Golden Cougars Ready for 2017

Cassadaga Valley/Falconer Golden Cougars

Class C South

2016 Record 2-6 (Won Chuck Funke Bowl Game)

2016 is a season Cassadaga Valley/Falconer (CV-F) would most likely want to forget from a record standpoint. However, for a team that was made up of mostly underclassmen, it can be argued that this group picked up more experience than any other team in Class C South.

A total of six starters return from last season and among them are Jr’s Connor Crabtree (QB/DB), Robbie Penhollow (RB/LB) and Adam Goot (TE/DE) as well as Sr’s Daniel Torres (RB/LB), Chris Dutton (OL/DL) and Anthony Rodriguez (OL/DL).

Jeff Smith returns for his 10th season with the Golden Cougars, his third as head coach. Smith is looking forward to this season and will not waste time worrying about the last. The team finished with a win in the Chuck Funke Bowl where several underclassmen played.

“It gave them a taste of not only Varsity speed but also winning” Smith said.

Crabtree and Penhollow could be a dangerous combination and if the Cougars have their sights set on taking over the division, they’ll need to be. Smith has told his players they need to “believe in your abilities.” In limited action last year both players made contributions. Penhollow averaged over 12-yards per catch while Crabtree found the end zone through the air and with his legs (returned an 80 yard KO return vs Fredonia).

Offensively CV-F will be a ground and pound team. They have the goods up front in Dutton, Torres and Rodriguez. They should be able to give Crabtree time to operate in the pocket and open up holes for Penhollow.

Defensively, this team will have to step up and make plays. Last season in games versus Southwestern, Chautauqua Lake and Gowanda they lost by a combined score 115-7. Much of that can be attributed to experience.

“Character and hard work will drive success. I know the kids have worked hard in the offseason” Smith said. “We lost two games with a shot to win inside the 10 when time expired. One play could easily have turned our season from 2-6 to 4-4.”

In a Class with teams such as Southwestern and Cleve-Hill one play might not be the difference in winning and losing but that one bad play could be enough to take the wind out of the sails with an inexperienced group. CV-F still has plenty of youth but with Varsity playing time under their belts and knowing how much harder they’ll have to work to compete each week will go a long way in 2017.

CV-F will begin the season on the road against Clymer/Panama/Sherman (CSP) in week one.