Panther Football Soars To New Levels
The 2003 Portville Varsity Football Team went farther than any squad in PCS history -
Section VI Class C Champs! And with the Midgets and Ponies winning their championship games as well, Panther Football
was on the prowl this past season.
The Varsity boys tied the 1975 team for most victories in a season - 9. The Midgets
went undefeated at 10-0, outscoring their opponents 369-13. The Ponies had a record of 9-1 on their way to the crown.
The Varsity placed 3 players on the Big 30 All-Star Team and 10 players on the Class
C South All-Star teams, while Gary Swetland was named the Class C Coach of the Year.
Congratulations to all the players for providing the community with top-notch efforts.
Thanks for all your dedication, sacrifice, and hard work during the 2003 campaign. Special thanks to the seniors - Kyle
Witherell, Chris Payne, Scott Forrest, Jason Mooney, Ryan Ehlers, Alex Green, Josh Young, Ryan Firkel, Jared Kausner, Casey
Harris, Jarrod Zelko, and Matt Derx. You provided the leadership necessary to carry a unit to higher levels.
Props to all the underclassmen and JVs who supported their elder teammates all the way
to the apex of the Section. Next year's Varsity squad has all the tools to go even higher.
A magnificent job was done by the PCS coaches - Gary Swetland, Matt Milne, Dave Waugh,
Larry Welty, Mike Struchen, Chris Holcomb, Mark Sutter, Steve Bell, and Jerry Kincaid...possibly the best staff in New York
State. Their commitment to the high school players was complemented by a superior effort of the Youth coaches.
Thanks to the PCS administration, support crew, and boosters...as well as the Portville
community, parents, fans, the 65-66 Club, and Panther supporters all over the planet. The Olean Times Herald did a heckuva
job covering the games - a big thank you to them for allowing the use of their articles in this website (which had over
5,000 visitors and 100,000 hits during the season). Also, thanks to Justin Schoenberger for creating the first Portville
Football website...and Boomer Connell, who made this new site possible.
The Portville Gridiron foundation laid by men like Bob Connell, Kevin Curran, Wimpy Swetland,
and many others was greatly built upon this year. We are all proud of the Portville Football Teams of 2003.
