'Blue Zone,' the accomplishment will go down as one of the most amazing, heart-warming and inspirational efforts ever witnessed in the history of the Panthers."
"'The atmosphere here was unbelievable,'" said former Panthers sports great Eric Klumpp (1998), now the junior varsity boys basketball head coach at Newfane. 'Everybody was on their feet and embracing the moment. It was a sight to see — something bigger than we could have ever imagined.'"
Klumpp, similar to the story of Jason McElwain ("J-Mac"), gave Ryan Linhart his first big chance four years ago by making the mentally handicapped and legally blind youth his "assistant coach." On Thursday, Klumpp handed the youngster a uniform shortly before the game against Royalton-Hartland.
Linhart entered the game to huge cheers with 3:50 to play to take two free throws, which he missed. A subsequent field-goal attempt was also off the mark, but a pull-up jumper went in, and Linhart followed up with a three-pointer.
Extra points: Walton's 46-42 victory over Oxford in the Midstate Athletic Conference title game on Saturday gave the boys basketball team its first overall league crown since 1963.
