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Ecklund Rushes For 162 Yards, 3 TDs As CSP Rolls To Victory Over Bishop Timon

Michael Beatman on the rush for CSP. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

SHERMAN — The song played at high volume over the public-address system in the final minutes of Saturday’s non-league high school football game at Harry W. Brosius Field.

But with all due respect to pop vocalist John Mellencamp, the title of “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.” could have been amended by the large gathering of Clymer/Sherman/Panama fans who turned out on a beautiful, albeit unseasonably hot, homecoming afternoon.

How does “R.O.C.K. in the CSP” sound?

The Wolfpack had reason to have a little spring in their step after a 46-22 non-league victory over Bishop Timon-St. Jude.

“It feels pretty good,” Wolfpack coach Ty Harper said. “There’s a lot that we can obviously still improve on. I don’t think we played a perfect game today by any means, but, you know, we’re getting better every week and I think we’re going in the direction we wanted to go in.”

Derek Ecklund on the run for CSP. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

Derek Ecklund rushed for 162 yards and three touchdowns; Michael Beatman added 95 yards and one TD; Tanner Ramsey had 45 yards and one score; and Dalton Goldberg added a 47-yard sprint to paydirt to spark the Wolfpack.

The victory raised CSP’s record to 4-0 heading into next Saturday’s Class D encounter with Maple Grove (3-1, 2-1), which defeated Chautauqua Lake, 34-8, on Friday night.

The Wolfpack (2-0 in the league) won’t have any difficulty staying focused for that one, which will be played at Clymer.

“(Maple Grove) is a great program, obviously,” Harper said. “They’re one of the best programs in the state over the past 20 years.”

CSP has made steady improvement, though, since merging programs three years ago.

CSP coach Ty Harper talks to his team after the victory over Bishop Timon-St. Jude. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg.

“The first year that we were together we lost a bunch of close games and we were 2-6,” Harper said. “Then we started last year with that brutal schedule and we lost the first three games. We were 2-9 as a program, (but) after today we are 11-10. We’ve won nine of our last 10 games, so it’s a pretty neat thing.”

The Wolfpack led 22-8 at halftime yesterday, courtesy of Ramsey’s 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and Ecklund’s 16- and 3-yard scoring bursts in the second period, but the margin could have been even greater with a different bounce of the ball.

In fact, the Tigers’ lone touchdown before intermission came in the second period when quarterback Mitch Theal connected with Jordan Hill on a 57-yard touchdown pass, a bomb that Wolfpack defensive back Zavon Overton just barely missed making a play on.

And just before intermission, it appeared that Ramsey was headed to the end zone for his second touchdown of the half, but he fumbled into the end zone in the final seconds, forcing a touchback and a Bishop Timon-St. Jude possession.

The Wolfpack turned the ball over twice in the red zone on their first two possessions of the second half, including an interception by the Tigers’ Cullen Tonge at the 1-yard line that he returned to midfield.

But CSP’s defense stiffened, the Tigers (0-4) turned the ball over on downs and, seven plays later, Beatman scored from 5 yards out, pushing the hosts lead to 30-8 with 3:52 left in the third quarter.

“We preach the importance of converting in the red zone, and we weren’t very good at that today, so that’s something that we are going to have to be sure and tighten up for next week,” Harper said. “We are right there sometimes and we just have to make sure that we finish.”

The remainder of the period was unsightly at times — both teams had turnovers — but Ecklund ended it with a bang, turning a nifty run into a 39-yard touchdown, pushing the Wolfpack’s lead to 38-8 with one second remaining in the quarter.

Bishop Timon-St. Jude, coached by Joe Licata, tacked on a pair of scores in the fourth quarter — Brandon Laury bulled in from the 2 and Theal tossed a 15-yard TD pass — to make the score respectable, but CSP capped its afternoon with Goldberg’s 47-yard run to paydirt and a safety, both coming in the final two minutes.

“I’ve got a lot of praise for the way that those kids played,” Harper said of the Tigers. “They have 21 kids on their team and they fought the entire game. They played 48 full minutes. That’s South Buffalo right there. Nothing but toughness on their part. We just appreciate them taking this game, because when Frewsburg and Randolph merged we were really scrambling.”

NOTES: Recording two-point conversions for CSP were Cameron Barmore on a pass from quarterback Gerrit Hinsdale; Ramsey on a pass from Hinsdale, and Ramsey on a run; and Ecklund on a run. … Hinsdale completed 8 of 17 passes for 81 yards. He was intercepted twice. … Carter Morse led the Wolfpack’s defensive effort with 10 tackles; Ecklund had eight tackles and had half a sack; Goldberg added eight tackles, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery; Thomas Delahoy collected eight tackles; Barmore intercepted a pass; and Reece Bates was credited with a sack. … Licata was named Bishop Timon-St.Jude’s head coach in July. The former standout University at Buffalo quarterback was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2016. He was released in August of that year.

Bishop Timon-St. Jude 0 8 0 14 — 22

C/S/P 8 14 16 8 — 46

CSP–Ramsey 1 run (Barmore pass from Hinsdale)

CSP–Ecklund 16 run (Ramsey pass from Hinsdale)

BT–Hill 57 pass from Theal (Hill run)

CSP–Ecklund 3 run (run fail)

CSP–Beatman 5 run (Ecklund run)

CSP–Ecklund 39 run (Ramsey run)

BT–Laury 2 run (Lowe pass from Teal)

BT–Teal 15 pass (run fail)

CSP–Goldberg 47 run (kick fail)

CSP–Safety (BT player tackled in end zone)

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