By HUNTER O. LYLE
PORTVILLE, NY — The last time Aidan DeFazio walked off the field, it was prematurely and without his team.
As the team’s star wide receiver, the then-junior had led his team to a 6-2 regular season and a Section VI Class C playoff berth. In a game against top-ranked Newfane, a contest which would see the Panthers march out to an early lead, DeFazio was banged up by an awkward hit, one that sidelined him for the remainder of the night.
Unbeknownst to him, he had suffered fractures to three vertebrates, meaning that while the rest of the Panthers would continue their run to the Section VI championship game, DeFazio’s season was over.
After an arduous healing process, DeFazio strapped on his pads and helmet this fall, laced up his cleats and stepped back onto the football field for the first time in almost over a year. Returning with a new perspective, as well as a new job, he is ready to pick up where he left off: leading the Portville football team.
“It was definitely a different mindset to coming in. My body feels pretty good so it’s not really that part,” said DeFazio, who is a four-year letterwinner with the Panthers. “I feel like I need to get one big hit to get my aggressiveness fully back, which I feel like I’ve missed out on through the first two weeks, but it’ll come soon enough.”
Eight weeks after the hit, DeFazio was cleared to return to sports and his impact was felt sooner rather than later. As the No. 1 option for the basketball team and the star pitcher for the baseball team, he led both squads to playoff berths, making it to the first round of the Class B2 bracket during the winter and the Class C semifinals in the spring.
With a blank slate for his senior season, DeFazio’s focus is solely on making an impact on the football field, although he will be doing so in an entirely new position. This past year, the Panthers graduated a whopping 20 seniors, including their leading quarterback Eli Sleggs. Traditionally being Sleggs’ counterpart downrange, DeFazio now steps in to fill his shoes.
“I’ve always played backyard football with my guys playing quarterback. It’s a little different, obviously it’s a little more advanced. Wide receiver, it was fun but I knew this year it was a little different since we graduated our guy. Stepping up, it’s just another thing to me,” said DeFazio. “I think another learning curve for us right now is that I have to work with some of our receivers. I’m aware they’re young guys and first-year wide receivers, so if I could help work with them and show them what I’ve seen throughout the years, we’ll be pretty successful.”
Through two weeks of the regular season, DeFazio and Co. have seen both sides of the spectrum. Against Allegany-Limestone/Hinsdale in their return to 11-man football, Portville dominated for a 49-8 win that saw their new quarterback throw for 125 yards on 7-for-12 passing and two touchdowns. However, in their next contest, it was the Panthers who were on the wrong end of a blowout, losing 42-0 to Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton. DeFazio ended that game with just 88 yards, completing six of his 18 passes and misfiring for three interceptions.
Taking this small sample size with a grain of salt, there are plenty of adjustments and kinks to work out for the Panthers, who are operating with an almost completely new offense full of youth. That being said, DeFazio sees no better option for a leader than himself.
“If I’m not the leader, I feel like we’re going to fall apart. I want to be the guy. I’m failing myself and the team if I don’t step up. I’m vocal and I’ve played varsity for four years now for football and basketball and baseball,” said DeFazio. “If I don’t step up, I feel like I’m failing everyone else and myself and I feel like, throughout life, if I don’t keep that same mentality, I’m not going to be as successful as I want to be.”
DeFazio’s leadership extends past the weekly schedule. With a mindset engrained in the Maroon and White, his aim is not only to carry his team to success but also to leave it with a solid foundation for the future.
“I’d say this year, the potential is pretty endless. We’re pretty young so if I can help lead them right now, over the next few years they’re just going to get better and better,” said DeFazio. “So right now, I feel like that’s my main goal. We have potential right now, but it doesn’t come immediately. I just want to lead them and leave them with confidence when I go off to college.”
