2017 Season
9/1 @ Portville 38 - 10 W
9/8 vs. Maple Grove 6 - 34 L
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9/15 @ Cattaraugus-LV 13 - 6 W
9/22 @ Franklinville-Ell. 13 - 53 L
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9/29 vs. Watkins Glen / O-M 34 - 28 W
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10/6 vs. CSP 0 - 32 L
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10/13 @ Gowanda 32 - 13 W
Class D Standings (VI)
1. Fr-Ell.
2. Maple Grove
3. Cly-Sh-Pa
4. Chautauqua Lake
5. Salamanca (4-3)
6. Catt-LV
7. Randolph - Fr.
8. Portville
5-0-0 1.0
5-1-0 0.833
3-2-0 0.6
2-3-0 0.4
2-3-0 0.4
2-3-0 0.4
2-4-0 0.333
0-5-0 0.0
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SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Warriors visit Portville in opener
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The Warriors begin the 2017 season at Portville Friday, Sept. 1. The matchup will have both teams looking to put the last season (or two) behind them: Portville suffered coach Gary Swetland’s first-ever winless season in 2016, while Paul Haley’s Warriors went 0-7 in the regular season before snapping its losing skid in the consolation bracket against Eden.
Salamanca doesn’t face Randolph and Chautauqua Lake. The Warriors host Maple Grove Sept. 8 in their home opener at Veterans Park. They finish the year at Class C Gowanda/Pine Valley to continue a longtime rivalry with the Panthers in nonleague play.
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Salamanca Press
Looking Ahead to WNY Class D Football
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The Salamanca football team will take a step down in classification next fall, but don’t expect much of an easier schedule for the Warriors in 2017.
Salamanca and Chautauqua Lake each saw a decrease in BEDS Enrollment Numbers, enough to drop from Class C to Class D in football. The guidelines are set at the state level by the NYSPHSAA and thus out of the hands of the sectional federation.
As Warriors coach Paul Haley said to the Salamanca Press, Salamanca will still have to contend with recent powers like Maple Grove, Randolph and Franklinville/Ellicottville.
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Salamanca Press
Salamanca Football Red & Gray Game
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The Salamanca High School football program held its Red & Gray Game, an annual public intrasquad scrimmage, Wednesday night at Veterans' Park with varsity and junior varsity football players practicing in front of a crowd of Warriors fans, families and classmates.
The Warriors play in a four-way scrimmage at Wellsville (with Bolivar-Richburg and Dansville) Saturday at 10 a.m., then gear up for the season opener Friday, Sept. 1, at Portville.
Press photos by Sam Wilson.
Experienced Warriors tired of losing entering 2017
​
Paul Haley remembers a time when sophomores and freshmen almost never saw the field for the Salamanca High School varsity football team.
But Haley, who played for George Whitcher in 1992 and ‘93, had to rely far more often than he’d like on young, inexperienced athletes in his first two years coaching the SHS varsity.
The results for the Warriors, who returned just four lettermen for Haley’s first season in 2015, suffered, going 0-8 in 2015 and 0-7 in the 2016 regular season until winning a Chuck Funke Memorial Classic Bowl Game over Eden/North Collins, 26-14.
Haley credits his 20 returning lettermen for sticking it out through the last year (or two).
​
Salamanca Press
Warriors, Shoup take a first step forward
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A year ago, Jeremiah Shoup could only watch his Salamanca football teammates from the sidelines every Friday night of his junior season.
Shoup, who had torn his ACL in the winter of his sophomore year, missed all of the next football season. He returned to the field in triumphant fashion Friday night, piling up 149 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries to lead Salamanca to its first regular season victory since 2014. The Warriors spoiled Portville’s home opener, 38-10, in Week 1 Section 6 Class D play.
“I couldn't be prouder of him,” third-year Salamanca coach Paul Haley said of Shoup. “He honestly tried so hard to come back last year and we just knew it wasn't possible. But he still worked his tail off and he still came to the team. For him to have a day like today, that's what sports is about. That's what it's all about.”
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Salamanca Press
Red Dragons’ defense clamps down Warriors
​
Paul Haley can see the improvements from the last time his Salamanca football team played a Maple Grove squad, but moral victories only go so far for the Warriors’ third-year coach.
In 2015, Salamanca lost to then-merged Maple Grove/Chautauqua Lake 48-0 on the way to a winless season. The Warriors acquitted themselves much better by any measure Friday night in a 34-6 Section 6 Class D home opener loss to Maple Grove, but not enough to satisfy Haley.
“It's definitely better than the last time we played them but it's not where we wanted to be at all,” he said.
​
Salamanca Press
Warriors rally in battle of backups
​
It was hardly the offensive game Paul Haley had in mind before Wednesday afternoon, and one he may not like reviewing on film, but that doesn’t make the Salamanca football team’s 2-1 start any less enjoyable.
With a backup quarterback, normally starting junior running back/wide receiver Tyler Hedlund, filling in for the injured Zariah Armstrong, Haley’s Warriors struggled to move the ball for three quarters Friday night against Cattaraugus-Little Valley. But Salamanca’s defense kept the game within reach, trailing 6-0 through three quarters, to give Hedlund a chance to learn on the fly in an option running-based offense.
​
Salamanca Press
Warriors visit Portville in opener
​
The Warriors begin the 2017 season at Portville Friday, Sept. 1. The matchup will have both teams looking to put the last season (or two) behind them: Portville suffered coach Gary Swetland’s first-ever winless season in 2016, while Paul Haley’s Warriors went 0-7 in the regular season before snapping its losing skid in the consolation bracket against Eden.
Salamanca doesn’t face Randolph and Chautauqua Lake. The Warriors host Maple Grove Sept. 8 in their home opener at Veterans Park. They finish the year at Class C Gowanda/Pine Valley to continue a longtime rivalry with the Panthers in nonleague play.
​
Salamanca Press
Looking Ahead to WNY Class D Football
​
The Salamanca football team will take a step down in classification next fall, but don’t expect much of an easier schedule for the Warriors in 2017.
Salamanca and Chautauqua Lake each saw a decrease in BEDS Enrollment Numbers, enough to drop from Class C to Class D in football. The guidelines are set at the state level by the NYSPHSAA and thus out of the hands of the sectional federation.
As Warriors coach Paul Haley said to the Salamanca Press, Salamanca will still have to contend with recent powers like Maple Grove, Randolph and Franklinville/Ellicottville.
​
Salamanca Press
Salamanca Football Red & Gray Game
​
The Salamanca High School football program held its Red & Gray Game, an annual public intrasquad scrimmage, Wednesday night at Veterans' Park with varsity and junior varsity football players practicing in front of a crowd of Warriors fans, families and classmates.
The Warriors play in a four-way scrimmage at Wellsville (with Bolivar-Richburg and Dansville) Saturday at 10 a.m., then gear up for the season opener Friday, Sept. 1, at Portville.
Press photos by Sam Wilson.
Experienced Warriors tired of losing entering 2017
​
Paul Haley remembers a time when sophomores and freshmen almost never saw the field for the Salamanca High School varsity football team.
But Haley, who played for George Whitcher in 1992 and ‘93, had to rely far more often than he’d like on young, inexperienced athletes in his first two years coaching the SHS varsity.
The results for the Warriors, who returned just four lettermen for Haley’s first season in 2015, suffered, going 0-8 in 2015 and 0-7 in the 2016 regular season until winning a Chuck Funke Memorial Classic Bowl Game over Eden/North Collins, 26-14.
Haley credits his 20 returning lettermen for sticking it out through the last year (or two).
​
Salamanca Press
Warriors, Shoup take a first step forward
​
A year ago, Jeremiah Shoup could only watch his Salamanca football teammates from the sidelines every Friday night of his junior season.
Shoup, who had torn his ACL in the winter of his sophomore year, missed all of the next football season. He returned to the field in triumphant fashion Friday night, piling up 149 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries to lead Salamanca to its first regular season victory since 2014. The Warriors spoiled Portville’s home opener, 38-10, in Week 1 Section 6 Class D play.
“I couldn't be prouder of him,” third-year Salamanca coach Paul Haley said of Shoup. “He honestly tried so hard to come back last year and we just knew it wasn't possible. But he still worked his tail off and he still came to the team. For him to have a day like today, that's what sports is about. That's what it's all about.”
​
Salamanca Press
Red Dragons’ defense clamps down Warriors
​
Paul Haley can see the improvements from the last time his Salamanca football team played a Maple Grove squad, but moral victories only go so far for the Warriors’ third-year coach.
In 2015, Salamanca lost to then-merged Maple Grove/Chautauqua Lake 48-0 on the way to a winless season. The Warriors acquitted themselves much better by any measure Friday night in a 34-6 Section 6 Class D home opener loss to Maple Grove, but not enough to satisfy Haley.
“It's definitely better than the last time we played them but it's not where we wanted to be at all,” he said.
​
Salamanca Press
Warriors rally in battle of backups
​
It was hardly the offensive game Paul Haley had in mind before Wednesday afternoon, and one he may not like reviewing on film, but that doesn’t make the Salamanca football team’s 2-1 start any less enjoyable.
With a backup quarterback, normally starting junior running back/wide receiver Tyler Hedlund, filling in for the injured Zariah Armstrong, Haley’s Warriors struggled to move the ball for three quarters Friday night against Cattaraugus-Little Valley. But Salamanca’s defense kept the game within reach, trailing 6-0 through three quarters, to give Hedlund a chance to learn on the fly in an option running-based offense.
​
Salamanca Press
Titans jump on Warriors early, roll to 53-13 win
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Any doubt Chad Bartoszek had about his team’s readiness to play a week after its most impressive win of the season, the Franklinville/Ellicottville Titans answered within minutes of kickoff Friday night.
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After dispatching defending sectional champion Maple Grove 26-6 last week, F/E jumped on Salamanca early, building a 16-0 lead just 3:15 into the game and 40-0 with 10:58 to play in the second en route to a decisive 53-13 Section 6 Class D victory over Bartoszek’s alma mater.
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Salamanca Press
Warriors catch Watkins Glen/O-M in final minute
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Paul Haley said it was about time his offense carried the Salamanca football defense for a change. Ira John’s rushing effort just about carried the whole team Friday night in a thrilling non-league Homecoming win.
John rushed in his fourth touchdown of the night to give the Warriors (with an extra point kick from Austin Reyes) a 34-28 victory as the final horn sounded 22 seconds later. The junior, who started the season at wide receiver but moved to the backfield in Week 3, finished with 24 carries for 218 yards and four touchdowns.
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Salamanca Press
C/S/P bounces back with 32-0 win at Salamanca
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Perhaps after its first loss of the season, the Clymer/Sherman/Panama football team wanted to prove it’s still one of the upper-tiered teams in Section 6 Class D.
The Wolfpack displayed a balanced offense and a quick run-stuffing defense Friday night at Veterans’ Park, riding two touchdowns each from running backs Michael Beatman and Derek Ecklund to a 32-0 shutout of Salamanca.
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Salamanca Press
Warriors ride defense, special teams to winning regular season
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Mark this one as a win for the Salamanca defense and special teams.
Despite being outgained 200-167 in total offense, the Warriors’ football team rode four Gowanda/Pine Valley turnovers, two for defensive touchdowns, and a special teams touchdown to a 32-13 victory over the winless Panthers (0-7, 0-4) in non-league play Friday.
Of course, the total yards don’t include the 86 amassed on Tyler Hedlund’s punt return for touchdown in the second quarter or the combined 57 gained by a fumble recovery for touchdown by Austin Reyes and interception return by Ira John.
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Salamanca Press
Thunderbirds strike early, bounce Salamanca from playoffs
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After a rare high school football bye, the Chautauqua Lake Thunderbirds’ defense didn’t show any rust Friday night to open the Section 6 Class D playoffs against Salamanca.
The Thunderbirds forced two punts and took two interceptions in the first quarter, sparking a 21-0 lead at the end of the period on the way to a 40-0 victory over the Warriors (4-4).
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On Salamanca’s first possession of the game, the Thunderbirds forced a punt after one first down, and a short kick set up their offense at the Warriors’ 42-yard line. Chautauqua Lake then intercepted the Warriors on their next two drives, first giving the ball right back on a fumble out of the end zone then intercepting Salamanca again.
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Salamanca Press
Second-half big plays lift Salamanca to Funke Bowl win
A trio of big plays helped vault the Salamanca football team over Cattaraugus-Little Valley and ensure a winning record to close the season Thursday.
Leading 7-0 at halftime, Salamanca scored three times in the second half on plays of 69 yards or more to roll to a 29-6 win in the Chuck Funke Memorial Bowl Class D final.
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Haley thanked his seniors for helping keep the program afloat through two winless regular seasons in 2015 and 2016.
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“These are kids that toughed it out the last couple years,” Haley said of his seniors. “(The win is) for the guys who sacrificed the last two years that have been a rough couple years.”
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Salamanca Press