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The last two seasons, the Maple Grove Red Dragons' boys basketball team has compiled a 46-6 record.

Many of those victories - particularly in games from Division 3 of the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association - were decided before halftime.

That won't likely be the case for the 2009-10 campaign.

Armed with the blessings of the appropriate Western New York basketball committees, Maple Grove has discarded its traditional league opponents for this year only and, instead, will play an aggressive independent schedule.

Highlighting the 18-game slate are appearances at the Olean, Jamestown, Dunkirk and St. Bonaventure tournaments; a home game with St. Joe's of Buffalo; home-and-home contests with Section 5's C.G. Finney, the team the Red Dragons defeated in last year's Far West Regional; and road trips to St. Mary's of Lancaster and North Tonawanda.

Toss in games against CCAA schools Southwestern (two), Randolph (two) and Westfield and the Red Dragons figure to have their work cut out for them in their bid to make a third straight trip to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D Final Four in Glens Falls.

''We may go .500 or less,'' Coach Curt Fischer said. ''To play a big schedule we could be one injury from disaster, but we do have a lot of talent from the jayvee squad.''

And the Red Dragons do have Chris Secky.

The 6-foot-2 guard, a two-time first-team all-state selection, a two-time Post-Journal Player of the Year and a first-team all-Western New York choice, is the young man that is drawing interest from Division I and Division II colleges. Fischer and Maple Grove athletic director Pete Pannes acknowledged that an independent schedule will permit Secky to get more playing time because the tougher schedule will require that he remain in most games until the end.

''The independent schedule (in New York State) started because of Peekskill (High School) and Elton Brand,'' Pannes said. ''They did it for the same reasons. They wanted to get Brand (who ended up at Duke and is now in the NBA) a competitive schedule.''

Pannes said that in order to go independent Maple Grove had to gain approval from, among others, the CCAA athletic directors (the vote was 36-0 in favor), CCAA Division 3 and the Section 6 boys basketball committee, headed by Jim Walker with a big assist from Loren Smith.

''We didn't want to offend anybody,'' Pannes said. ''What we felt was we wanted the best for our student-athletes at Maple Grove.''

The Red Dragons open their season Dec. 4-5 at the Olean Tip-Off Tournament, play at Jamestown's United Way Tip-Off Tournament the next weekend and travel to St. Mary's of Lancaster on Dec. 15. The Dunkirk (Dec. 18-19) and St. Bonaventure (Dec. 29-30) tournaments close out 2009.

Although all the teams in those tourneys weren't known at press time, Maple Grove will open with Newark in the Jamestown Tournament.

''I was really complimented that Ben Drake invited us to his tournament,'' Fischer said. '' ... That's the one that means the most.''

Maple Grove's first home game isn't until Jan. 7 when it entertains Southwestern. Three games on the Dutch Hollow Road follow against Randolph (Jan. 11), Finney (Jan. 20) and Westfield (Jan. 29). After a game at Southwestern on Feb. 5, the Red Dragons entertain St. Joe's (Feb. 9) before closing out the regular season with road contests at Finney (Feb. 12), at Randolph (Feb. 16) and at North Tonawanda (Feb. 18).

Pannes admitted that the independent schedule ''may hurt us'' when the Section 6 seeding meeting takes place in February. Because the Red Dragons won't likely have as many power points as in previous seasons, ''they told me going in that we wouldn't be seeded as high.''

That was fine with Fischer.

''There's no question the challenge is quite a big one for us,'' he said.