Taking a snap near midfield, quarterback Gerrit Hinsdale rolled away from a heavy pass rush to his left side, surveying tight coverage on all of his receivers. The junior opted to fire a high pass to his favorite target, Cameron Barmore.

A 50-50 ball in many situations, the 6-foot-4 junior was able to rise up over his defender with apparent ease, land softly, turn and accelerate in stride on the way to a 52-yard catch and run.

Defensive coordinators shudder.

When it was all said and done, the Wolfpack (13-0) claimed a 54-19 victory and achieved the goal that they first set at the start of offseason training — earning a visit to the Carrier Dome next Friday against the winner of the East semifinal between Section I Haldane and Section VII Moriah.

Wolfpack quarterback Gerrit Hinsdale looks for an open receiver. P-J photo by Tim Frank

“We’re here to win and we punched them in the mouth a little bit (early),” said Barmore of his team’s 18-point first quarter. “Props to our line. They are the ones giving Hinsdale the time to throw. Props to him. He puts in a lot of work on the offseason.”

Props to Barmore as well, who finished with a program-record 214 yards on eight receptions, scoring his second touchdown of the game on a 64-yard catch-and-run in the final period. That performance earned him CSP’s Most Valuable Player honors.

“This is an incredible feeling. Our kids have just worked so hard to improve week by week. This has been a goal of ours since day one,” said Wolfpack coach Ty Harper. “I think Cameron Barmore today showcased why he’s the best athlete, probably in our county, and probably the best wide receiver in the state at this level. He is a very unselfish kid. When he is not catching the ball he is blocking his tail off for our running backs. He just put the team on his shoulders today.”

Part in parcel with Barmore’s record-breaking night was the play of Hinsdale, who reached razor-sharp focus on yesterday. All told, he completed 21 of 26 passes for a 364 yards, hitting Chance Meeder on a 13-yard throw and Zavon Overton on a 10-yard touchdown to complete his scoring line. Hinsdale now owns program records for completions and yards in a game.

“Gerrit has worked incredibly hard in the offseason with coach John Kinder over at Southwestern,” said Harper. “He’s put in a ton of time and it couldn’t happen to a better, more deserving kid.”

Clymer/Sherman/Panama’s Zavon Overton makes a spectacular catch, one of five on the day, as the Wolfpack rolled to a 54-19 victory over Tioga in Friday’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D semifinal at Union-Endicott High School. P-J photo by Tim Frank

From the very first series of the day, the Wolfpack offense proved hopeless to contain. On just their third play, Michael Beatman was able to work his way through the line of scrimmage on a trap block before turning on the jets and finishing off a 50-yard touchdown run.

The Tigers suffered two fumbles, both recovered, and a penalty in their first offensive possession, eventually being forced to punt after Hunter Cooper picked up a tackle for a loss on third down.

Clymer/Sherman/Panama faced a fourth-and-4 on its second possession, only to pick up a fresh set of downs after Hinsdale found Barmore on a play-action pass. That drive ended with a 17-yard touchdown run from starting running back Derek Ecklund, who was forced to leave the game in the second quarter with an apparent shoulder injury.

The lone spot of trouble the Wolfpack would face all night came with three minutes to go in the second quarter, when Austin Lamb fought his way through the offensive line for a strip sack of Hinsdale that was returned 54 yards to paydirt.

Clymer/Sherman/Panama would be unfazed throughout the remainder of its win.

Zavon Overton P-J photo by Tim Frank

“Our coaches watched all their film and in practice they repped and repped, got us all prepared. We just bought in to what they were giving us,” said Barmore.

Clymer/Sherman Panama will now have a little under a week to prepare for its next contest in Syracuse against the winner of Sunday’s East semifinal at Middletown High School.

“It’s a great accomplishment for us, but we know we still have one more step to take,” said Harper.

NOTES: Clymer/Sherman/Panama totaled 631 total yards to 394 for Tioga. … Mason Bestine was presented the individual sportsmanship award for the Wolfpack. … Beatman finished the game with 71 yards on 10 carries and John Swabik had 69 yards on seven carries. … Overton grabbed five receptions for 86 yards, Meeder three for 36 and Ecklund three for 14. … Owen Wanck led Tioga with 83 yards on 21 carries. … Collin Ramsey finished with 10 tackles for the winners while Robbie Overton had nine and Bestine nine.

CLYMER/SHERMAN/PANAMA 18 7 15 14 — 54

Clymer/Sherman/Panama’s Michael Beatman takes off on a 50-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. P-J photo by Tim Frank

TIOGA 0 6 7 6 — 19

CSP-Beatman 50 run (kick fail)

CSP-Ecklund 17 run (pass fail)

CSP-Barmore 52 pass from Hinsdale (run fail)

Tioga-Lamb 54 strip sack (kick fail)

CSP-Meeder 13 pass from Hinsdale (McClelland kick)

Tioga-Worthing 22 run (Hollenbeck kick)

CSP-Swabik 48 run (Swabik run)

CSP-Barmore 64 pass from Hinsdale (McClelland kick)

CSP-Overton 10 pass from Hinsdale (McClelland kick)

CSP-Cochran 1 run (Svetz kick)

Tioga-Wanck 10 run (kick fail)