By SPENCER BATES
SALAMANCA — Throughout the history of Salamanca football, there have been few seasons that have seen the amount of success as its last.
The Warriors powered their way through the regular season, going 8-0 in a competitive Section 6 Class C South. Their dominance then carried over into the postseason, defeating their five opponents en route to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Class C Final by an average of 29.8 points. In all but one of those games, Salamanca scored more than 40 points, the outlier being its 34-13 win in the NYSPHSAA Semifinal over Chenango Forks. In fact, the Warriors scored less than 35 points in a game just five times in their 14 games last season.
It was fast, it was physical and it was fun. Exactly the way head coach Chad Bartoszek likes it to be.
That brand of football earned them a spot in the NYSPHSAA Final, had them with a lead, but came just one or two plays short of a possible walk-off touchdown that would have given Salamanca its first state title in program history.
The moment still replays over and over in the mind of Bartoszek, but as he noted, he could not be more proud of the history his team made in the process.
“On the personal side of it, I can tell you that it still stings a little bit,” Bartoszek said. “Professionally, you got to move on at some point, but the coaches and I, we still watch the film, we still try to learn from it. I don’t think you can just take last season into a play or two. (It was) a great run for our community, for our kids. We’ve talked quite a bit about raising expectations and just raising the bar every year. Well, we raised that bar to as high as you can possibly go. … Yes, someone’s going to have to lose, but when you look back upon that season, it was as historic and as successful as anyone’s been a part of. So, yeah, it still stings a little bit, but it feels good to be back out here.”
Unfortunately for the Warriors, they saw a number of players that were incredibly impactful on last year’s team depart the program. Quarterback Maddox Isaac, who accounted for over 2,500 yards of offense last season, surpassing the 1,000-yard benchmark in both rushing and receiving, headlines those that have graduated. Others include Zach Trietley, who tallied 103 solo tackles, 22 tackles for loss and four sacks, and Cory Holleran, who racked up 688 receiving yards, eight receiving touchdowns and nine interceptions. Xavier Peters also graduated from the team, having picked up over 1,500 yards with his legs last season with an average of 12.7 yards per carry, along with Warrick Kyler, Avery Brown and Kruz Coustenis.
Those numbers, no matter how gifted the next crop of talent may be, will be difficult to match. Luckily, according to Bartoszek, this year’s players have been treating the preseason in a similar fashion to last year.
“They are trying to be the next group in line, and they want to uphold the standard for Salamanca football,” Bartoszek said. “I give them a ton of credit. We’ve got some kids stepping up, and it is very difficult when you lose the amount of personality and the amount of leadership and talent that we had. … Three years of the same big personalities who just controlled the locker room, controlled the field. Now they’re gone and it’s cool to see these guys step up.”
That being said, leadership qualities don’t just develop overnight. Bartoszek noted that there are still some wrinkles that need ironing out, but so long as the work rate keeps up, he is confident this next generation will find its voice sooner rather than later.
“I can tell you that they’re still figuring it out,” Bartoszek said. “I think some of them are earning the leadership stripes just with their work ethic. We got a couple guys who are just working their butts off right now to really keep that same level of intensity. It’s not the same, every year is different, especially when you lose a ton of kids like that, it’s going to be different. But, man, they’re trying.”
One of those that will be stepping into a prominent leadership position this year is Payton Bradley. After spending his seasons as of late at the tight end position, Bradley is poised to take Isaac’s place under center. A tall task for the towering figure, but Bartoszek has the utmost confidence in his new QB considering he is “as hard of a working kid as we’ve ever had.”
“He’s all in and he is certainly talented and driven enough to handle the load,” Bartoszek said. “It’s just my job now to put him in every possible situation to make him as successful as possible. I knew what Maddox needed. It took me a few years to get in a groove with Maddox. We’re going to have to do that a little quicker with Payton. He’s been one of those kids who’s been scheduling extra work, coming down and throwing on Friday mornings, getting with his group so he can get in sync. That’s motivating to me. We look different … But Payton certainly looks the part, and he is stepping into that leadership role, which is awesome to see.”
But Bradley is not the only notable returner for Salamanca. Set to split time in the backfield are the capable figures of Conner Seeley, Quinten Brown and Jesse Hill. Each had their moments to step in with last season’s crowd, but this year the running game will go as far as they carry them.
“(Quinten) is as dynamic a running back as we’ve had here,” Bartoszek said. “He started last year and he’s still with us. He’s been working hard, he’s training, he’s getting his reps. We had a good run with Conner Seeley in terms of subbing in later in the games (last season), and Jesse Hill was one who got some good carries in some big games for us, but he wasn’t able to finish the season with us. We’ve got some weapons there. We’re kind of filling in at the skill positions, so there are some new faces, but a lot of these guys played a lot of football.”
Now in terms of goals for the year, Bartoszek strayed away from eyeing a certain win total or a long playoff run. Instead, his focus is on the small details. That is why he likes his team’s season-opening matchup against Olean so much.
The Huskies are coming off one of their most successful years in recent history and are returning a number of the players that made that a reality. Bartoszek acknowledged that if his side can do the small things right and execute the way he wants them to in that matchup, he will then have a better picture as to where he believes his team can end up come the end of the campaign.
“I want to see us be very physical, I want to see us in the right locations and I want to see us playing clean football,” Bartoszek said. “If our guys know where to be, and they can do that quickly, I think we’re going to know right away. … We’ve got a big test in front of us.”
The Warriors will travel to Olean’s Bradner Stadium to kick off their 2025 campaign on Sept. 5 at 7 p.m.
