Cam Schaffer - 12 Sports Athlete of the Week

VESTAL, N.Y. (WBNG) - Last Friday night, the Vestal Golden Bears did something that hasn’t been done since 2018: they won the Section 4 Class A football championship in dominant fashion over Horseheads. And one of the reasons for their success was quarterback Cam Schaffer, who lead the Golden Bears offense to five touchdowns in the victory.

“It was definitely great to bring it back to this town. We haven’t had a lot of them, so it’s definitely a privilege top bring it back here after all those years,” Schaffer said.

And if you ask the rest of the Golden Bears, leading the team is something that Schaffer has always excelled at.

“Any time we get down, he’ll come talk to us. Like we’re good, keep our heads on a swivel. We just gotta keep moving and charge down the field like we should,” said senior lineman Dom Akers. “He always keeps us on track, and he’s a great quarterback, great team player, and just a great guy to get behind.

“Leadership in a third year player, he has maturity on the field,” added head coach Jim Crunden. “He had the ability to pick up a brand-new offense, and he just gets better every week.”

But the season isn’t over yet, the Golden Bears may be in the quarterfinals for the first time in five years, but they haven’t been to the semifinals since 2002. And Vestal gets a chance to get it done at home, as they’ll be playing this quarterfinal game on their home turf at Dick Hoover Stadium.

“It’s definitely an advantage to be on our home field. We practice here every day, play games so many times, and we’ve got the fans that come out every week,” said Schaffer. “So we have a unique advantage that none of the other teams have this week.”

“It’s amazing. We got the fans coming out to support us,” Akers said. “We’ve been having some great turnouts and that helps us keep moving, keep our drives going, knowing they’re all here supporting us.”

For Schaffer, he knows exactly where his and the rest of his team’s heads are at.

“We’re only focused on this game. It doesn’t matter what we did before, all that matters is this game,” Schaffer said. It’s all we have to think about for two hours every day in practice, and then three hours on Friday.”

This game against Section 3′s Whitesboro is set for an 8pm kickoff in Vestal.

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