south shore on NY18 to NY63 and south into Lyndonville.

Stopping at the gas station to get some ice for the sweet tea I bought at the Dollar General, I saw that. It didn’t appear that he drove over to buy gas. It seemed like that was his ride.

Then from there, south into Medina and looking for the school and a good ‘welcome’ photo for the game. I settled on the marquee in front of the school before seeing the school itself. The brickwork of MEDINA HIGH SCHOOL etched into the facade looked suitable even if there was some light construction going on around the entrance.

It was Halloween, and trick-or-treating was happening in Medina. So, I wasn’t expecting a huge crowd as the game kicked off just as it was ending. Or appeared to be ending.

#59 – Medina v. Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove

Medina’s Veterans Memorial Park is fairly nice. Another multi-purpose stadium in New York. This one the more traditional rectangle. With the baseball and softball diamonds beyond the visiting sideline. With a large football stand constructed along the east sideline.

I had seen FCVMG before. Playing their first year as a co-op at CSP. However, this was my first time seeing Medina. They had been on a decent run in Class C, and I had just missed seeing them previously on a few occasions. But tonight this was the only game for hundreds of miles.

The two teams traded touchdowns, but Medina kept the slim lead on conversions. And added two more scores in the second half to win a close game. But it was fast moving despite the game being aired online.

After the game, I had a long drive home. I drove south to I-90, and took the Thruway west through Buffalo and kept driving to Erie. Bypassing the cheap gas in Seneca Nation, and getting home via I-79 and I-80 as I have done countless times before coming to games up here.

Getting home around 1am, I didn’t do much. I got photos situated, and went and got my daughter from school. Went out to eat, and then got situated to head to my game.

#60 – LaBrae v. Smithville

Leavittsburg LaBrae, as the OHSAA references them, are in Trumbull County west/northwest of Warren. Smithville, meanwhile, were from just northeast of Wooster. Having passed by the school and town several times over the years but had completely forgotten where they’re from until I looked it up the day of the game.

I had been intending to head to a LaBrae game sometime, many times, in the past. But tonight was the night. And I’d add their stadium to my list as well. Which was quite night, decently bright, and still had grass. Though the sideline was a bit lumpy between track and the field’s white stripe.

LaBrae could have led by more, but settled for a slim 10-7 lead at the break. Passing was a strugle for LaBrae. Winds didn’t help. Tied at 13-13 late in the game, Smithville went on a long possession to take the lead 20-13. And hold off a last chance effort by the Vikings. Giving the win to the visitors, 20-13.

After the game, I didn’t do much. Just quickly drove home along OH82 to OH7 and into Hubbard and south. Did photos, and was ready to go first thing in the morning. With a 1pm game kicking off in Brookville, I was intent on getting there.

I had a fall back option. Two, rather. One was at 1pm at Hickory. The other was at Western Beaver. Nothing any more intriguing than the game at Brookville. Both were covered, or I was aware. However, I had never been to Brookville. I had seen it driving by on I-80 many times. And had not been there since turf was installed.

#61 – Punxsutawney v. USO

This was my third time seeing Punxsutawney play. Once they traveled to Greenville. And on a Thursday they hosted Brookville, their chief rival, at home. Though not seeing Brookville today, I had seen Brookville at the aforementioned Punxsutawney game, and also at Central Clarion.

USO is a co-op of three Pittsburgh city schools: University Prep, Science & Tech, and Obama Academy. The USO Wildcats were making a long trip out for this PIAA Subregional. And it was my sixth time seeing them overall.

They started sluggish. But Punxsutawney’s lead slipped and quickly gave way to a USO win as several long passes, two for over 80 yards in the fourth quarter, put USO in the lead and won a much more one-sided game than it had appeared through the first three quarters.

After the game, I headed to Clarion and stopped for lunch at Sakura. An all-you-can-eat Chinese Buffet with Japanese and American items. The sushi was decent, but a tad dry. Though they had Unagi Nigiri. They also had some excellent pork shoulder, shrimp, and spicy pork. And the frog legs. Done to perfection and they didn’t dry them out as some places do. Fresh Kiwi as well.

Stopping, though, had eaten more time than I had expected. I figured the drive between Brookville and Hermitage would be an easy one. A game ending around 4 and a game kicking off at 7 with a 90 minute drive between was not going to be an issue.

I got to the school and drove past the first driveway to get a photo of the marquee.

#62 – Greenville v. Lakeview

I wasn’t expecting much from this game. Greenville was a heavy favorite. And there wasn’t much in way of options. And it was one of the closest games to attend. It was my first time at Hickory in seven years. They had replaced the turf and now had one of the largest midfield logos I had ever seen. A giant “H” spanning from the 33 to the 33.

Greenville had a sluggish start as well. Though capitalized on some great catches, but only led 14-7 at the half. But the game never really felt in doubt. Lakeview was giving it everything they had. But could only find the endzone once.

The second half was fast paced, and Greenville added two more scores. Going on to win, 28-7.

I met one of the coaches for Greenville after the game. And then went and got a photo of the giant H from the stands.

ECONOMICS

For the weekend, I drove 797 total miles. Gas costs were just $33, while food was $134. Mostly because of the two hoagies in Niagara Falls, the International Buffet, and the Chinese Buffet at Sakura. I spent $10 for parking at Niagara Falls. And $13.65 for tolls. And lastly was $35.85 for the hotel at the Swiss Cottage Inn.