“I played nine years in the NFL,” the Frewsburg native said. “I keep in touch with one guy right now. College? I keep in touch with 10 to 20 guys. It’s just different, a total different feeling.”

So as Clymer/Sherman/Panama head coach Ty Harper ran his team through an indoor practice at Jamestown Community College’s Physical Education Complex on Tuesday, he admitted that he could relate to what the former Buffalo Bills’ Pro Bowl linebacker was saying.

The only difference is Harper is feeling the “brotherhood” at the high school level.

“These are memories these kids can carry the rest of their lives,” he said. ” … This week we’ve been talking about time and how your time playing this game is limited. A lot of these kids have 72 hours of football for the rest of their lives, so it’s really just to make the most of the next game and play hard.”

Clymer/Sherman/Panama head coach Ty Harper hopes to be hoisting another plaque above his head Friday afternoon. P-J photo by Tim Frank

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The undefeated and top-ranked Wolfpack will take their 12-0 record into Friday’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D championship game inside the Carrier Dome at Syracuse University. Their opponent will be fourth-ranked Moriah.

Rooting Clymer/Sherman/Panama on among the hundreds and hundreds of fans from those communities will be four former players — Tanner Newman, Mark Ecklund, Justin Svetz and Tanner Ramsey. Not only did they all play a role in laying a foundation for the merged program, but they also have younger siblings playing on the current squad.

“It’s an amazing thing to think about,” said Ramsey, a 2018 Sherman graduate whose brother, Collin, is a senior this season. “I was a part of this team just last year and we had a really good shot at a title as well and fell short. But I know these guys personally, like they are my brothers and I know they have what it takes to get the job done.”

Added Svetz, a 2017 Clymer graduate, whose brother, Jordan, is a sophomore this year: “We are called the Wolfpack for a reason. The unity and brotherhood of three schools is something each and every person from these districts should be extremely proud of.”

Tanner Newman, a 2017 Panama grad, said his proudest moment was being part of Harper’s first CSP team. He also acknowledges how much it meant for the younger Wolfpack players to look up to him as the program was in its early years.

“But, truthfully, it’s me looking up to them now,” said Newman, who will be rooting on his brother, Jevan, a senior. “Cloud nine. (If they win Friday), it will be lots and lots of tears. Those boys were my wing at one point. They’re still my guys.”

Ecklund, who rushed for 221 yards during a game his senior year with the Wolfpack, had an idea that special things were in store for this group when his younger brother, Derek, was part of an undefeated junior varsity team two years ago.

“I just think it’s so awesome, because we have come a long way to get to this point,” said Ecklund, a Panama graduate. “I’m loving every minute of watching that team play football.”

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Harper said his love for the game came from his dad, Denny, and the former’s earliest memory “sitting down and watching a game” was Super Bowl XXV, which pitted the Bills against the New York Giants.

Harper was 4 years old.

“I remember him telling me we wanted the team in the white jerseys and red helmets to win,” he said.

The outcome wasn’t what Bills’ fans wanted, but it was the beginning of Harper’s love affair with the game that ultimately led him to play at Fredonia High School and, later, at St. John Fisher College.

“You can ask my wife. I can’t fix anything, I can’t build anything, but football has always been something I’ve been passionate about since I was a little kid,” he said.

His former players appreciate that passion, too.

“The coaching staff is great,” Ramsey said. “And Ty? Oh, man this guy right here was like a second father to me. We were really close in school and definitely on the field. He just knew how to put a smile on my face every day, and for that I could never thank him enough. This guy busts his butt every day to do what needs to be done. He just totally deserves a state title.”

Harper admits the last few weeks have been pretty incredible, because of the support the team has received from the three communities as well as throughout Chautauqua County.

“I can’t even count how many former teammates in high school or in college who have called or sent text messages or emailed and sent well-wishes for our team,” he said. “Overwhelming is really the word I use to describe it.”

Harper will also have his wife and four children; his parents; and his in-laws at the Carrier Dome rooting for the Wolfpack, too.

Family cheering for family.

Do you sense a common theme here?