Chatham Slams CCD- Lance Wheeler Video

Tim Martin - Columbia Greene Media CHATHAM — Chatham certainly looked like a playoff-ready football team on Friday. The South Division champion Panthers collected 372 yards of total offense while the defense registered its fourth shutout of the season in a 54-0 victory over Catskill/Cairo-Durham on Homecoming night at Chatham High School. Chatham, ranked 13th in the state in Class C, have now outscored its opponents 278-27 through six games, with one non-conference game remaining before the Section II playoffs begin. Catskill/Cairo-Durham came into Friday night's contest fresh off a victory over Taconic Hills and looking to atone for last year's 80-6 loss to the Panthers. "We knew these guys were going to come in fired up," Chatham coach Rich Sitzer said. "They've got some athletes from Catskill and that certainly got our guys a little more fired up, knowing that they've been playing well and getting some wins. Last year was a little lopsided, but we knew it would not be a game like that this year. They've got some new coaches in that are disciplined and they're going to be a team down the road that will be tough to beat." The Mustangs certainly are a much-improved team from a year ago, but still not quite ready to unseat the South Division champion Panthers. Seniors Kaleb Taylor and Triston Schermerhorn combined for five touchdowns for Chatham, which improved to 6-0 overall. "We were glad to be able to move up the ball and use our speed a little bit and kind of mix it up and get some different guys the ball," Sitzer said. Schermerhorn, Section II's leading scorer, added two more touchdowns, one on a 45-yard run and the other an 81-yard kickoff return to start the second half. He finished with 106 yards rushing on just seven carries. Thanks to excellent pass protection provided by his offensive line, Taylor was able to pick apart the CCD defense, completing 6 of 11 throws for 152 yards and two touchdowns. He threw one interception, but made up for it on defense by picking off a Jake Hall pass and returning it 66 yards for a score. "That's just the type of player he is. He's an emotional kid and gets upset when he makes a mistake because he puts in so much time, but he's not the kind of kid that will let it get him down either, so he's going to come back battling. "The offensive line did a real good job giving him time. He had all day to throw because of the line and for the most part we ran better routes this week, so we were glad to be able to get that passing game going. " Chatham travels to Greene of Section IV, while Catskill/Cairo-Durham (2-4) plays host to Watervliet on Saturday at 1 p.m.