WOLFPACK DOMINATE AVON, ADVANCE TO STATE SEMIFINAL

The CSP Wolfpack are indeed, as Bad Company would say, “running with the pack” as they have clinched a spot in the NYSPHSAA Class D semifinal for the second straight year with a win over Section V’s Avon.

The victory took place at SUNY Brockport in the midst of a pouring rain but coach Ty Harper’s squad was able to ignore the poor weather conditions to nail down a convincing win for the fourth Far West Regional win in school annals.

“Every one of these kids contributed to the win,” coach Ty Harper said. “We’ve got guys battling through injuries and gutting it out, so it’s been a total team effort. I’m so proud of these guys.

“I thought we did a real good job of spreading the ball out and throwing it. We’ve got playmakers all over the field – I can dial up whatever I want, but the kids have to go make the plays and they did it all night long.”

Quarterback Ty Catanese was a major factor both in the passing game and the running game throughout the night by accounting for five touchdowns.

“I think (my mobility) opens up the passing game a lot,” Catanese said. “When I run, people have to commit to stopping that and then we can just throw over them.”

Right from the get-go, CSP took charge of the contest and never looked back. Catanese kicked off the scoring on a quarterback sneak midway through the first quarter and he and Carter Brink hooked up on a 42-yard touchdown pass to increase their lead by two scores.

Brink’s catch came on a broken play that saw Catanese roll out and find him on a leaping reception.

“That’s one of the best football plays I’ve ever seen as a coach,” Harper said. “Catanese did an unbelievable job – I couldn’t believe he got away from the pressure. I was getting ready to call the next play, I saw he got away from the defense and he threw a dart. Carter made an unbelievable play, but that’s an every day play for Brink so I wasn’t surprised.”

“I was kind of running up the seam, saw an open gap and I didn’t even know Tate was rolling out,” Brink said. “I saw him, he chucked it down there and I made the play.”

Avon was able to get on the scoreboard on their next drive when Kalman Dolgos found Blaydan Borsching from 15 yards away, but that was all they could muster to try and make a game out of it. Catanese punched it in on another sneak shortly after and he and Brink connected again from 13 yards away to give the Wolfpack a 28-7 lead heading into halftime.

The next two Wolfpack scores came off a pair of turnovers deep within the Red Hawks’ territory. After a fumble was recovered by CSP, Alex Barmore plunged into the end zone from three yards out and after Avon repeated the gaffe on their next drive Catanese took advantage by finding paydirt with his legs for a third time.

Harper gave credit to his defense for a stout performance.

“Our defense stood on its head,” Harper said. “They’ve been playing great all season long.

Coach Payne and our kids deserve a lot of credit. Our defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage, linebackers played with their hair on fire and the defensive backs did a great job in coverage.

“I can’t say enough about these guys. They’re incredible players, they work hard and we’re super-demanding of them but they just keep showing up. They deserve a lot of credit.”

Travis Owens finished off the scoring on a handoff and the Red Hawks’ James Chase added a 59-yard rushing touchdown a short while later.

The Wolfpack are now one win away from advancing to a state final and while the opportunity beckons, Harper knew that his team couldn’t get too ahead of themselves.

“We’ve just got to take it one day at a time,” Harper said. “We need to have a great day of practice on Monday and put that work in. Every day we’ve got to get a little bit better, stay focused and if this team plays to its potential, the only thing that can stop us is us."

Photo Credit/WNY Football Report