Four new players spark turnaround for private Rochester school playing in Class B for the Section V championship game at the War Memorial once again
(Photo: The Section V finalist brunch)
By Bill Collmer, Hornell Sun Senior Sports Writer
ROCHESTER — The Section Five Class B2 Championship game will be held tonight (Friday) at 9 p.m. at the Blue Cross Arena. The matchup features one team vying for its first ever Sectional Championship against a team with 13 Section V Championships and two State Championships.
The Canisteo-Greenwood boys from Steuben County are looking for their first Sectional Championship since merging in 2004, While Greenwood won Four straight Sectional Championships from 1981-1984, Canisteo never won one and they’ve yet to capture one since the merger.
Senior Carson Chaffee has led Canisteo-Greenwood all season long averaging 26.0 PPG, Chaffee has over 1,600 career points and is the School’s All-Time Leading Scorer. Chaffee was voted Steuben County League MVP for the second consecutive season.
On the other side of the court will be the Kings of Bishop-Kearney the No. 1 Seed in Class B2. Kearney is led by Senior Jayden Capers with 17.6 PPG, and Senior Maddox Volpe with 13.1 PPG.
While they did not meet this season, Canisteo-Greenwood defeated Bishop-Kearney last season 65-63 in overtime in Canisteo on January 31. Only Volpe played for Kearney in that game as Kearney’s other four starters are all new to the program this season.
ROAD TO THE FINALS
Canisteo-Greenwood defeated No.7 Addison 62-42 in the quarterfinal and Defeated No.3 C.G Finney 54-40 in the Semifinals.
Bishop-Kearney Defeated No.8 Red Creek 93-51 in the quarterfinal and No. 4 East-Rochester 62-59 in the Semifinals.
COMMON OPPONENT
Both teams defeated Wayland-Cohocton. Kearney beat Way-Co, 75-67, in the championship game of the Attica Christmas Tournament. Canisteo-Greenwood defeated Way-Co, 78-42 ,in the championship game of the Dansville Tip-Off Tournament.
Players to Watch for Bishop-Kearney: Jayden Capers Sr. G/F (17.5 PPG, 9 RPG, 2.4 APG, 2.2 SPG); Jaiden Pascoe So. G/F (13.0 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.6 SPG); Maddox Volpe Sr. PF/C (12.3 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.7 SPG); Owen Gorham 7th G (7.2 PPG, 3.4 APG, 2.1 SPG, 2.0 RPG); Dalton Hamer Fr. G (4.1 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.5 SPG)
Players to Watch for Canisteo-Greenwood: Carson Chaffee Sr. (26.0 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 5.0 APG); James Smith Jr. (12.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG); Jack Beers 8th (11.0 PPG, 2.0 SPG); Kevin Sirianni Sr. (10.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG); Thomas Sirianni Sr. (8.0 PPG, 5.0 APG).
BK FAMOUS ALUMNI: Current NBA Player Thomas Bryant helped lead Kearney to the State Championship in 2013. Haley Winn graduated from Kearney in 2021, She played for the 2026 Team USA Women’s Ice Hockey Olympic Gold Medalist, drafted 2nd overall in the 2025 PWHL Draft. Caroline Harvey 2026 Team USA Women’s Ice Hockey Olympic Gold Medalist, 2022 Silver Medalist. 2011 Graduate Quentin Gause played in the NFL for the Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles.
CANISTEO/GREENWOOD FAMOUS ALUMNI: Nick Clark stands alone. He was so good in football at Canisteo and Alfred University that he was invited to camp for the Buffalo Bills. But his calling was service over self and he joined the New York State Police, where he died in the line of duty. Scholarships and honors in Nick Clark’s name take place in football, wrestling and more. Others: Power-slapping champion Cole Young, 4-time Section V basketball champion Brian Hoyt of Greenwood and proud Canisteo graduate Bob Lonsberry, a talk radio legend in Rochester, Syracuse and the Southern Tier who never forgot his roots.
AT A GLANCE
What: Section V Class B2 Championship
Who: Canisteo-Greenwood to battle Bishop-Kearney
Where: Blue Cross Arena
When: Friday, March 6, at 9 p.m.
Records: Canisteo-Greenwood (18-3) vs. Bishop-Kearney (19-3)
PPG: Canisteo-Greenwood 78.2 PPG, Opponents 51.6 PPG
Bishop-Kearney 73.0 PPG, Opponents 61.2 PPG
FROM THE COACH
Canisteo-Greenwood second year Coach Brandon Beers on the team:
“I am beyond proud of these boys. I’ll never forget that feeling of losing at the buzzer to East-Rochester last season in the semi-finals. I remember walking into the locker room and seeing the boys with their heads down, crushed. As a coach, it destroyed me inside. The boys had two choices after that night. Quit, pack it in, and make excuses or pick up their lunch pails and punch back into work. Lucky for us, I have the hardest-working kids. They have shown up day in and day out for the last 12 months. They deserve this, and our community is lucky to have them. They have given us hope. It’s been 22 years since we last went to the Blue Cross Arena. It’s the first time ever since the merger. They are a special group of kids. I’m just so proud of them.”
