Clymer/Sherman/Panama's Travis Owens runs between Wilson defenders during Saturday's Class D football game in Clymer. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

CLYMER — Four dropped passes, two bad shotgun snaps and a blown coverage plagued Clymer/Sherman/Panama during the first half Saturday.

Things didn’t get much better after halftime.

Somehow, the Wolfpack survived a scare from Wilson.

Travis Owens rushed 16 times for 113 yards and Clymer/Sherman/Panama scored the go-ahead touchdown with 5:13 remaining in the game to beat the Lakemen 15-7 in a Class D slugfest.

The win actually locked up at least a share of the Class D league title for the Wolfpack (5-2, 4-0), but that mattered little to head coach Ty Harper after Saturday’s game.

Clymer/Sherman/Panama's Alex Barmore pulls down Wilson's Michael Ruble during Saturday's Class D football game in Clymer. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

“I take full responsibility for this. We came out and were sleep walking through the first half,” Harper said. “I take full responsibility for my team and our lack of intensity in the first half.”

The teams slogged through a sloppy first half that saw the score tied 7-7 after 24 minutes.

“We were lucky with a couple of drops on their side,” Wilson head coach Bill Atlas said. ” … Our defensive coordinator tries to put (the Wolfpack) in the worst possible position to be successful. He had another great game plan against them and we played tough.”

Wilson (1-6, 1-4) punted on its first three possessions of the second half and Clymer/Sherman/Panama punted twice, and it quickly became apparent that whichever team put points on the board late was going to win the game.

“We made a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes. That’s going to happen in high school football. Kids aren’t perfect and coaches aren’t perfect,” Harper said. “What I can’t reconcile is not running through shifts, getting to the line of scrimmage with urgency, focusing on assignments. I thought there was a lot of that as well.”

Clymer/Sherman/Panama's Carter Brink tackles Wilson's Ryan Hough during Saturday's Class D football game in Clymer. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

The Wolfpack took over at the Lakemen 47-yard line with 8:05 remaining in the fourth quarter and turned it into points eight plays later, but the drive was still plagued with mistakes from the New York State Sportswriters Association’s second-ranked Class D team.

Owens ran for 6 yards on the first play and freshman Sawyer Whitney followed with runs of 11 and 5 yards to set up second-and-5 from the 25-yard line. Owens ran toward the Wolfpack sideline for 3 yards to set up a manageable third-and-2, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty sent Clymer/Sherman/Panama back to a third-and-17 from the 37-yard line.

From there, senior quarterback Tate Catanese connected with fellow senior Dalton Richter for a 23-yard completion down to the 13-yard line. It was just the fifth completion of the game for Catanese and only grab of the day for Richter.

“I thought Tate Catanese showed a lot of leadership not losing his temper when things weren’t going well,” Harper said.

Again, the Wolfpack failed to move the ball with Whitney picking up just a yard over the next two plays. On third-and-9 from the 13-yard line, Catanese was pressured, but eventually found senior Carter Brink open over the middle on the goal line for the go-ahead score.

Clymer/Sherman/Panama's Bryce Hinsdale attempts to get away from Wilson's Vic Cusatis during Saturday's Class D football game in Clymer. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

“Once the mistakes start to mount, you start to put too much pressure on yourself and think about things more than you need to, instead of just going out and trying to make plays,” Harper said. “I’m proud of Carter for bouncing back, catching that ball and getting in the end zone.”

Clymer/Sherman/Panama faked the point-after kick and Catanese found Collin Ryan open in the back of the end zone for the 8-point lead.

“They tend to bring a lot of pressure off the right side on kicks,” Harper said. ” … We thought maybe nobody would be home there, so we decided we were going to fake it and go for two. It paid off for us.”

Wilson, which had lost its five games by a combined 116 points entering Saturday, had a final chance to answer, taking over at its own 20-yard line with 5:13 remaining. Junior Brock Lepsch, who finished with 13 carries for 70 yards on the day, ran for a yard on first-and-10, but did not touch the ball for the remainder of the drive.

“They were leaving the middle open for us a little bit, so that’s why we continued with a lot of the iso stuff, which we don’t practice a ton and we don’t run a ton,” Atlas said. “If they’re going to give it to us, our line was ready to run that.”

On fourth-and-8 from their own 43-yard line, the Lakemen lined up to punt, but junior Michael Ruble took off running and was tackled for an 8-yard loss.

“They actually surprised the heck out of me. I’m super, super young this year. We have been improving every single week,” Atlas said of his team. ” … Michael Ruble, little No. 28, ran the ball pretty well, and Brock ran the hell out of the ball. He’s tough to take down. When we have those two guys going, we can do some damage.”

Catanese ran for a first down on third-and-5, then completed a 15-yard pass to senior Alex Barmore on fourth-and-6 before the Wolfpack was able to run out the clock.

“We had to gut it out and we found a way to get it done there in the second half,” Harper said.

Clymer/Sherman/Panama will visit Cattaraugus-Little Valley on Thursday night looking to wrap up a perfect league season before gearing up for what the Wolfpack hopes is a long postseason run.

“Wilson was obviously motivated to play. We’ve seen them upset opponents in the past in games they were not supposed to have a chance to win,” Harper said. “We were fighting for our lives with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Wilson deserves all the credit today.”

NOTES: Catanese scored on a 5-yard run with 4:45 left in the second quarter, but Wilson answered with a 75-yard scoring strike from junior Vic Cusatis to junior Ryan Hough just four plays later as the teams tied 7-7 late in the second quarter. … Clymer/Sherman/Panama outgained Wilson 310-167. … Defensively, Ryan was in on 14 tackles, including two for a loss; Richter was in on eight tackles, including two for a loss; senior Jordan Mescall was in on eight tackles, including one for a loss; senior Kolten Rhoades was in on five tackles, including three sacks; and Owens was in on five tackles.

Wilson 0 7 0 0 — 7

Clymer/Sherman/Panama 0 7 0 8 — 15

C/S/P–Catanese 5 run (Hinsdale kick)

Wil–Hough 75 pass from Cusatis (Lepsch kick)

C/S/P–Brink 13 pass from Catanese (Ryan pass from Catanese)