Portville Going To The Ralph
PORTVILLE -- The Panthers from Portville clawed their way to a shut-out over the Panthers from Gowanda
on a beautiful Halloween night. The first-round playoff victory sends PCS to the Class C championship game in Orchard
Park for the first time since 1997.
In the words of secondary coach Dave Waugh, the PCS defense put on a "bend, but do not break" stranglehold
on Gowanda. On the other side of the line, Brian Nitsche hit Scott Forrest for two TD passes in the first half...enough
for the win. Josh Haynes made a tough 2-point conversion catch and Chris Payne added an extra point kick.
Portville dodged a number of bullets throughout the contest, but the defensive unit frustrated the opposition,
stopping three drives that ended near the red zone. Forrest also had two interceptions, and Portville had no turnovers.
Gowanda won the ground game (166-136) and had more first downs (12-9), while Joe Holcomb rushed for 111
yards for PCS. According to Coach Swetland, "This was a tough team...Gowanda played a great game. I can see why
they came this far."
This is certainly one of the greatest Portville teams of all time. One more victory and they will
become only the second team in Portville history to win 9 games.
The championship game will be played next Friday night at 8:30 pm, right after the Class D Final.
Tickets are available in the school office for $5...$8 at the door.
