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Defend the crown

Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton shuts out Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove to return to Class C final

FALCONER -- Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton's offense has been a work in progress all season.

Coach Ty Harper's team has won games with its defense.

That unit is taking the Eagles to the Section VI Class C final.

Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton, Class C South's No. 3 seed, allowed just 68 yards rushing and stopped both of Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove's trips inside the red zone to beat the Herd 14-0 in a semifinal Friday night at Bill Race Field.

"It was pretty evident early on in the season that defensively we were going to be pretty tough. ... If we're being honest, the defense has really carried us for the better part of the season. (Chris) Payne has done a tremendous job as always," Harper said of his longtime defensive coordinator. "You can count on it: death, taxes and Chris Payne's defense."

The win sends the defending sectional champions into next Friday's 2 p.m. title game against Barker/Royalton-Hartland at the University at Buffalo's Broadview Stadium. The Bulls, Class C North's top seed, beat Clymer/Sherman/Panama 24-20 in Friday's other semifinal.

"They are big. They are physical. They have a great back," Harper said of Barker/Royalton-Hartland. "They don't really do anything fancy. They get into a stack-I and they are going to run the ball right at you. That's tough to stop."

Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton didn't shine offensively in Falconer -- Tristen Gibbs led the Eagles with 21 carries for 109 yards -- but the Eagles did force three turnovers and stop Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove on downs three other times.

"Chris Payne did a great job. If there was a Player of the Game, it would have been Chris Payne for preparing them really well," Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove head coach Curt Fischer said. "He's a great coach and I have a lot of respect for him."

The Herd drove to the Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton 4-yard line on the first drive of the game, but a fourth-down pass fell incomplete, handing the ball over to the Eagles.

"We made a couple of mistakes and they played great football tonight," Fischer said. "When you don't score in the red zone, it hurts."

After a dropped pitch on the first play of Falconer/Cassadaga Valley's next drive, Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton struck quickly. On first down from the Herd's 26-yard line, Eagles quarterback Josh Swan got the ball to Gibbs, who pitched to Aiden Woodis on a reverse, who then pitched the ball back to Swan before the sophomore quarterback found Ian Kindermann open for a touchdown in the back of the end zone. A Swan point-after kick made it 7-0 with 4:34 left in the first quarter.

"It's a big game. They are super well-coached. Sometimes you just try to manufacture points. You get a sudden-change situation; we put in a few trick plays this week and I thought that might be a good time for it," Harper said. "Ultimately the kids have to go out there and execute it. We can draw stuff up on a whiteboard, but they have to go out there and do it. I thought we blocked it up pretty well, Josh threw a really nice ball and Kindermann made a great play on it."

Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton turned another Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove turnover into points before the end of the second quarter. After Kindermann intercepted a pass at the Eagles' 36-yard line, his team drove 64 yards in five plays, capped by a 12-yard touchdown run around the outside of the Herd defense by Gibbs. Another Swan point-after kick made it 14-0 heading into halftime.

"Tristen is so tough. Once we run in between the tackles a few times they really start to load the box with defenders. ... We thought maybe we could get something going to the outside," Harper said. "We got a couple of great down blocks from Lane Scarpine and Ian Kindermann, Thandon Bensink was awesome blocking on the edge. Tristen is running hard, but those guys really blocked it up perfectly."

Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove punted to end its first two possessions of the second half before putting together a nine-play, 79-yard drive. On first-and-goal from the Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton 5-yard line, the Herd lost 2 yards on a run. They then threw incomplete on their next three plays. The fourth-down pass was broken up by the Eagles' Michael Jauss in the corner of the end zone to preserve the shutout.

"We weren't clowning around tonight. I thought Jauss on that particular play kind of embodies everything we've seen this year defensively. It's somebody just making a play when we have to have one," Harper said. "We told Michael they might pick on him and he was ready for his moment. He made a great play on the ball. I'm thrilled for Michael."

Falconer/Cassadaga Valley's penultimate drive made it to the Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton 34-yard line before another fourth-down pass was batted down by Trent Ramm, essentially putting the game away.

"There was some youth that came out of us tonight," Fischer said.

The Eagles defense will have to be up to the task again next week when they face Barker/Royalton-Hartland's Carter Dersarkissian, the leading rusher in Section VI.

"They beat C/S/P and I have a lot of respect for C/S/P," Harper said of the Bulls. "It will be a huge test for us on Friday."

NOTES: Ethan Conti led Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove in rushing with seven carries for 32 yards while also completing 7 of 22 passes for 96 yards. ... Swan completed 5 of 12 passes for 60 yards with Woodis catching four passes for 34 yards for Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton. Gibbs and Lance Franklin were each in on eight tackles while Chase Houser was in on seven for the Eagles.

CLake/Westfield/Brocton 7 7 0 0 -- 14

Falconer/CV/Maple Grove 0 0 0 0 -- 0

CL/W/B--Kindermann 26 pass from Swan (Swan kick)

CL/W/B--Gibbs 12 run (Swan kick)