NEWFANE — “I cannot wait to suit up and play next year.”
That’s what Newfane’s Ayden Buttery told coach Chuck Nagel in the days after a devastating 48-47 home loss to Portville in the opening round of the Section VI Class C playoffs last season. The Panthers had a record-setting offense and came within one win of their first league championship in 30 years, but the season came to a crashing end.
Newfane lost some key players, including star quarterback Nate Snow, and it has just two back-to-back seasons above .500 in almost two decades. But with 38 players on the roster this year, the Panthers want more than a taste of the success created a year ago.
“Thinking back specifically to a conversation I had with Ayden Buttery Friday night after that playoff loss,” Nagel said. “… It gave me goosebumps, man. I said, ‘I feel the exact same way, man.’ And if we kept everything we do, man, one more rep, two more reps, whatever it’s going to take and then let’s put the work in.”
Heading into this season, Newfane looks to replace key players in the offense, starting at the quarterback position. Snow graduated in June and after being the team’s two-year starter, throwing for 3,232 yards and 32 touchdowns, while adding 15 rushing scores.
The Panthers will now turn to junior Mac Capen at the start of the season. Capen was the backup to Snow last season and was the starting quarterback on modified but already burst onto the varsity scene as a wide receiver and a defensive back, recording 329 yards and five touchdowns and a team-high four interceptions.
“He has the ability — like Nate did last year — to be a dual-threat kid, to run and pass and basically just take what the defense gives him,” Nagel said. “He’s still young. He’s going to make
mistakes but he’s also going to be a kid that’s going to learn from those and then be a better player because of it.”
Surrounding Capen is a mix of veterans, starting with Ayden Buttery at running back. The senior scored a team-high six touchdowns and rushed for 147 yards, catching an additional two touchdowns.
Newfane also returns experience to its offensive line, starting with two offensive linemen in seniors Devin DeNardo and Jack Cole, along with junior Colin Doxey. In addition to the team’s offseason workouts, Capen spent extra time with his receivers for over an hour on Sundays at the school’s turf field, working on routes and helping each other build familiarity.
With the start of camp, the Panthers felt there was pressure going into this season. But, after going through their offseason sessions, the group once again has their list of goals, only fueled further by what the team accomplished last season, which included scoring over 40 points in five contests.
“We want to win league,” Capen said. “I think we can do it. Akron will be good. That’ll be a tough challenge to us. And we have Wilson week one, which, that’s our rival, so we’ll keep it going with that. We’ll get a big win there. We’ll keep it going.”
Newfane kicks off its season versus Wilson at 7:05 p.m. Sept. 5.