OBSERVER Staff Report

The Fredonia Hillbillies look to get back in the win column Saturday afternoon in a C South football game against the Cassadaga Valley/Falconer Golden Cougars at Cassadaga Valley High School. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.

Cassadaga Valley/Falconer (0-2, 0-1) hopes to notch its first win of the season in the final game on the Cassadaga Valley field this year. After losing on the same field 41-0 in the season opener to Portville, the Golden Cougars put up a tough fight to Section V challenger Red Jacket, before an eventual 18-13 defeat.

The Golden Cougars will look to rely on a rushing duo of tailback Noah Abram and fullback Brock Johnson to put points on the board. Each rusher found the endzone a week ago, while Abram has a team-high 179 rushing yards on 40 carries this season.

Fredonia (1-1, 1-1) has two guys of its own to rely on out of the backfield in Dom Gullo and Dalton Gardner, however it’s been the young first-year starting quarterback, Nick Whitfield Jr., who has led the team to date. Whitfield has rushed for 108 yards and three touchdowns through two games, while also completing 22 passes for 335 yards and a touchdown through the air. Whitfield has connected with five different receivers this year, including four with three or more receptions. Tight end Jake Skinner leads the team with 89 receiving yards on four catches, including a 52-yard connection. Skinner also leads the team in tackles on the season with 35, including nine from behind the line of scrimmage.

After a 15-8 loss last week at Allegany-Limestone, the Hillbillies hope to head into the most grueling part of their schedule — beginning next week — with a winning record. After this week, Fredonia hosts Southwestern, then plays Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton, Portville, and finishes with Dunkirk.

OBSERVER Sports Editor Braden Carmen will be updating the action live on Twitter throughout the game @bradencarmen. To see a complete story of the game with photos, look online at observertoday.com on Saturday evening or in Monday’s OBSERVER.