“I love this field, I love being here,” he said as he stood on the artificial surface during the Section VI football media day Tuesday morning.

Hinsdale loves it even more when he’s playing on it.

The Clymer/Sherman/Panama senior quarterback, who directed the Wolfpack to a sectional Class D championship last year, will get a chance to defend the title on that same turf at noon Saturday against No. 1 Franklinville/Ellicottville (8-0).

This time, however, the second-seeded Wolfpack (7-1), who are also the defending state champions, are the underdogs. That’s because the Titans knocked off Clymer/Sherman/Panama, 24-8, in Week Three, a game in which Logan Frank passed for two touchdowns and ran for another. The loss ended the Wolfpack’s 15-game winning streak and put Franklinville/Ellicottville atop Section VI Class D for the rest of the season.

“It definitely was a great experience for us,” Titans’ coach Jason Marsh said. ” We knew C/S/P was one of the top teams we were going to face in the regular season. To beat them after they won the state title (last year) was a huge feat for us. It gave our kids a lot of confidence.

“I think you could see us pick up and play a lot more confident football after that. We started to believe in ourselves and started to realize what we had going.”

What they had going six weeks ago and what they have going now begins with Frank.

So far, the junior quarterback has rushed for 907 yards on 100 carries and scored 15 touchdowns. Through the air, he has completed 27 of 44 passes for 474 yards and 11 touchdowns, and on defense he has 19 tackles, a tackle for loss and four pass breakups.

“He’s dynamic, he’s a moose running the ball and he can throw it. He showcased that the first time we played them,” Wolfpack coach Ty Harper said. “It’s going to take 11 hats to the ball. We just have to be more physical than we were the first time we played them.”

Clymer/Sherman/Panama football coach Ty Harper, middle, talks to his team during a timeout of the Wolfpack’s Section VI Class D semifinal game against Randolph. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Frank was the catalyst in an offensive attack that outgained Clymer/Sherman/Panama, 367-170, and led in time of possession (33:25-14:35). For his part, Frank rushed 24 times for 142 yards and a touchdown and completed 4 of 6 passes for 50 yards and two more TDs. Toss in a defense that limited the Pirates to 4 yards on the ground and forced three turnovers, and it’s clear why the Titans enter Saturday’s game as the favorite.

“It was good for us, because I feel we were living in last year,” said senior wide receiver/defensive end Cameron Barmore. “It woke our team up a little bit.”

The Wolfpack say they are a more experienced bunch in this meeting, too.

“Our offensive line had two career starts under their belt in Week 3,” Hinsdale said. “Our pass protection was pretty poor and we couldn’t get the run game going. I think it’s going to be different this time.”

Hinsdale, the returning all-state signal caller, has completed 78 of 143 passes for 1,348 yards and 21 touchdowns. He has been intercepted four times. His favorite target is Barmore, another returning all-state choice, who has caught 33 passes for 589 yards and seven TDs. Connor Cooper has been the most reliable ball-carrier (67-618-11), while John Swabik and Zavon Overton can be relied on to do a little bit of everything. Defensively, Zach Chase (69 tackles), Alex Dunnewold (58 tackles) and Barmore (55 tackles and eight sacks) lead the way.

“This team, obviously, is playoff experienced,” Marsh said of Clymer/Sherman/Panama. “The other thing is their explosiveness. They have so many skill players that can score in an instant. If we don’t play mistake-free football, they’ll make you pay for it.”

The Titans will make you pay, too, if too much attention is paid to Frank. Tyler Clear has rushed for 591 yards on 51 carries, while Jordan Grinols has 380 on 46 trips. Zack Wolfer and Wyatt Chudy lead a defense that has yielded a little more than five points a game, with 29 tackles apiece.

“They put it to us the first game we played,” Harper said. “I think we’ve improved and I think our guys are up to the challenge.”

The winner advances to the Far West Regional, which is scheduled for 5 p.m. Nov. 15 at SUNY Brockport.

“I know I’m going to work as hard as I can every day this week, so I can keep going to practice,” Harper said. “I’m not ready to let go of those guys yet. … They’re the winningest group of seniors that we’ve ever had. Hopefully, we get to play again next week.”

For Marsh, Saturday’s game will bring back memories to when he played at the home of the Bills during his high school days at Salamanca in 1988, 1989 and 1990.

“It really is an adrenaline rush walking down that tunnel,” he said. “We want to take it all in and have fun, but when we step inside the lines we want to make sure we’re taking care of business and playing our brand of football.”

The Titans, the state’s second-ranked team, against the Wolfpack, the third-ranked squad, at New Era Field for a berth in the state quarterfinals.

“Every play counts, you have to play like it’s your last,” said Barmore. “That may be the deciding factor in the end.”