Salamanca punches ticket to state title game

By SPENCER BATES, Sports Editor

VESTAL — It had been a quarter of a century since the Salamanca football team last booked itself a spot in the NYS Final.

A streak that was snapped as the Warriors emerged victorious in their business trip to Vestal High School where they took down Section 4 Champion Chenango Forks by a score of 34-13 in a NYSPHSAA Class C Semifinal.

After a grueling, time-draining affair in which his Warriors answered his calls to respond to setbacks, Salamanca coach Chad Bartoszek told his team in their post-game huddle that what he saw was “football at its highest caliber.”

“That game had everything,” Bartoszek said. “That game had it all. We knew that (first) third-quarter drive by Chenango was going to be their ‘Mike Tyson uppercut.’ They brought it too. They drive down and score (and) they hold us. That's the difference in this year's team, though, they responded to that punch. Were able to put together a drive and Maddox (Isaac) made a couple plays today that weren't scripted, he called them. Defensively, what can you say? Man, they were all over the field, flying. (Chenango Forks is) a tough out right there, and it's a storied program.”

In the buildup to their semifinal appearance, Bartoszek had been emphasizing the importance of coming up with the answers when posed with setbacks or challenges. Something his team was unable to do last year when they fell to Waverly in the NYSPHSAA Semifinal.

This year, the Warriors answered with a score of their own after conceding a touchdown on the back of a near-nine minute opening drive from the Blue Devils. They responded once again after Chenango Forks scored on its first drive of the second half by scoring 19 unanswered points.

The second-half response from his team was critical according to Bartoszek. He knew that there was not a point where they could take their foot off the pedal considering how comfortable their opponent was in close games.

“(The message at) half time was just expecting their best punch,” Bartoszek said. “We just told these guys that that program over there has been in this game before. In fact, they were in it against Waverly in (their) sectional final. So they were coming out of half OK, they felt good. We had to respond.”

And while Salamanca’s streak of scoring 40-plus points in each postseason game so far this year may be over, Bartoszek won’t mind much considering how his team matched the physicality they were confronted with.

“You had to match that team over there, you had to match their physicality,” Bartoszek said. “I know we have it, but it just keeps coming at you. You're in a fist fight. I hate to use all these violent terms to describe what just happened, but that's what it was, and we knew that's what it was going to be. We can play the fast game. We had to answer the physicality.”

A LARGE part of the physicality the Warriors brought came in the form of hard-fought runs from quarterback Maddox Isaac and running back Xavier Peters.

“(The strong runs) gave us a lot of energy,” Isaac said. “It gave us light on the outside, it gave us the ability to spread the ball on the outside as well as put it up the middle. … They had a lot of kids in the box that could play well.”

Isaac ran the ball 14 times for 54 yards while Peters took 17 handoffs for 138 yards and a touchdown. The majority of the damage Isaac, who Bartoszek credited as just having played the “game of his career,” did was through the air. He went 5-for-9 on passing attempts, recording 111 yards and connecting with Cory Holleran, Payton Bradley and Zach Trietley for three passing touchdowns.

But it was not just the offense that managed to bring the heat to Chenango Forks. Defensively, Salamanca came away with a number of crucial stops, forced two fumbles, both of which it recovered, and reeled in an interception to all-but seal the win.

Trietley led the Warriors with 14 total tackles with Holleran and Warrick Kyler also notching double-figures in that department with 12 and 11 respectively.

With the win under its belt, Salamanca avenged their loss from a season ago and according to Isaac, is a dream come true for the team.

“It's surreal, man, you dream about this as a kid, going to the state championship, but you never really think it's real, especially being in a small town like Salamanca,” Isaac said. “I think we're one of the smallest schools in the state in Class C. So, coming out and playing like this, it's insane.”

Now, the Warriors will have a shot at the state title. In order to bring home the big prize, they will need to defeat Section 2 Champion Schuylerville at the JMA Dome at Syracuse University. Kickoff for that game will be at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7.

AT VESTAL

Chenango Forks 6 0 7 0 — 13

Salamanca 0 15 0 19 — 34

First Quarter

Chenango Forks - Finn Stark 2 run; kick failed, 6-0

Second Quarter

Salamanca - Xavier Peters 40 run; Easton Chudy kick, 6-7

Salamanca - Zach Trietley 29 pass from Maddox Isaac; two-point attempt good, 6-15

Third Quarter

Chenango Forks - Stark 1 run; Kasmarcik kick, 13-15

Fourth Quarter

Salamanca - Cory Holleran 51 pass from Isaac; Chudy kick, 13-22