Panthers Conquer The Hill 43 - 8
Nitsche and Miller continue their all-star seasons
In the first round of the sectional playoffs, Portville geared up for Ralph
Wilson Stadium with a convincing victory over the North Division champs Cleveland Hill on the Golden Eagles' home turf.
PCS QB Brian Nitsche led the massive offensive attack with 3 TD runs.
Portville scored 22 points in the first quarter alone, as Nitsche and Jarid Lowe carried the pigskin into the house,
complemented by XP passes to Joe Holcomb and Kirk Austin. Joe ended up with 153 yards rushing. Lowe and Holcomb's
toughness set the standard for this match-up.
Cleve Hill's only touchdown came via Pernell Cramer's beautiful
97-yard kick-off return for money. But Nitsche put the visitors up 30-8 with another patented 17-yard scramble, followed
by a Hoach XP run for two.
In the 3rd, Brian hit Austin with a 21-yard pass strike for six, and
in the final quarter, Alex Woodhead battled his way in for another Portville score. Brian then poked his first XP kick
over the goal posts to end the scoring.
Lineman Tim Zapel was a major unsung hero of the game, and Matt
Miller absolutely dominated his territory, picking up a fumble. PCS Defensive Back Matt Burlingame kept WR Cramer in
check the whole game. Except for one Cleve Hill pass TD that was called back, Portville's Coach Waugh was pretty happy
with the coverage.
John Freeborn registered a sweet sack, while Brad Holcomb continued
his demolition work from the DE position. Garrett Childs and Josh Kausner stepped up big time, and Eric Caya held up
his bookend on defense. Josh Haynes, Ross Degolier, and Brad Hill played solid. Josh Austin got in some more
snaps at QB, and the 2nd team finished off the opponents without any big mistakes.
This Panther squad has now scored more points than any PCS team in history
(317) and is averaging 35 points per game.
Next Mission: Class C Championship versus Falconer at the Ralph on
Thursday Night, November 4th. Falconer beat Silver Creek 34-6 in their semi-final game.
