A first-place clash almost seems inevitable at this point.

The teams will face off next Saturday, Feb. 1, as part of the Centercourt Classic at St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute. Tip-off is set for 6:15 p.m.

No. 1 Randolph improved to 10-1 on the season Tuesday night with a 61-51 nonleague win over Panama. The Cardinals will finish this week with a Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 3 first-place showdown with Gowanda on Friday night.

Westfield is No. 2 in Class C after beating nonleague Allegany-Limestone on Sunday afternoon at SUNY Fredonia to improve to 13-1 on the year. The Wolverines will travel to Sherman on Friday night for a Division 2 matchup.

Griffin Nelson, left, and the Randolph Cardinals are ranked No. 1 in Class C this week, while Tate Catanese, right, and the Panama Panthers are ranked No. 2 in Class D. Photo courtesy of Mike Frame

Gowanda is the 25th-ranked team in Class C with an 8-4 record, most recently beating Portville in Division 3 play. The Panthers will put the ranking to the test Friday in Randolph.

Chautauqua Lake is listed as honorable mention in Class C. The Eagles are 6-7 on the season after beating Pine Valley on Sunday at SUNY Fredonia, but losing to Southwestern on Monday at Jamestown Community College in a pair of nonleague matchups. Chautauqua Lake will host Maple Grove in Division 2 play Friday.

In Class D, Panama is No. 2 with an 8-2 record after beating Falconer on Monday at Jamestown CC and losing in Randolph on Tuesday in nonleague games. The Panthers will return to Division 2 play at Brocton on Friday.

Clymer and Forestville are listed as honorable mention in Class D. The Pirates improved to 6-6 on the season with a win over nonleague Ellicottville on Monday at Jamestown CC and will not play again until next Tuesday at home against Brocton in Division 2 action. The Hornets dropped their first game of the season Saturday at nonleague Sherman and will take on the same Wildcats this coming Saturday at SUNY Fredonia.

Salamanca is No. 7 in Class B with a 9-1 record after beating Dunkirk in its last Division 1 game. The Warriors will continue league play Friday at Southwestern.

Allegany-Limestone is No. 11 in Class B with an 8-3 record. The Gators lost to nonleague Westfield on Sunday at SUNY Fredonia and will host Southwestern in Division 1 play next Tuesday.

Falconer and Fredonia are listed as honorable mention in Class B. The Golden Falcons are 8-6 on the season after beating School of the Arts out of Rochester on Sunday at SUNY Fredonia and losing to Panama on Monday at Jamestown CC in nonleague play. Falconer returns to Division 1 play Friday at home against Fredonia. The Hillbillies are 6-6 after beating nonleague Frewsburg on Monday at Jamestown CC.

Jamestown is ranked No. 19 in Class AAA with a 9-1 record after beating nonleague St. Mary’s on Saturday. The Red & Green will return to Erie County Interscholastic Conference Division 1 play Saturday afternoon against Orchard Park at McElrath Gymnasium.

Also in Class AAA, Niagara Falls is No. 23. In Class AA, Canisius is No. 3, St. Joe’s is No. 4, Bishop Timon is No. 10, Health Sciences is No. 13, and Kenmore West, LaSalle, Lockport, McKinley, Nichols and Orchard Park are honorable mention. In Class A, Grand Island is No. 9, Amherst is No. 13 and Williamsville South is No. 20, while Cheektowaga, Iroquois and Lewiston-Porter are honorable mention. In Class B, Akron is No. 13 and Eden is No. 16, while Wilson is honorable mention. Holland is honorable mention in Class C.

No. 1 teams other than Randolph are: Archbishop Stepniac of the Catholic High Schools in Class AAA, Albany Academy of the Association of Independent Schools in Class AA, Glens Falls of Section II in Class A, World of Inquiry of Section V in Class B and Fillmore of Section V in Class D.

GIRLS

A pair of local teams are ranked No. 4 in this week’s rankings.

Randolph is No. 4 in Class C, Frewsburg is No. 5, Cassadaga Valley is No. 12 and Maple Grove is No. 19.

The Cardinals are now 7-4 on the season after beating Cassadaga Valley in Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 3 action last Friday. Randolph returns to action tonight at Gowanda.

The Bears are 10-2 on the season after beating nonleague McDowell (Pa.) on Tuesday. Frewsburg returns to Division 3 action tonight at Cassadaga Valley.

The Cougars are 8-2 on the season after losing to the Cardinals last Friday.

The Red Dragons are 9-2 on the season after beating Clymer last Friday. Maple Grove returns to Division 2 action tonight at Panama.

In Class D, Sherman is No. 4 and Pine Valley is No. 10.

The Wildcats are 12-1 on the season after beating nonleague Southwestern on Tuesday night. Sherman returns to Division 2 action tonight at home against Chautauqua Lake.

The Panthers are 7-1 on the season after beating Division 4 foe Cattaraugus-Little Valley last Friday. Pine Valley returns to action Friday at Maple Grove.

In Class B, Southwestern is No. 10 and Salamanca is No. 20.

The Trojans are 9-2 after losing to Sherman on Tuesday and will host Fredonia in Division 1 play tonight. The Warriors are 6-4 after beating Dunkirk in Division 1 play Friday. Salamanca will host Allegany-Limestone in league play tonight.

In Class AAA, Cardinal O’Hara is No. 22 and Lancaster is No. 25. St. Mary’s is No. 8, North Tonawanda is No. 9 and West Seneca West is No. 17 in Class AA. In Class A, Williamsville South is No. 20 and Iroquois is No. 25. Akron is No. 23 in Class B.

No. 1 teams in the state are: Christ the King of the Catholic High School Athletic Association in Class AAA, Hilton of Section V in Class AA, Dalton of the Association of Independent Schools in Class A, Bishop Grimes of Section III in Class B, Greenwich of Section II in Class C and Elba of Section V in Class D.