With fresh faces in big roles, Salamanca reloads for ’25

By SAM WILSON, Special to the Press

SALAMANCA — Few coaching staffs, if any, have presided over a greater football revival in the Big 30 area than the staff at Salamanca High School.

Coach Chad Bartoszek returned to his alma mater in 2019 to lead the Warriors at a time when Salamanca football was struggling. By 2023, the Warriors had their first Section 6 Class C championship (and Far West Regional) since 2001. Last fall, they repeated in the section and went a step further, making the state championship game for only the second time in program history, losing a 26-20 heartbreaker at the goal line to Schuylerville.

And at least in terms of raw numbers — more than 90 players signed up between varsity, JV and modified — the program looks healthy coming off of one of its strongest seasons in a storied history. But can Salamanca recapture the magic of the last two seasons, given the talent it’s lost to graduation?

Pictured are the returning letterwinners for the Salamanca Warriors football team under coach Chad Bartoszek. Front row: Waylon Dowdy, Brendon Ghani, Jesse Hill, Adrian Taylor, Conner Seeley, Quinten Brown. Back row: Kylan Jacobson, Payton Bigler, Payton Bradley, Evan Spruce, Kasen Hardy, Thomas George, Landon Baker.

The Warriors lost 12 seniors from last year’s team, including five Big 30 All-Stars, among them Big Defensive Player of the Year Cory Holleran and dynamic quarterback Maddox Isaac.

“Well, I think that’s our challenge, right?” Bartoszek said of making Salamanca’s success sustainable. “I’ve been around enough football to know that it’s always going to be a little different. When you lose the group we had — and the quarterback that you’ve been for three or four years — that certainly changes things from an offensive standpoint. And then, similarly from a defensive standpoint, when you lose the guys we lost, including what would be considered the quarterback of the defense was Cory back there, a three-year starter. So I think the fun part for us is kind of that reboot here.”

Salamanca players participated in 7-on-7 leagues and tournaments, summer workouts (unofficial practices) and even scheduled player-led practices. But early on, this summer has required a lot more teaching and adapting.

“Last year, we were already a step ahead of the game just because we returned so much and we’d already had so much success,” Bartoszek continued.

”This year, we find ourselves in a situation where we’ve got new bodies in new positions. This is a real test to what our system is, like is it sustainable? Have we trained our young bucks enough that they can step in and play at a high level? Certainly we’re not going to match the level that last year’s group had right away. There’s no way.”

Salamanca lists 14 players as returning letterwinners, half of them returning starters. Some will be in new positions, most prominently Payton Bradley, who played tight end as a sophomore and junior but will now step into Isaac’s role at QB. The 6-foot-5 Bradley has a strong arm and can move, but brings a different skillset than the super-speedy Isaac.

“His personality, his work ethic, his willingness to step in has been amazing for us,” Bartoszek said of Bradley. “He’s been the leader that we need, and he’s stepping into a big role. How we operate offensively will be determined soon here. I know he can make the reads, make the throws. His best ball is as good a ball as you’re gonna see. It’s just how do we maximize what he brings through the table? Versus what we did in the past with Maddox.

“How Maddox ran the ball was explosive in different (ways) to really any quarterback you’re going to see in a Big 30. So we’re not expecting Payton to fill all those shoes, but he can do most of them.”

Isaac and classmate Xavier Peters combined for more than 2,600 rushing yards, a huge chunk of production it may be impossible to truly replace. But two juniors, Quentin Brown and Conner Seeley, both had limited but effective touches as sophomores in last year’s backfield.

“Getting in a good rhythm offensively takes time and we have new faces and we have a couple lingering injuries that are gonna prevent us from being 100%,” Bartoszek said, hoping his team will finish better than it starts on offense. “We’re hoping that we could stay competitive early, play physical, tough, disciplined Salamanca football, and stay in these games and keep us in the playoff hunt, so that when we hit full stride, we’re pretty dangerous.”

The areas Bartoszek hopes to be able to lean on are his offensive and defensive lines. Sophomore Kasen Hardy “got his feet wet big-time” as just a freshman. Evan Spruce, a junior, is a returning two-way starter. With younger or inexperienced “skill position” players, a solid line would help.

“On top of that, those JV guys got into a ton of our games because we were up by so much,” Bartoszek said, “so I think our O-line is probably the furthest along. So having said that, like most programs, we spent most of the summer passing the ball, right? We’re trying to get in rhythm. It’s very hard to get in rhythm. And I still don’t think we’re there. But we’ve come a long way.”

Holleran and linebacker Zach Trietley leave huge defensive leadership roles to fill as well.

“We have so many guys that played so many snaps because of what the season went like last year,” Bartoszek said. “So we’ve got a lot of kids who are stepping into positions that they’ve played a lot of games in big places. But you’re not going to replicate what some of those guys did.

So they’ve got to do it on their own, and I know Coach (Aaron) Hill, Coach (Paul) Furlong are exploring the options. Who’s gonna step in at the safety positions? We lost two really good ones.”

Salamanca opens the season at Olean, a premiere test against the Class B Huskies who went 6-2 last season. Bartoszek said he loves the matchup, both to get a historic rivalry back on the schedule, but to test his young team against the talented Huskies.

“(Olean quarterback Joe Mest) is going to step up and they’re always pretty physical,” Bartoszek said. “But it’s a non-league, it’s down the road, there’s a little bit of history there with Salamanca and Olean. I know it’s not recent, but it’s still there. And I think it’s a great way for us to start and really challenge ourselves early on. I’m pretty excited for it.”

Then comes the true test: Class C South play. The division looks loaded, with two rivals (Portville/Cuba-Rushford/Bolivar-Richburg and Southwestern/Frewsburg) adding a school through mergers. Clymer/Sherman/Panama moves up from Class D and Springville down from Class B. And a familiar coaching opponent, former CSP coach Ty Harper, now leads Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton.

“I think it looks very difficult,” Bartoszek said. “Every week is going to be a bear. That’s not a bad thing as long as you can survive and get through some of those games. You’ve got to work your way into the playoffs.”

THE RETURNING starters:

Kasen Hardy, sophomore, 6-2, 265, offensive line/defensive line

Easton Chudy, junior, 6-1, 175, kicker

Quinten Brown, junior, 5-11, 180, running back/linebacker

Payton Bradley, senior, 6-5, 215, quarterback/defensive back

Waylon Dowdy, senior, 5-10, 170, wide receiver/defensive back

Thomas George, senior, 5-11, 180, offensive line/linebacker

Evan Spruce Jr., senior, 6-2, 250, offensive line/defensive line

ALSO LETTERING were:

Kylan Jacobson, sophomore, 6-2, 185, running back/linebacker

Payton Bigler, senior, 6-1, 160, wide receiver/defensive back

Landon Baker, senior, 5-11, 155, wide receiver/defensive back

Conner Seeley, junior, 5-10, 180, running back/linebacker

Adrian Taylor, senior, 5-9, 180, offensive line/linebacker

Jesse Hill, senior, 5-9, 160, running back/defensive back

Brendon Ghani, senior, 6-0, 180, wide receiver/defensive back

THE PLAYERS, by position:

Offense

Quarterbacks: Bradley, Jayden Romero (soph., 5-10, 170)

Running Backs: Brown, Hill, Seeley, Jacobson, Ethan Baxter Drain (soph., 5-10, 160), Xazavier Escobar (sr., 5-9, 155)

Ends/Receivers: Ghani, Baker, Bigler, Dowdy, Gavin Elliot (sr., 5-10, 180), Dominick Hill (sr., 5-10, 160), Jazarian McDonald (sr., 5-9, 155), Ryder Jimerson (jr., 5-9, 160), Cruz Pennell (jr., 5-9, 165), Camron Bowser (soph., 5-10, 190), Remy Follman (soph., 6-2, 185)

Guards/Tackles: Hardy, Warrick John (soph., 6-2, 225), Donovan Terhune (jr., 5-11, 220), Justin Schwab (jr., 6-0, 230), George, Spruce Jr., DuMarius Jimerson (sr., 5-11, 200), Everett Atwood (jr., 6-1, 210), Cale Clousing (jr., 5-10, 190), Drake Phearsdorf (jr., 6-0, 230), Kaden Scott (jr., 6-0, 175), Carl Swanigan (jr., 6-5, 280),

Centers: Brock Johnson (jr., 5-9, 195), Adrian Taylor, Brayden Wilson (sr., 6-0, 180),

Kickers: Chudy

Defense

Ends: Phearsdorf, D. Jimerson, Scott, Atwood, Wilson, Elliot

Guards/Tackles: Hardy, John, Terhune, Schwab, Spruce, Clousing, Swanigan

Linebackers: Bowser, Thomas George, Seeley, Kylan Jacobson, Baxter Drain, Taylor, Johnson

Defensive Backs: Bradley, Romero, Brown, Hill, Escobar, Bigler, Dowdy, McDonald, R. Jimerson, Pennel, Follman