Clymer/Sherman/Panama's Sawyer Whitney picks up yardage while Franklinville/Ellicottville's Landon Learn holds onto his jersey during Saturday's nonleague football game at Harry S. Brosius Field in Sherman. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

SHERMAN — Western New York football community, meet Sawyer Whitney.

Clymer/Sherman/Panama’s sophomore running back ran 35 times for 203 yards and three touchdowns as the Wolfpack beat Franklinville/Ellicottville 25-14 on Saturday afternoon at Harry S. Brosius Field.

Whitney’s performance helped make a winner out of Clymer/Sherman/Panama head coach Dave Bodamer, whose last victory as a head coach came in 2013 at Clymer.

“I’m glad the first game is finally under our belts,” Bodamer said. ” … Now, we get to go look at some real game film and really start seeing what we have to clean up and get better at.”

Stuck behind a bevy of senior weapons during last year’s Class D state-championship run, Whitney made his presence felt early and often during Saturday’s nonleague season opener with the Wolfpack moving up to Class C this year.

In the first half alone, Whitney ran 20 times for 119 yards behind an offensive line featuring two returning starters in Matt Redlecki and Troy Chambers alongside Mason Weber, Colton Hamilton and Toby Watson.

“It just shows how well coached their offensive line is. … They just won the one-on-one battles,” Franklinville/Ellicottville head coach Justin Tatlow said. “They handled and won the line of scrimmage for a large majority of the day and that’s the 11-point difference you see on the scoreboard.”

After the teams turned the ball over to each other on their opening drives, the Wolfpack (1-0, 0-0) marched 81 yards on 14 plays for their first score of the year when senior quarterback Carson White connected with junior wide receiver Gavin Burchanowski for a 25-yard touchdown on fourth down with 2:18 left in the first quarter. Michael Horton’s point-after kick made it 7-0.

Franklinville/Ellicottville (0-1, 0-0) responded on its third drive of the game. Backed up to their own 1-yard line after junior Brenden McWilliams’ first of two goal-line stops in the first half, the Titans went 99 yards on four plays, keyed by a 94-yard run by senior Landon Learn on first down.

Facing third-and-goal from Clymer/Sherman/Panama’s 5-yard line, junior quarterback Brady Tatlow found junior Rylan Benjamin open in the back of the end zone for the tying score after senior Cameron Mendell’s first of two successful PATs.

The Wolfpack answered five plays later. Aided by a good kickoff return by Burchanowski and a tacked-on 15-yard penalty, Clymer/Sherman/Panama started the drive at the Titans’ 39-yard line. Another penalty set the Wolfpack up with a first down at the 14-yard line and two plays later Whitney ran for a 13-yard touchdown to make it 13-7.

“Sawyer’s got some special feet. He’s just instinctive, he’s strong and he’s committed,” Bodamer said. “I think the kid is going somewhere. He’s young, but he’s a big-time part of this team.”

Franklinville/Ellicottville’s six-point halftime deficit could’ve been worse, but McWilliams stopped White on the goal line for the second time as time expired.

The Titans had to start another drive at the 1-yard line early in the second half after a muffed punt, but on the second play from scrimmage, Tatlow connected with Benjamin for a 73-yard completion down to Clymer/Sherman/Panama’s 22-yard line. Five plays later, on fourth down from the 8-yard line, Tatlow threw a touchdown to junior Blake Smith for a 14-13 lead with 33 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

“Both plays were a discipline issue, it wasn’t an ability issue,” Bodamer said of the Titans’ two big plays. “That’s fixable.”

But the fourth quarter belonged to the Wolfpack. On their seventh play of the ensuing drive, Whitney scored on an 18-yard run to make it 19-14, and after Franklinville/Ellicottville went three-and-out on its next drive, Clymer/Sherman/Panama put the game away with an 11-play, 62-yard drive that was capped by Whitney’s third score of the day — a 1-yard plunge with 1:40 to go.

“They just were able to execute moving the ball and execute their game plan a little bit better than we did. We just came up short a little bit,” Tatlow said. “I’m extremely proud of our guys, a number of guys who have never been in roles that they are finding themselves in.”

Other than Franklinville/Ellicottville’s two longest plays, which totaled 167 yards, the Wolfpack held the Titans to just 126 yards of offense, led by sophomore Mason Groters, who had two tackles for a loss, and junior Bryan Gomez, who led the team with nine tackles.

“Mason earned a starting spot, not because someone else wasn’t doing their job, I just felt we needed to get him on the field,” Bodamer said. “Bryan has been a wonderful surprise as far as how he’s playing in the middle. On defense, he’s just free flowing. He’s reading it well. … I’m really happy with what we’re seeing.”

The Titans open Class D play next week when they host Newfane while Clymer/Sherman/Panama’s return to Class C begins with Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove visiting Sherman.

“I thought it was a really good matchup for us in Week 1,” Bodamer said.

NOTES: White completed 16 of 22 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown with an interception. Burchanowski caught nine passes for 88 yards and a score. … Tatlow completed 11 of 16 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns with Smith catching seven passes for 74 yards and a score. … Jake Wiggers ran 16 times for 86 yards and a touchdown while Brandon Moreash and Matt DeStevens each added a touchdown as Clymer won the Class DD Chuck Funke Memorial Classic Bowl 21-20 over Franklinville on Oct. 30, 2013 — Bodamer’s last win as the Pirates’ head coach.

Franklinville/Ellicottville 0 7 7 0 — 14

Clymer/Sherman/Panama 7 6 0 12 — 25

C/S/P–Burchanowski 25 pass from White (Horton kick)

F/E–Benjamin 5 pass from Tatlow (Mendell kick)

C/S/P–Whitney 13 run (kick blocked)

F/E–Smith 8 pass from Tatlow (Mendell kick)

C/S/P–Whitney 18 run (run failed)

C/S/P–Whitney 1 run (pass failed)