Salamanca Seeks 1st State Championship Saturday
Christian Storms, Post-Journal
The Salamanca football team has been in the top two of the state rankings every day since they were first released Sept. 17 by the New York State Sportswriters Association and this Saturday the Warriors will have a chance to end the year as the No. 1 team in Class C.
For the first time in 25 years, Salamanca returns to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championship game, taking on Section II’s Schuylerville at noon inside the JMA Wireless Dome on the campus of Syracuse University.
“We spend more time together than we do with our families,” Salamanca head coach Chad Bartoszek said Wednesday evening. “I’m talking about our coaching staff, these players, it’s hours and hours each day, it’s constant communication. You build a pretty strong bond with this group and for me the pride comes from the fact we have a great staff and they worked their tails off to get to this point and they have put everything aside to make sure we’re giving our best to the players. We’ve asked that same thing from our players, every single day, six days a week we’re practicing and studying film. It’s a life lesson of if you work your butt off you can accomplish anything you put that amount of work into.”
The last Warriors team to reach the dome was the class just after Bartoszek graduated from Salamanca High School 1999, finally breaking past the Far West Regional that had thwarted him during his career.
“That group was juniors when I was a senior,” Bartoszek said about the 1999 team, “I knew all those guys. We’ve got a couple of them on our staff, Jason Wass and Seth Hostetler, they’re our modified coaches who travel with the varsity group. My senior year we got beat by LeRoy in the Far West Regional, we just couldn’t get through that game.”
Throughout the ’90s and culminating in Bartoszek’s senior year, the Warriors could not break through the Far West Regional game, but the group from 1999 managed to get over Section V’s LeRoy and then Section IV’s Delhi before falling in the state championship game to Section I’s Edgemont 32-20. This year’s squad mirrors the 1999 team as it surpassed the 2023 group that fell in the state semifinals a year ago. This group of Warriors is looking to win the next game too.
“You can go one of two ways,” Bartoszek stated. “The next year’s group can say ‘we can’t match that’ or you can use that as motivation and I think you’re seeing that this year and you probably saw that in ’99. … You could see a little bit of that similarity where the next team up, they wanted it, they wanted to get through that LeRoy game and they did. They beat LeRoy in the Far West and took them on to the state final. I think a lot of teams kind of set the table and raise the expectation.”
While Salamanca was a postseason regular during the ’90s, last year the Warriors caught plenty of people off guard with their state playoff run. This year the team has had to play with the added expectations.
“We were a little under the radar because we did lose a couple games in the season,” Bartoszek said about last year. “We kind of popped off in the playoffs there with some big wins, this year was kind of the reverse. We had some high expectations and got some big wins early, we’ve been ranked toward the top of the state rankings all year. The experience is invaluable, these guys know what these games are like and they’re not going to let us fail.”
The Warriors have handled that added pressure perfectly with an unblemished record, but that does not mean they have not been tested along the way. In the regular season Portville/Cuba-Rushford proved a worthy opponent in a 24-19 victory, then the playoffs saw Salamanca dispatch that same team 40-14 for a sectional title.
Then, when things were supposed to get tougher, the Warriors kept on rolling, beating Section V’s East Rochester/Gananda 42-20 in the Far West Regional and last weekend knocking off Section IV powerhouse Chenango Forks in the state semifinals 34-13.
“It’s actually a little harder the second time around,” Bartoszek said about the pressure. “Maybe not the football side of things in terms of each game has been different, but more in the mentality of the expectations are there and you’ve got to get through a long season and playoffs. We’re just getting into those big games of the sectional finals on. The expectations have been there all year. I think the follow-up season can be mentally draining; it’s exhilarating and it’s fun.”
The championship game could be the toughest bout yet, but the Warriors have been preparing all week for the Black Horses out of Section II.
“They’re a heavy run team,” Bartoszek said about Schuylerville. “Double-wing, good read dive-option stuff, they’ve got a big line up front and in particular a very large center and right guard, who we know they like to run behind. The person who stands out on the film is their quarterback who kind of runs the show and controls the offense. When he pulls it, he’s real smooth. When he runs he’s definitely someone we’ve got to focus on.”
This year’s Black Horses sure like to run and a pair of thoroughbreds in senior running back Landen Cumm and senior quarterback Ollie Bolduc are the biggest threats. Cumm averages 139.6 yards per game with a total of 1,675 yards for the Horses along with 31 touchdowns, while Bolduc has rushed for 872 yards and 18 touchdowns.
“They like to move in quick motion and get a lot of people the ball,” Bartoszek said. “Offensively, you’re going to see a lot of people get the ball. Defensively, they’re big enough up front to withstand the run game and fast enough in the back seven to keep things up front.”
It’s yet another game that looks like it will be won at the line of scrimmage and with his group Bartoszek has a lot of confidence winning that battle.
“It is important each week to control that line of scrimmage,” Bartoszek stated. “Chenango was a huge test for us. They are physical and they have been great at what they’ve done for decades now. That test was tough on our guys up front and we were expecting that, those long drives are hard to manage. It’s important to be patient and trust that defense to come through for you, even if you give up a couple it’s not something we can’t overcome. We always know that next drive we can make that big stop. Fortunately, for us last week, we got a big turnover in the first half and a huge one in the second half so those types of plays can change games and that’s going to be the difference this week too.”
Salamanca’s defense is led by senior Zach Trietley who has amassed 166 total tackles and fellow senior Warrick Kyler proves a formidable force at 6 feet, 6 inches and 285 pounds with 85 total tackles, 15 of which are for a loss.
Salamanca also brings a similar brand of offense led by a running duo of senior running back Xavier Peters and senior quarterback Maddox Isaac. The duo have both eclipsed 1,000 yards heading into the final games of their high school careers with Peters at 1,537 and 21 touchdowns and Isaac at 1,111 and 16 touchdowns.
“I haven’t really had a team that had this type of speed,” Bartoszek said. “Around here you tend to get one or the other, super fast or super tough and physical. Well we’ve combined a little of that this year and Xavier and Maddox are perfect examples of just that quick-twitch mentality. They can make a move and go at any moment. The thing I’ve been proud of, especially the past three weeks, they have been facing tougher opponents and they’ve been taking the tough yards as well. … Having a 1-2 punch with that type of speed is uncommon and it’s a lot of fun as an offense play caller.”
While both teams battle running the rock, Salamanca could have the upper hand in breaking the game open through the air having shown more in the passing game. Isaac has nearly 1,000 more passing yards than Bolduc and has thrown 24 touchdowns and just one interception this year.
The big difference in the passing game could be senior Cory Holleran who leads Salamanca in receiving with 688 yards and eight touchdowns on just 25 receptions, but also has caught nine interceptions for the Warriors this season.
“His speed has improved over the years,” Bartoszek said about Holleran. “He’s become one of the fastest kids as well, which really helps in the pass game because we can get him the ball rather quickly and then he can break one or we get it to him over the top of the defense. I think his strongest attribute is instinctive, smart football play, he knows the inside-out of our defense, he’s been starting since his sophomore year.”
When the teams meet Saturday there will certainly be no shortage of talent and plenty is on the line with each side seeking their first football state championship. Schuylerville has three appearances in the last decade, most recently falling to Chenango Forks 21-0 in 2021 and 38-14 in 2019, while losing its first appearance in 2015 to Section III’s Cazenovia 22-19.
“I think the most important part is that we’re not going to be surprised by a test,” Bartoszek said about his team’s experience. “We’re not going to be surprised by their best shot. Schuylerville has got a great team and I don’t think we’re going to walk out on that field and get surprised by being in a tough game. Our senior leaders and star players have been through it, they know what’s to be expected and they know they can get through any of their opponent’s best shots, but it’s going to be hard obviously.”
Salamanca has been mentally tough all season as one of the top teams, but heading to the dome is another test as it will be everyone’s biggest game of their career.
“I’d be lying if I was saying it wasn’t different,” Bartoszek said about the feeling going into Saturday’s game. “I’ve never been a part of a state championship and none of the guys have been either. It is a bit different to kind of say, like today is our last Wednesday practice. It’s one of those things you never want to say because you’re always expecting a win that week, but this is the real deal this is it.”
Regardless of the outcome the Salamanca team has made its community proud and the coaches with deep roots and care for the program hope this is just the beginning of future success.
“It all kind of started slowly in Salamanca,” Bartoszek said about his team. “Just kind of rebuilding the foundation of doing things the right way, each practice, each day and then we added a real healthy summer program. We started traveling for 7-on-7 and then slowly but surely these guys have been buying in to what it takes to perform at this level. It’s not easy and it takes a lot of time and effort. It takes a lot of help from people inside our district, our school and our community, but they’re seeing the result. I give a lot of credit to our families and our district for supporting our athletics programs.
“You’re not going to make the state finals every year, but the goal is to have a great football program playing at a high level year in and year out,” Bartoszek added. “I’m really proud of the teams before us that have done it. That raised the bar and this year is really capitalizing on it.”
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