FREDONIA — There are not many teams that are playing in the Section VI championship game with a first-year head coach coaching only his third game as the head man.
Two weeks ago, Medina head coach Justin Morgan got into an accident skiing that required immediate surgery. When he was unable to coach the rest of the season, one of his assistant coaches Jason Woodworth stepped up and assumed the mantle.
Woodworth headed into the Section VI Class B1 championship game with a 2-0 record. Unfortunately for him, he is undefeated no more.
Medina struggled to keep up in a 68-33 loss to Olmsted, Wednesday, at SUNY Fredonia’s Dods Hall.
“I think the toughest thing we found out is they were able to keep the ball away from Preston (Woodworth) and Jerrell (Nealy) early,” Medina head coach Jason Woodworth said. “I think probably our pressure which we were confident in, I think they studied that enough, that they were prepared for it. We didn’t shift to man quickly enough so that’s probably squarely on me. … I don’t feel like we gave them anything. I think they earned it. I think they just outplayed us, bottom line.”
Medina’s 33 points are a season low and the lowest they’ve scored since they scored 33 in a 51-33 loss to Wilson on Feb. 15, 2024.
The first half was largely in favor of Olmsted who had a 33-21 lead heading into the break. At the intermission, Medina was led by Christian Moss with eight points while Olmsted was led by Tacari McCray’s 14 points.
The second half started with a battle with Medina fighting back to make it a 33-26 game but Olmsted responded with a basket to make it 35-26, that kickstarted a run to push their lead out to 48-26.
By the end of the third quarter, Olmsted had a 54-29 lead and it ballooned out to the final margin of 35 by the end of the game.
When things were going well for Medina, it was started by their full court pressure and their defense. It led to points in transition and easy looks at the cup. But when things were not going well and the frustration was boiling over, the defense was falling to the wayside.
During the game, they played multiple different defenses from man-to-man to zone.
“It kind of created a new identity at the tail of the season and it seemed to really bring some life to us,” Woodworth said. “… They obviously had a good plan for it, attacked the corners very well off of some screens and found some shooters wide open and we weren’t counting on that and we couldn’t make the adjustment.”
Medina’s scoring leader was Jerrell Nealy with 13 points. Tacari McCray’s 28 points led Olmsted.
Medina now finishes the season with a 16-7 overall record. The loss means Medina’s wait for their first sectional title since 2021 will continue.
“I’ve been around these boys since they were fifth and sixth grade, starting with youth programs,” Woodworth said. “It’s frustrating but to see the growth and development, how they’ve become closer, how much love they have for each other. I mean, yeah, I can’t be disappointed at all.”