Mission accomplished.

After the Wolfpack won their third New York State Public High School Athletic Association title in the past seven years Friday at the JMA Dome on the campus of Syracuse University, it’s safe to say C/S/P should be the state’s model for football mergers.

“This is a culmination of a 10-year effort to build a championship-level program,” an emotional Harper, the only head coach the program has known, said Friday evening on Ernie Davis Legends Field. “I just hope that every kid in all three of those communities knows that I’m so proud of them.”

On one hand, it’s obvious that the Wolfpack has been flush with talent over the past decade.

Panama’s Chris Payne, left, and Clymer’s Dave Bodamer, right, were head coaches at their respective schools prior to the merger, but stepped into assistant roles once the Clymer/Sherman/Panama football program was formed. P-J photo by Tim Frank

Cameron Barmore, who won back-to-back titles with C/S/P in 2018 and 2019, has proven himself as an NCAA Division I student-athlete, and is close to deciding on the next step in his career with transfer offers from the likes of Texas Tech, Florida Atlantic, Miami (Ohio) and Jacksonville State, among others.

Gerrit Hinsdale, the quarterback on those early championship teams, has turned his football ability and knowledge into recruiting positions with Western Michigan and the University of Pittsburgh.

Wide receiver Bryce Hinsdale, who began making an impact on recent teams as early as his freshman year, is now the state’s all-time leader in receptions and Section VI’s leader in receiving yards.

Tate Catanese, the Wolfpack quarterback for the past three years, is the program’s all-time leader in most passing categories.

Wide receiver Carter Brink set a new C/S/P record with 19 touchdowns this season and linebacker Collin Ryan recently became the all-time leader in tackles for Harper’s teams.

In the first 10 years of the Clymer/Sherman/Panama merger, head coach Ty Harper has a 78-23 record with three NYSPHSAA championships with the Wolfpack. P-J photo by Tim Frank

“More than anything, I’m so proud of all of the players that I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach in this program,” Harper said. “This team particularly, we’ve talked a lot about all of the great players here: Bryce and Tate, Carter and Alex (Barmore), and Dalton Richter and (Travis) Owens; I could go on all day.”

But Harper and his staff, including Chris Payne, Dave Bodamer, Bill Delcamp, Dan White, Greg White, Pat Catanese and Matt Hair, have shined by turning the lesser-known athletes from each of the schools into stud football players.

This year’s offensive line had a combined zero varsity starts between them prior to this season. The group, made up of center Kolten Rhoades, tackles Andrew Spiesman and Troy Chambers, and guards Blayne Rumaihi and Matthew Redlecki, suffered through some early growing pains. But by the end of the season, the offensive line was just as responsible for blowout wins over Avon, Dolgeville and Burke Catholic as the team’s group of skill players or its dominant defense.

“I just think it’s their willingness to work hard,” Harper credited for the team’s success. “Any time you’ve got young men that are willing to put in hard, diligent work when no one else is watching, it lends itself to being successful.”

A school’s BEDS number is a measure of its number of students in the high school. For the 2024-25 school year, Panama’s is 110, Clymer’s is 89 and Sherman’s is 81. Combined, that BEDS number of 280 would make C/S/P a Class C school larger than Salamanca (264), but smaller than Southwestern (309).

For comparison’s sake, the largest Section VI Class D football school not playing in a merger this year was Randolph with a BEDS number of 209.

Next year, Clymer’s BEDS number jumps to 101 and Sherman’s to 95, but Panama drops to 74.

But a BEDS number doesn’t tell the whole story for a merged football program. For a three-school merger, the New York State Public High School Athletic Association uses a formula of 100% of the largest school in addition to 40% of the remaining two schools to determine the program’s BEDS number.

While Sherman is a part of the football merger, just four of the Wolfpack’s players — Carson Pinzok, Chambers, Mason Moore and Mary Fuller – came from the district this year. Take that 81 out of the C/S/P BEDS number and it’s down to 199, which is just one above Cattaraugus-Little Valley.

And generally, once schools merge athletics programs, some student-athletes simply don’t come out for the team.

When Maple Grove couldn’t field a girls soccer team this fall, just five Red Dragons ended up joining the Falconer/Cassadaga Valley program. The Panama/Maple Grove/Clymer girls swimming program added Sherman this year after several Wildcats expressed interest in swimming, but then none showed up when practices got underway.

The Wolfpack hasn’t gotten as good as it has because of unfair formulas and fudging the numbers. The Wolfpack is who it is because of its student-athletes and the people running the program.

Time and again, Harper and his athletic directors have asked the section to schedule C/S/P the hardest nonleague opponents it can. Last year, the Wolfpack beat Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove, Southwestern and Salamanca — all Class C teams — in nonleague play.

This fall, the Wolfpack lost to 2023 Class C state champion Waverly and Class B Lackawanna in nonleague games, while also beating Class B Lake Shore.

“They’ve never shied away from playing bigger schools and tough opponents,” Harper said. “I think it’s always made us better.”

Harper and his staff should not be criticized for playing by the rules to put together a successful, healthy Class D football program, they should be celebrated.

“Any kid that’s ever played for me has had as much of an impact on me as I’ve hopefully had on them,” Harper said. “I hope that whatever comes next for these young men, I hope they know how much I love them and care about them.

“The last 10 years,” Harper added, “it’s been such an honor to be the head coach of this program.”