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Opportunity knocks

The Herd takes advantage of turnovers, beats Wolfpack late

By Scott Kindberg 4 min read

FALCONER -- Ethan Conti hit Colton Rhinehart with a fourth-down touchdown pass from 5 yards out with a shade over four minutes remaining Friday night to send Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove to an 18-14 victory over turnover-plagued Clymer/Sherman/Panama in a Class C South football game at Bill Race Field.

Dylan Newman rushed, unofficially, for 90 yards on 18 carries and scored a pair of third-quarter touchdowns, and Brody Hawkins forced a fumble and picked off a pass in the fourth quarter to help secure the win for the Herd, who are now 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the division.

The Wolfpack, who turned the ball over five times, including on three occasions in the fourth quarter, dropped to 2-1 and 1-1.

What a difference a week makes for Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove.

Last week, it suffered a 14-8 loss to Silver Creek/Forestville and was shutout in the first half last night. But an opportunistic defense and Newman's success running the ball after intermission were the difference.

"At halftime we just decided we were going to go back to power football and we had to win the game doing that," Herd head coach Curt Fischer said. "The kids took on the challenge. They told me at halftime that's what they wanted to do. Sometimes as a coach you have to believe them and I did. We had a miserable first half with three big turnovers and they overcame that."

Clymer/Sherman/Panama, meanwhile, was unable to overcome their miscues.

"First half it was penalties," Wolfpack head coach Dave Bodamer said. "Second half we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot."

Clymer/Sherman/Panama, which was coming off a 40-8 win over Fredonia last week, picked up where it left off on its first possession, needing four plays to reach the end zone, courtesy of a 45-yard pass completion from Gavin Burchanowski to Hayden Sexton, followed by Blake Beckerink's 3-yard TD run. Beckerink (94 yards on 14 carries) converted the 2-point conversion run to give the Wolfpack an 8-0 lead before the game was two minutes old.

Clymer/Sherman/Panama didn't find the end zone again until Beckerink's 10-yard run with just under 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but it still led 14-12.

Enter Hawkins.

Upon receiving the ensuing kickoff at the Falconer/Cassadaga/Valley/Maple Grove 21, the junior returned it 47 yards, setting up the Herd with a first down at Clymer/Sherman/Panama's 29-yard line. Ten plays later, Conti fired a dart to Rhinehart from 5 yards out for the go-ahead touchdown with 4:06 left in the game.

"(Conti) created space, he scrambled a little bit and he was able, as a sophomore, to find an open receiver," Fischer said. "He threw that ball hard and (Rhinehart) made a tough catch. He's an outstanding receiver."

From that point, both teams exchanged turnovers, allowing the Wolfpack -- without a timeout -- to take over at its 31 at the 3:24 mark. Two plays later, however, Hawkins ripped the ball away from a Clymer/Sherman/Panama receiver and, after two unsportsmanlike penalties on the Wolfpack, the Herd was set up with a first down inside the 10.

The possession didn't result in any points, but Clymer/Sherman/Panama took over on downs at the 2-yard line with only 45 seconds remaining. The Wolfpack recorded a first down on the first play, but Hawkins intercepted the next pass with 21 seconds remaining to secure the win.

When the game ended, he could be heard repeating the following four words over and over:

"I love this team."

Fischer does, too.

"I've got to give this team a lot of credit," he said. "They played their butts off tonight."

Bodamer, meanwhile, remained philosophical.

"Sometimes a loss isn't the worst thing, especially when you're in such a tight race this year," he said. "You're going to have tests. How are you going to respond?"

Clymer/Sherman/Panama 8 0 0 6 -- 14

Falconer/CV/MG 0 0 12 6 -- 18

C/S/P--Beckerink 3 run (Beckerink run)

F/CV/MG--Newman 9 run (run failed)

F/CV/MG--Newman 3 run (run failed)

C/S/P--Beckerink 10 run (pass failed)

F/CV/MG--Rhinehart 5 pass from Conti (run failed)

Starting at /week.