Capen showed his might on the first Newfane snap of the game, keeping the ball himself he darted out of the backfield and into open field for an 80-yard touchdown. He added another big 35-yard touchdown run later in the game to bring his season total to 25 as the Panthers cruised to a 38-0 victory.

Newfane maintained its undefeated record and upheld the top billing as Class D’s No. 1 seed with an emphatic victory.

Much of the action came on the ground for the Panthers as they scored five rushing touchdowns with a pair from Capen, another two by Camryn Stover and a short run by Camlo Flowers.

Newfane will seek the first sectional title in program history next Thursday against No. 2 Wilson at Highmark Stadium.

OBSERVER Photo by Jon Neubauer | Sideline Images of WNY Silver Creek/Forestville running back Max Tenamore slides for a first down against Newfane in the Section VI Class D semifinals Friday night.

Silver Creek/Forestville 0 0 0 0 — 0

Newfane 16 8 14 0 — 38

New–Capen 80 run (Capen run)

New–Stover 1 run (Spencer run)

New–Capen 35 run (Gerstung run)

New–Flowers 3 run (Run failed)

New–Stover 30 run (Morrello run)

LAKEMEN CRUISE TO HIGHMARK

WILSON — In the regular season matchup, Wilson was unstoppable against Gowanda/Pine Valley en route to a big road victory.

The Panthers slowed Wilson’s offense, but still could not keep up as they fell short in the Class D semifinals 35-8.

The Lakemen scored on the first two possessions of the game, first with a 2-yard run by Michael Ruble and then a 21-yard receiving touchdown by Ryan Hough from Victor Cusatis to go up 13-0.

Gowanda/Pine Valley had a couple opportunities to answer in the first half, but none better than near the end of the first quarter.

Senior quarterback Carter Capozzi helped get No. 3 Gowanda/Pine Valley into the red zone after a huge 35-yard run, getting down inside the 5-yard line. However, Wilson made its stand and one of the first plays of the second quarter was the fourth down attempt which ended with Josiah Lawrence intercepting Capozzi in the end zone.

Gowanda/Pine Valley kept Wilson away from scoring for quite a while in the first half, including making a huge defensive stand on its own goal line. That positive energy was all wiped away in Wilson’s final possession of the half when Cusatis kept the ball himself on a 20-yard run down the sideline, building a 21-0 lead.

A third quarter touchdown from Brock Lepsch rushing to paydirt from 37 yards and then Cusatis diving from a yard away in the fourth put the game away with Wilson up 35-0.

Gowanda/Pine Valley erased the shutout in the final five minutes of the game as Winter Mentley-Peters dove in from 1-yard and quarterback Lukas Barrett kept the ball for a successful 2-point conversion.

No. 2 Wilson returns to Highmark Stadium after a year’s absence, needing a big upset against Newfane for its first sectional title.

Gowanda/Pine Valley 0 0 0 8 — 8

Wilson 13 8 7 7 — 35

1st

Wil–Ruble 2 run (Kick failed)

Wil–Hough 21 pass from Custasis (Woodward kick)

Wil–Cusatis 20 run (Lepsch run)

Wil–Lepsch 37 run (Woodward kick)

Wil–Cusatis 1 run (Woodward kick)

G/PV–Mentley-Peters 1 run (Barrett run)