Big plays lift Warriors over Panthers in Class C clash
By SPENCER BATES, Sports Editor
The Salamanca football team is getting a knack for making big plays.
Bursts of excellence that were ever-so needed as the Warriors outlasted Section 6 Class C South rival Portville/Cuba-Rushford, 24-19, in a packed Veterans Memorial Park.
While the majority of Salamanca’s explosiveness was seen on the offensive side of the ball, it was the defense that came up with perhaps the biggest play of the game: stopping Portville inches short on a fourth down attempt inside the red zone.
With just over two minutes left on the clock, all Salamanca needed to do was pick up a couple first downs and stay inbounds while doing so. However, making good on the latter proved to be the issue as the Warriors were able to pick up a first down, moving themselves away from the shadow of their own goal posts, but ran out of bounds. This made Salamanca’s job of squaring away the game in the win column a little more stressful. Unable to secure another first down in three plays, Salamanca conceded to punt the ball away and put its faith once again in its defense to close out the game with less than a minute on the clock.
What came next was a blessing for the Warriors, but a curse for P/CR. As Salamanca punted away, a Panthers player was flagged for roughing the punter, giving the hosts an automatic first down and preventing the visitors from getting one last shot at a walk off win.
Two kneel-downs from Salamanca quarterback Maddox Isaac iced the game, the first big test of the season for both Salamanca and P/CR, who both rolled to lopsided wins in Week 1.
“Up until last year, it was hard to understand what these games meant until you really started to play further in the postseason,” Salamanca coach Chad Bartoszek said. “Last year, when we got to the postseason, we're like, ‘That's why Portville was important, that's why Southwestern was important, because we're now tested.’ That's what this game meant. It's a test for the rest of the year. It is a ‘Hey, you guys better be ready to play some football for four quarters.’”
As the teams traded touchdowns, neither scored twice in a row for the entire affair.
On one side of the football, the Panthers orchestrated slower, methodical drives that chewed time off the clock. The Warriors weren’t without their extended drives either, but of all four of their scoring plays, the shortest was from 33 yards out.
Salamanca’s first play of the game resulted in a touchdown as Xavier Peters (123 rushing yards) took the ball 96 yards to the house immediately after Cory Holleran (13 tackles, two interceptions) picked off P/CR quarterback Eli Sleggs (83 passing yards, 58 rushing yards, touchdown), ending a 14-play opening drive. It was Jesse Hill who scored next for Salamanca after a 78-yard kickoff return. Then, in the second half, Isaac began to use his legs a bit more and with great success. He brought in a 33-yard touchdown run which capped off the opening drive of the second half and then scored what ended up as the game-winning touchdown on a 74-yard designed QB run.
BARTOSZEK noted what has helped make the big plays more common comes down to how spread out his weapons are. But he credited the P/CR team for its ability to respond, never allowing his team to take a play off.
“It makes it tough, it makes it difficult on the defensive coordinator,” Bartoszek said. “If they are going to stop the running back inside, or Maddox’s counter game, we're going to try to hit them outside. It means we got to hit them though. … But we knew (the matchup against) Portville is like a chess match. It's fun, but it's just stressful. You know they're going to be where they're supposed to be. You know they're going to be disciplined. Yeah, you might catch them, but they're going to come right back at you.”
However, as quick as Salamanca struck, the Panthers were not deterred. Adam Roe was the first player from P/CR to have found the end zone after a five-yard run. Mehki Muhyee scored on a big play for the Panthers with a 46-yard catch and run and Maxx DeYoe capped off their list of scorers with a three-yard touchdown. The extra point, made by Conner Roulo, after the DeYoe score gave P/CR its only lead of the night, 19-18.
Panthers coach Josh Brooks noted that he and his coaching staff needed to plan a lot more when facing Salamanca and tipped his cap to the run game they were able to establish with his players’ physicality.
Despite the loss, Brooks said there is a lot his players can take away from such a big matchup this early in the calendar.
“We sat down and came up with this game plan, we brought out some stuff we haven't done in a long time with some double tight end sets,” Brooks said. “It’s not like Salamanca isn't physical or huge, they have some of the best linemen in Western New York. So, I think in order for us to win, we had to kind of set the tone with the run game and try to master physicality and we did. … We're trying to get there. It's Week 2, it's still early in the season. We're still learning. We're still trying to find our true identity. But you know, our kids really competed.”
The Panthers stayed in contention for a win in enemy territory, just as Bartoszek anticipated. But, he said it was his team’s ability to endure the big blows and setbacks that got them over the finish line. However, Bartoszek is also remaining cautious with how much his Warriors enjoy the win because he is anticipating another run-in with P/CR before the season is up.
“I think our kids handled a big old haymaker right to the face multiple times,” Bartoszek said. “We were cramping, we were falling on the wayside, and they just found enough. … Portville is going to be there at the end again. So, we got to process it, but right now we're just going to enjoy it.”
What made the win just that much more special for Bartoszek was the fact that his team was able to do so on the one-year anniversary of the passing of former Salamanca football player and beloved member of the community Darren Ross. As he reflected on the way his linemen shaped up against P/CR, Bartoszek couldn’t help but see shades of Ross in how they dug deep and continued to find the will to keep fighting.
“I’m just proud of (the linemen), that was just playing like a Warrior, playing like Ross would have played,” Bartoszek said. “Finding something you probably don't have or won't find again, but they just found it. That's what makes this game different than any other game, you are physically in contact, you're getting hit, you're in danger at times, and you still got to find a way to fight through it.”
Comments