Pavlansky, a Boardman resident, was the longtime coach of the Canfield Cardinals who guided his squad to the 2022 OHSAA Division III state championship and retired after the 2023 campaign.
Born on Christmas Day, 1962, he is a 1981 graduate of Poland High School where he was a three-year letterwinner in football, earning two-letters each in both basketball and baseball.
He earned his undergraduate degree from YSU in 1985, later earning his MA in sports science from Ashland University in 1994.
This year’s inductee hails from a coaching family as his late father, Dave, was the highly-respected grid coach for the Poland Bulldogs and for whom the PHS gridiron is aptly named.
His brother, Tom, is the former head coach of Lakeview High School who currently serves as head coach of the Bulldogs, brother Pat is the former Canfield High girls’ basketball head coach while brother Dave, who served as a graduate assistant on former YSU head coach Jim Tressel’s staff, made a name for himself with the Boardman Spartans’ track and field program.
A mark of consistency during his five-decade coaching career, he served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, PHS, from 1983-84 and in 1985, moved over to the college ranks where he was a graduate assistant on head coach Mike Gottfried’s University of Kansas Jayhawk staff.
He returned to the area scholastic ranks in 1986, serving as offensive coordinator at Lisbon High School through the 1987 campaign.
From 1988-89, he was Lisbon’s head coach then moved over to Mentor High School where he was defensive coordinator for the Cardinals, a post that he held from 1990-93.
In 1994 and through the 1996 season, he was head coach of Mentor H.S., returning to the Mahoning Valley for good in 1997 when he was named as an assistant at Canfield High School.
From 1997-2000 he was an assistant coach, taking over the program’s reins in 2001, a post that he held until stepping down after the 2023 campaign.
His scholastic head coaching record is 211-98 in 309 total games, a sparkling .683 winning percentage.
He led his teams to 10 conference championships (1988, 1994, 1996, 2002, 2005-07, 2009, 2015 and 2017) and 13 OHSAA (Ohio High School Athletic Association) play-off appearances (2002, 2004-07, 2009, 2015, 2017-18 and 2020-23).
His 2022 squad won the Division III state championship while his 2005 unit was Division II state runners-up.
His 2017, 2018 and 2020 teams were regional finalists.
With his success on the football field cemented, he was selected to serve as head coach of the MVCA (Mahoning Valley Coaches Association) All-Star game in 1990, earning Lake Erie League “Coach of the Year” laurels in 1994.
The Metro Athletic Conference “Coach of the Year” in 2002, he was chosen as head coach of the OHSFCA (Ohio High School Football Coaches Association) North-South game in 2003, serving as OHSFCA regional director from 2004-12.
In 2005, he was named the Ohio Division II and Paul Brown “Coach of the Year,” earning MVCA “Coach of the Year” honors on five separate occasions (2006, 2015, 2018 and 2021-22).
In 2013, he served as president of the OHSFCA and in 2015, was picked as head coach of the Ohio-Michigan Borderline Classic.
From 2015-23, he served as the OHSFCA North-South player representative.
In 2017 and again in 2020, he was named the Northeast Ohio Division III Inland ’Coach of the Year” and in 2024, was the OHSFCA assistant clinic director.
An educator from 1986 until his retirement in 2020, he has been inducted into the Mahoning Valley Italian-American Hall of Fame, Lisbon High School Hall of Fame and in June, is set for induction into the OHSFCA Hall of Fame.
He is the father of three daughters, Nicole, Jenna and Lauren, and resides in Boardman.
Doors open at 4 p.m., dinner will be served at 5 p.m. with the program set to commence at 6 p.m.
Individual tickets are $60 each, tables of eight $480 and will be available after February 1.Further information can be obtained by calling 330-506-6774 or by visiting the organization’s website at www.thecurbstonecoaches.org.
