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60s + 70s Gridiron

American Football has played a huge part in the lives of the following Portville, NY natives, Gary Swetland, Boomer Connell, and Jimmy Reynolds...who all happen to be PCS 1979 grads. 
Editors of The Portville Herald were able to catch up with these three old geezers for a talk about the gridiron sport in their lives over the past 50 years.

ED: What is your first memory of football?

CONNELL: All I rcall is following my dad around the locker room when he started coaching the Panthers in the Sixties. My older brothers were on the team in the late Sixties, and I was there for it all...all the way through high school.

ED: What years did your dad coach?

CONNELL: Uh, 1963 to 1979 seasons...he retired as head coach the year after I graduated...he had heart problems. 

http://www.pcs1979.com/portvillefootballhq/id9.html 

SWETS: But he came back during the Eighties to be an assistant. He was there when I came on board in 1986.

ED: What year did ol' Bear Connell die?

CONNELL: 1988.

http://www.pcs1979.com/portville/id26.html 

ED: Alright, so let me get this straight. You guys played under Bear Connell during the Seventies, then Gary, you became head coach...when?

SWETS: 1992 season.

ED: Boomer, tell us about your early 60's experiences at Portville, then let's progress through time to all of your football experiences, just to set the record straight.

CONNELL: At this stage in life, I remember the smells of hanging around the team in the early times. Back in those days, PCS was just getting rolling in the Border Conference, the Baby Boomers were in high school, and my dad beat out Mike O'Brien and others for the heavy job of football coach in town. Our whole family revolved around the school and football, as my brothers Mike and Mark were star players as well. My dad was a history teacher and a new coach who was very aggressive at the time, having been a football player at Columbis and fighting in WWII.

SWETS:

pantherj.jpg
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coachswetsj.jpg

FOOTBALL TEAM

Games

W-L

PCT.

PTS

OPP

DIFF

2004-2012

9 Years

1

Hornell

105

96-9

.914

35.9

10.2

25.7

2

Maple Grove

91

76-15

.835

32.1

10.2

21.9

3

Southwestern

99

82-17

.828

28.1

10.9

17.2

4

Randolph

100

78-22

.780

30.8

10.0

20.8

5

Coudersport

105

77-28

.733

25.1

14.6

10.5

6

Silver Creek

88

61-27

.693

23.9

13.7

10.2

7

Portville

82

54-28

.658

22.8

15.2

7.6

SUPPORT THE PANTHERS: You can now order Portville Clothing, Apparel, and Paraphernalia at the Olean Sports Locker...and order on-line. A percentage goes to the Panther Teams.

The History of Portville