By HUNTER O. LYLE
OLEAN, NY – Heading into the final few minutes, the Olean football team was gassed.
Through the three-plus quarters, they had fallen behind early, weathered the storm and taken a lead and now were fighting to do it all over again. In the culmination of their first-ever battle with Portville/Bolivar-Richburg/Cuba-Rushford, they stood just 35 yards away from the endzone and just five yards away from a much-needed first down. With only a minute-and a-half to go.
On the snap, quarterback Dom Myers rolled to his right, scrambling away from the oncoming defensive line as he had been all night. With a pair of arms dragging him back down to Earth, he managed to send a pass down range, into the red zone and into the reach of a receiver.
But instead of keeping the team’s night alive, the pass bobbled and dropped. Falling to the ground, that final incompletion sealed the Huskies fate, putting the empty void of “almost” on their 26-21 loss to the Panthers.
“Both teams wanted it. My guys played their hearts out but they made mistakes at critical times and it just ended up hurting us,” said Olean head coach Terry Burrows. “That’s part of being young and inexperienced. We had a chance at the end and we didn’t finish. We just have to make the plays when we have the opportunities to make them.”
The Huskies’ headache started early.
Strolling into Bradner Stadium, Portville was on a hot streak, coming into their Week 3 matchup with Olean undefeated. And right from the jump, they seemed prepared to keep it that way. Taking their first snap from within their own red zone, the Panthers gave the ball to Hayden Schappacher, who broke through the pocket and streaked down the right sideline for an 82-yard score just 20 seconds into the contest.
Olean, in turn, would not have the same success in their first drive, instead being put out in three. Although the Huskies did return the favor sooner rather than later, forcing Portville to punt on the subsequent possession before knotting the game with a 56-yard scramble from Myers, the Panthers’ response was immediate.
Starting with a halfback pass that saw Schappacher connect with Braxton Clark for 41 yards, Portville steadily barged their way downfield. Using an array of inside and outside runs, screen passes and slants and quarterback sneaks, the Panthers were slowed but not stopped, ultimately crossing the plane once again with just two minutes left in the first quarter.
“We liked our ten personnel matchup on film and we were curious if (Olean) would come out the same and they did and we popped the first play. (Olean) adjusted a little, loaded the box knowing we wanted to run the ball but we were still a threat,” said Portville head coach Josh Brooks. “Then we gained momentum with (Schappacher’s pass) and then we got our run game going a little bit.”
It would take one last gut punch for the Huskies to finally kick their offense into gear. After Schappacher scored his second touchdown of the night, this time a defensive strip that led to a 35-yard-return and a 20-7 Portville lead, Olean managed to counter quickly.
Forced into a fourth-and-eleven after their first three snaps, the Huskies gambled and came up big, seeing Myers find Tyler Sullivan past the chains for a first down. Two plays later, Khalifah Ramadhan was carrying the ball six yards and into the endzone, bringing the game to just a six-point margin.
Stunting Portville for the second time that quarter, Olean again resumed the march, converting on another fourth down before seeing Mason Hirliman come down with a wide-open touchdown reception with just 30 seconds left in the half.
“I just think our guys started to believe. We’ve played some pretty good teams and things haven’t been going our way, and tonight on the first play (Portville scores,)” said Burrows. “I’m really proud of our guys for fighting. A lot of teams would have folded and we just started executing the things we were prepared to do.”
However, when both teams returned to the gridiron, the game had changed drastically. Instead of a blow-for-blow track meet, the second half would be settled in the trenches.
Taking over on their own 41, Olean quickly leaned on their ground game. Alternating between Myers, Hunter Silvis and Colby Booth, the Huskies incrementally clawed their way across the field, bashing up against the enclosing defense for a handful of yards at a time. Gaining just 26 yards in eight plays, however, their first drive of the half came up short.
Although they forced the Panthers back to the eight-yard-line on the punt, and constricted them to the same slow-going, ground-pound offense, Olean’s frustrations compounded as they saw Portville retake the lead, with Schappacher scoring once again on a six-yard carry.
Coming down the final stretch, the Huskies’ momentum had long since faded. Continuing to erode the distance between the endzone in fractions at a time, coupled with several penalties and miscues, Olean was running out of time on the clock and gas in their engines.
Rolling into the fourth, their initial possession ended in the endzone with an overthrown pass on fourth-and-15, and although they snubbed the Panthers immediately after, what would be their final drive of the night came down to one last attempt from 35-yards out. And then, one missed catch would end their night for good.
“We’ve gotten better every game, and we were in position to win this one and I wish we would have done it, but now it’s on to our league,” said Burrows. “We got teams in our league to beat, and if we beat four of them, we’re talking about different things at the end of the season. That’s where our focus is now.”
Olean’s Myers came away with 117 passing yards on an 8-for-14 completion rate and one touchdown, also scrambling for 125 rushing yards on 15 attempts. Silvis ended with 41 rushing yards and one touchdown, while Tyler Sullivan led the Huskies in receiving yards with 52.
Schappancher ended with 152 rushing yards on 16 carries for the Panthers, totaling three touchdowns while also leading Portville in passing yards with 41 on the connection to Clark.
“We appreciate this environment. Not just Portville but Cuba-Rushford and Bolivar-Richburg and Olean and all these local people who came out to support either team tonight,” said Brooks. “It was a really cool high school experience for these kids and I think it’s a night people won’t forget, especially our players.”
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