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Golden Cougars open with Portville

The Cassadaga Valley/Falconer Golden Cougars football team kicks off its 2019 season on Saturday afternoon at Cassadaga Valley Central School. Their opponent, the Portville Panthers, come in with high expectations this season.

After a 3-6 record a year ago, Portville is no longer a young team as it was in 2018. Most of the starters on both sides of the ball return this year for the Panthers, including senior starting quarterback Mike Stillman. On 172 attempts a year ago, Stillman threw for 998 yards with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. Stillman also ran for 214 yards and three touchdowns in 2018.

Along with Stillman returning on the offense are leading rusher Jayden Lassiter, who ran for 551 yards and seven touchdowns on 110 carries, and leading receiver Dalton Tobola, who caught 27 passes for 411 yards and four touchdowns. Defensively, the Panthers return nearly everyone from a year ago. Roland Thompson, now a senior, led the way with 67 tackles last season, while Lassiter (59 tackles) and Tobola (45 tackles, two interceptions) each played both ways a year ago and figure to do so again.

Contrary to Portville, the Cassadaga Valley/Falconer Golden Cougars will have to replace plenty of production from a year ago. Star running back and linebacker Robbie Penhollow (of Falconer) graduated after a senior season where he finished as one of the top rushers in all of Section VI, with 1,094 yards and 15 touchdowns on 167 carries. He also added a team-leading 446 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Penhollow also had an equally impressive defensive resume of 111 tackles, along with a pair of sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

As if losing Penhollow wasn’t tough enough to replace, the Golden Cougars also lost their starting quarterback, Connor Crabtree. With 717 yards passing and six touchdowns on 68 attempts last year, Crabtree was the only Golden Cougar to attempt a pass in 2018. He was also second on the team in rushing with 512 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. Jordan Dustin also graduated after being second on the team in receiving and third in tackles, along with Nick Saeger and Ryan Stimson.

After all of the departures from last season, the Golden Cougars do not return a single player on offense with a passing attempt, a rushing or receiving touchdown, or 100 total yards of offense from a year ago. Meanwhile, Portville brings back its leader in passing, rushing and receiving from last year. On paper, the obvious advantage goes to Portville. However, the Golden Cougars have plenty to prove in front of the Cassadaga Valley home crowd. Portville was a young team a year ago, and while they are more experienced this year, Cassadaga Valley/Falconer has the home field advantage and veterans returning on the offensive and defensive lines. Expected Golden Cougars starting quarterback Mack Mikula and running backs Noah Abram and Evan Phanco have a chance to start something special this year, especially with the first three games of the season all at home. Saturday afternoon offers a lot of opportunity for the new-look Golden Cougars to make a statement.

Follow along on Twitter @bradencarmen and @TheObserverNY for updates throughout the game. Check observertoday.com for the completed game story and photos.

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