Born in 1937, Dave Pavlansky attended Struthers High School where he graduated in 1955. He went on to graduate from Kent State University in 1961.

Coach Pav took his first coaching assignment at Leetonia High School as an assistant in 1961. In 1964, he moved on to Cardinal Mooney High School under Denny Barrett.

In 1968, Dave was named the Head Football Coach at Poland Seminary High School. He would serve in that capacity until his death on November 22, 1978. He was only 41 years old. In his 11 seasons as the leader of the Bulldog program, he compiled a record of 77-32-1. This would include 5 League Championships, and an Ohio Class AA Coach of the Year award. In 1996 he was inducted in the Ohio High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Poland Seminary High School Hall of Fame.

In 1975 under Coach Pav’s direction, the Touchdown Club started a scholarship to be awarded to a deserving senior member of the Poland Seminary High School Bulldog Football Team. In 1987, the Touchdown Club renamed the scholarship The Dave Pavlansky Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship has awarded $33,000 in Coach Pav’s memory.