Barmore’s over-the-shoulder touchdown catch with 41 seconds remaining against Howard — his second touchdown of the game — gave Mercyhurst a 31-27 lead.

What happened next is why the end of the game made it on SportsCenter.

Howard blocked the point-after kick attempt and returned it for a 2-point conversion to close within two.

Four plays after the ensuing kickoff, the Bison moved the ball all the way to the Mercyhurst 20-yard line, and with 2 seconds remaining they kicked a game-winning field goal.

Cameron Barmore Photo courtesy of Mercyhurst University Athletics

While the result wasn’t what Barmore and the Lakers had hoped for in their first game against an NCAA Division I opponent, one thing was certain: Barmore could play with the big boys.

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In January 2019, Tom Sydeski was named the quarterbacks coach at Bryant University.

The Bulldogs, an NCAA Division I FCS program located in Smithfield, Rhode Island, tasked Sydeski with recruiting the Western New York area and a 6-foot, 5-inch Clymer/Sherman/Panama football player caught Sydeski’s eye.

The physically gifted wide receiver was none other than Barmore, but as Sydeski puts it, Bryant’s wide receivers coach at the time “liked a couple of other guys more” and the Bulldogs were unable to get Barmore to commit.

Mercyhurst University's Cameron Barmore fights off a defender. Photo courtesy of Mercyhurst University Athletics

Fast-forward five years; Sydeski is now the first-year offensive coordinator at Mercyhurst. He’s finally in position to take advantage of Barmore’s services.

“When you meet him for the first time, you see how big he is. He’s all of 6-foot-6. He’s not a string bean, he’s well put together, 230 or 240 pounds. He holds the weight well,” Sydeski said late last week. “Getting to know him a little bit more … he’s not just a good football player, but a good person and a hard worker.”

Through seven games this season, playing opponents across a number of levels, Barmore has 41 catches for 515 yards and eight touchdowns.

The Panama native has four games of two touchdowns apiece, including the opening three of the Lakers’ season.

“Very rarely you see somebody that is that physically gifted,” Sydeski said, “but (also) works tremendously hard to get the most out of it.”

Cameron Barmore and the Mercyhurst Lakers have four games remaining this season, beginning Saturday at Sacred Heart University. Photo courtesy of Mercyhurst University Athletics

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It may seem like things have always come easy for Barmore, but that couldn’t be further from the truth, according to Ty Harper.

The Clymer/Sherman/Panama football program came together for the first time in 2015 with Harper as its head coach.

Only an eighth-grader at the time, Barmore wanted to find his way on to the jayvee team.

“He was a little guy. He definitely had not hit his growth spurt yet. I was impressed with him because he wanted to play on the jayvee team,” Harper said Monday evening. “It’s rare to see kids of this generation that really want to challenge themselves. Seventh- or eighth-grade kids with late birthdays want to play midget football and dominate; this kid was a skinny eighth-grader and wanted to know if he could play on the jayvee team.”

Barmore dressed for the playoffs with the varsity Wolfpack in the fall of 2016 as a freshman and then started as a sophomore. The 2017 Wolfpack finished 6-3 overall and 3-2 in their Class D league, ultimately falling in the Section VI semifinals to Maple Grove.

“The spring between his freshman and sophomore year, he made The Post-Journal track all-star team in high jump. It was impressive,” Harper said. “We were running our (summer) 7-on-7; the feeling around the program was good. There was a buzz that we were ready to turn the corner. He was at all the workouts.

“He made a move against a kid from Randolph that summer and I thought, ‘This kid is going to be our best receiver,'” Harper recalled, “and he was that fall.”

Barmore led Clymer/Sherman/Panama with 25 catches, 382 yards and four touchdowns as a sophomore.

The following year, the Wolfpack won the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D title, putting together a perfect 13-0 season along the way.

Barmore did his part with 46 catches for 966 yards and 12 touchdowns — all leading the team — as he was named a New York State Sportswriters Association First-Team All-Star.

“His junior year, it was nice because we had so many difference-making players on that team from Derek Ecklund, Zavon Overton, John Swabik. We had so many guys that could make plays,” Harper said. “Other teams could not necessarily just focus on taking Cam away.”

The Wolfpack’s success continued in the fall of 2019 with a second straight state title and Barmore was the focal point, catching 43 passes for 844 yards and 13 touchdowns as he shared the state Player of the Year award with quarterback Gerrit Hinsdale.

“Week 1 against Geneseo/Mount Morris, they legitimately triple-covered him in that game. It was eye-opening for me because I realized pretty quickly we were going to have to move him around a lot. We were going to have to play him at in-line tight end, hand him the ball in the backfield, manufacture touches. … He was a game wrecker.”

Interest from Division I schools followed with several reaching out to offer him “preferred walk-on” positions, but none offered scholarships.

That’s when Barmore turned to Mercyhurst — then an NCAA Division II program — in nearby Erie, Pennsylvania.

“At the Class D level, I’ve never seen a better player than Cameron Barmore,” Harper said. “I thought he was a Division I talent coming out of high school. I thought he was almost embarrassingly under-recruited.

“I was on the phone with Syracuse late winter during his senior year,” Harper added. “Syracuse said, ‘We think he can play here, but we’re not in position to offer him a scholarship right now.'”

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Barmore has been through ups and downs throughout his time at Mercyhurst.

As a freshman, the Lakers’ season was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing them to just play exhibition games in the spring of 2021.

In the fall of 2021, Barmore played in all 11 games, catching 30 passes for a team-high 416 yards and four touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2022, Barmore played in nine games, catching 29 passes for a team-high 497 yards and six touchdowns.

“Being a team sport, numbers don’t mean much. I’m not really worried about all of that stuff. I’m more worried about the wins and losses,” Barmore said Monday night. “If I had to grade my (career) it’d probably be a C-plus or a B. Nobody’s perfect. I’d be the first one to tell you I can be better.”

Last fall, Barmore was limited to just five games during which he caught 20 passes for 237 yards and four touchdowns. The team went just 2-9 overall, including 1-6 in the Northeast Conference.

“He had a lot of (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) interest coming out of high school and they were very fortunate to land him here at Mercyhurst,” Sydeski said. “Early on, he had some injuries, but he always produced when he was on the football field.”

A healthy Barmore and the Lakers found new life this offseason when it was announced that Mercyhurst would begin a transition to becoming a full-time NCAA Football Championship Subdivision member.

“At the end of the day, football is football. This year, a lot of people are looking down on us and doubting us. It’s good for the school for a bunch of reasons,” Barmore said of the move from the PSAC to the NEC. “People look down on the PSAC when they shouldn’t. The PSAC is a great conference.”

Their schedule this season has been a mix of Division III, Division II and Division I programs, and the Lakers have seen varying levels of success.

They opened the year with a 28-25 win at Wheeling with Barmore pulling down eight passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns.

After their shocking loss to Howard in Week 2, they traveled to Robert Morris. Mercyhurst lost 55-28, but Barmore had another big day with nine catches for 98 yards and two more touchdowns.

“There are a lot of plays he makes in practice. A week ago, in a two-minute drill, he went up over a defensive back, arms wrapped around a defender with two hands on the football. We don’t have many guys who can do something like that,” Sydeski said. “The one that put us ahead in the Howard game. We put him on a corner route against a slot defender. Forty seconds left in the game, he was the primary read, one-on-one and we gave him an opportunity. … He has great body control and puts his body in between the ball and his defender to make it easier to come down with the football. They look a lot easier than they are.”

Losses at Montana State and Frostburg State followed with Barmore going for 11 catches for 123 yards across the two games.

The Lakers came away with a 55-0 homecoming win over Buffalo State on Oct. 5 and Barmore entertained the Saxon Stadium crowd with three catches for 52 yards, including another pair of touchdowns.

“Any time we have a one-on-one opportunity, it’s not really 50-50, it’s more 90-10 in our favor,” Sydeski said. “Our quarterback knows if we have a one-on-one in his position, he’s usually the primary. He’s the first wide receiver we’re looking to get it to.”

Mercyhurst went into this past weekend’s bye with a 38-20 loss to Central Connecticut State. Barmore had eight catches for 103 yards, but did not find the end zone.

“He’s producing against DI competition now. Being at some of my different stops along the way, FCS and FBS, Cam is the type of player we’d recruit at any one of those spots,” said Sydeski, who has spent time at Old Dominion, West Georgia and Florida International. “Coming out of high school he was a small-town Western New York kid who maybe didn’t get as much publicity out of high school from a recruiting standpoint.”

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Barmore himself doesn’t know where his career will go next.

He retains a year of collegiate eligibility that he could spend at Mercyhurst next season or possibly with a new program.

When college is complete — he is working on a master’s degree in special education — some form of professional football could also come calling.

“I think for younger kids, especially in these communities, it’s a great thing to see. Cam is gifted with a type of athleticism that’s rare. I don’t know how often Cam Barmore is going to come around in this county,” Harper said. “But it’s great motivation for young athletes in small communities everywhere to see him having the success that he’s having.”

Similarly to Stephen Carlson, a Jamestown High School and Princeton University graduate, who is currently on the Chicago Bears injured reserve, Barmore may have to shift to tight end to reach his dream of playing professional football.

“I’m trying to not really think about the future and focus on right now. Whether I take another year in college or try something professionally, we’ll see how things look if more teams come through,” he said Monday. “If the draft stock is there, I’ll go that route, if not I’ll take another year of college ball. … Right now, I’m just focused on the last four weeks.”

“I’ve been around certain guys who have had the opportunity. I coached Joe Andreessen at Bryant. He’s a tremendous kid, very similar-type people, too,” Sydeski said, comparing Barmore to the Buffalo Bills rookie linebacker. “They work incredibly hard and are physically very gifted. At Mercyhurst, Cam is a big fish in the little pond. That’s a thing for him moving forward, as he continues to grow and get better, with more resources, if it’s the NFL or a litany of different leagues; the resources he’d have at those programs to maximize his talents will only make him better.”

“I’m thrilled that Cameron is doing what he is doing,” Harper added. “The sky’s the limit for him and his future.”