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Panama’s Clymer/Sherman/Travis Owens runs between Wilson defenders during Saturday’s Class D football game in Clymer. PJ photo by Matt Spielman

CLYMER – Four dropped passes, two poor shotgun shots and a failed coverage plagued Clymer/Sherman/Panama in the first half on Saturday.

Things didn’t get much better after halftime.

Somehow the wolf pack survived a scare from Wilson.

Travis Owens rushed 16 times for 113 yards and Clymer/Sherman/Panama scored the go-ahead touchdown with 5:13 to play, defeating the Lakemen 15-7 in a Class D slugfest.

The win actually secured at least a share of the Class D championship title for the Wolfpack (5-2, 4-0), but that hardly mattered to head coach Ty Harper after Saturday’s game.

Clymer/Sherman/Panama’s Alex Barmore pulls down Wilson’s Michael Ruble during Saturday’s Class D football game in Clymer. PJ photo by Matt Spielman

“I take full responsibility for that. We came out and were sleepwalking in the first half,” Harper said. “I take full responsibility for my team and our lack of intensity in the first half.”

The teams struggled through a sloppy first half that resulted in a 7-7 tie after 24 minutes.

“We got lucky with a couple of drops on their side,” Wilson head coach Bill Atlas said. “…Our defensive coordinator is trying to put (the Wolf Pack) in the worst possible position to be successful. He had another great game plan against them and we played hard.”

Wilson (1-6, 1-4) punted on its first three possessions of the second half and Clymer/Sherman/Panama punted twice, and it quickly became clear that the team that put points on the board late would win the game .

“We made a lot of untypical mistakes. This is what will happen in high school football. Kids aren’t perfect and coaches aren’t perfect,” Harper said. “What I can’t reconcile is not running through shifts, rushing to get to the limit and concentrating on tasks. I thought there would be a lot of that too.”

Clymer/Sherman/Panama’s Carter Brink tags Wilson’s Ryan Hough during Saturday’s Class D football game in Clymer. PJ photo by Matt Spielman

The Wolfpack took over at the Lakemen’s 47-yard line with 8:05 left in the fourth quarter and turned it into points eight plays later, but the drive was still riddled with errors by the New York State Sportswriters Association’s second-ranked Class D team plagued.

Owens ran 6 yards on the first play and freshman Sawyer Whitney followed with runs of 11 and 5 yards to set up second-and-5 from the 25-yard line. Owens ran three yards toward the Wolfpack sideline for a manageable third-and-2, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty sent Clymer/Sherman/Panama back from the 37-yard line on a third-and-17.

From there, senior quarterback Tate Catanese connected with fellow senior Dalton Richter for a 23-yard completion to the 13-yard line. It was only the fifth completion of the game for Catanese and the only win of the day for Richter.

“I thought Tate Catanese showed a lot of leadership and didn’t lose his temper when things didn’t go well,” Harper said.

Again, the Wolf Pack failed to move the ball, and Whitney gained just one yard on the next two plays. On third-and-9 from the 13-yard line, Catanese came under pressure but eventually found senior Carter Brink open over the middle on the goal line for the free kick.

Clymer/Sherman/Panamas Bryce Hinsdale tries to escape Wilson’s Vic Cusatis during Saturday’s Class D football game in Clymer. PJ photo by Matt Spielman

“Once the mistakes start increasing, you start putting too much pressure on yourself and thinking about things more than you need to instead of just going out and trying to make plays,” Harper said. “I’m proud of Carter for coming back, catching the ball and getting into the end zone.”

Clymer/Sherman/Panama faked the point-after kick and Catanese found Collin Ryan open in the back of the end zone for an 8-point lead.

“They tend to apply a lot of pressure from the right side on kicks,” Harper said. “…We thought maybe no one was home there, so we decided to fake it and go as a couple. It paid off for us.”

Wilson, who had lost his five games by a total of 116 points on Saturday, had one last chance to respond, taking the lead at his own 20-yard line with 5:13 left. Junior Brock Lepsch, who finished with 13 carries for 70 yards on the day, ran for one yard on first-and-10 but didn’t touch the ball for the rest of the drive.

“They left the middle open for us a little bit, so we continued with a lot of iso stuff that we don’t practice much and we don’t run much,” Atlas said. “If they gave it to us, our line would be ready to run it.”

On fourth-and-8 from their own 43-yard line, the Lakemen lined up to punt, but junior Michael Ruble ran away and was tackled for an 8-yard loss.

“You actually completely surprised me. I’m super, super young this year. We improved every week,” Atlas said of his team. “…Michael Ruble, the little No. 28, ran the ball pretty well, and Brock ran the ball pretty darn fast. He is difficult to defeat. If we have those two guys, we can do some damage.”

Catanese ran first on third-and-5 and then completed a 15-yard pass to senior Alex Barmore on fourth-and-six before the Wolfpack could run out time.

“We had to grind it out and we found a way to do it in the second half,” Harper said.

Clymer/Sherman/Panama will visit Cattaraugus-Little Valley on Thursday night to cap off a perfect league season before preparing for what they hope will be a long postseason run.

“Wilson was obviously motivated to play. “We’ve seen them upset their opponents in the past in games that they shouldn’t have had a chance of winning,” Harper said. “We were fighting for our lives with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Wilson deserves all the credit today.”

NOTES: Catanese scored on a 5-yard run with 4:45 left in the second quarter, but Wilson answered just four plays later with a 75-yard scoring strike from junior Vic Cusatis to junior Ryan Hough as the teams Tied 7-7 late in the second quarter. … Clymer/Sherman/Panama defeated Wilson 310-167. … Defensively, Ryan was involved in 14 tackles, including two for a loss; Judge was involved in eight tackles, including two for a loss; Senior Jordan Mescall was involved in eight tackles, including one for a loss; Senior Kolten Rhoades contributed to five tackles, including three sacks; and Owens was involved in five tackles.

Wilson 0 7 0 0 – 7

Clymer/Sherman/Panama 0 7 0 8 — 15

C/S/P–Catanese 5-Run (Hinsdale Kick)

Wil-Hough 75th pass from Cusatis (Lepsch kick)

C/S/P–Brink 13 Pass of Catanese (Ryan Pass of Catanese)