2 weeks Ago By By SPENCER BATES Olean Times Herald
SALAMANCA — Last week, the Salamanca football team rekindled its rivalry with Portville/Cuba-Rushford in what coach Chad Bartoszek called an early-season test for his players. After topping the Panthers for the third time in the last three meetings, already in the back of Bartoszek’s mind was his side’s next fixture: Another test, in the form of Southwestern. Salamanca’s matchup against the Trojans means the reigning Section 6 Class C South champions will have faced both the league’s runner-up and third-place finishers from last season in back-to-back games.
It marks a stern trial for the Warriors, one that has come with some tribulations in the past, according to Bartoszek. But he also said that his team has had weeks 2 and 3 circled on the calendar since the start of preseason, and that the benefit of seeing strong competition early is it allows his players to gain the right mindset. “We’ve had this on our calendars since camp,” Bartoszek said.
“We knew that we’re off to a tough start. The back-to-back challenge is difficult, and it’s always been that way. Now, we’ve had success, we’ve come through 2-0 at times, and then other times you take a step back.
But for the kids, mentally, it’s about playing at a championship level. Each week, you got to go in, no matter who the opponent is, set that bar high and see how the game plays out. I think trying to rather get up or down for a certain opponent doesn’t really work.
” Southwestern is off to a 2-0 start, matching Salamanca’s record, with both wins coming by 20-plus points. The Trojans returned an experienced roster, one in which Bartoszek complimented, led by senior quarterback Owen Hayes and backfield duo Bradyn Fuller and Brody Larson. In preparation for the team’s first road game of 2024, Bartoszek said that if they want to walk out of enemy territory with a win, his Warriors must be able to control the pace.
Last week against P/C-R, Salamanca recorded just 30 plays as it capitalized off short drives ending with big scoring plays. Meanwhile, the Panthers were able to chew time off the clock and ran 70 plays on the night. “We’ve got to just bring a little bit of extra energy, and we’ve got to kind of try to control the flight,” Bartoszek said.
“Portville did a good job of trying to maintain a little bit of their style, they wanted to play the game their way. We’re going over Southwestern, we’ve got to bring our own style. We can’t just let them dictate everything.
” One thing Bartoszek intends to tune up prior to Friday night’s clash is the defense after he and his staff noticed some alignment issues after last week’s game. “We’ve got to make sure we’re getting back to some of the basics of alignment assignment,” he said. “You give up a gap, there’s a hole there, and good coordinators find that hole.
So part one, we are going to be just making sure our assignments are sound, and that goes for the offense too. But, part two is we just got to make sure we’re sure tackling. We’re pretty good at it, but in a big game, you can’t have a big missed tackle, that’s a touchdown.
So, we’re going to just overemphasize play-by-play. It’s going to come down to one or two, just like last year. Which play at which time is which team going to give less effort.
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It’s a big (game) for both teams. I think whoever comes out of this is going to be in a nice position.” ELSEWHERE , Franklinville/Ellicottville is set for a rematch of last year’s Class D semifinal in which it suffered a season-ending loss to Wilson.
Earlier last season, the Titans made quick work of the Lakemen, dispatching them by a score of 41-20, one of four games in which they scored over 40 points. However, when it came time for F/E to face Wilson for a second time, it was only able to muster up 20 points in Wilson’s come-from-behind 21-20 defeat. However, much as that result may have lingered, first-year head coach Justin Tatlow said his players need to remove it in order to focus on the task at hand.
According to him, there has been no talk of revenge or emotions stemming from last year; instead the message in the build-up has been strictly about gameplan. “The biggest thing is we have to move on from that (loss),” Tatlow said. “These boys have had to move on .
.. from that loss in the playoffs last year.
We have to just come out and execute our game plan. (Wilson) is returning a large majority of their offensive line, so we know that’s going to be a strength for them. It showed in the first couple games they are strong on the offensive and defensive line, so we know that’s where it starts, and if we’re going to have any success, we need to be able to control those two sides of the ball.
” Tatlow has also reinforced the notion of having a short memory after dropping his first game as a head coach against WNY Maritime/Tapestry last week. The Titans held a 24-12 lead at halftime, but Maritime went on to score 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to steal the win. Tatlow considered the loss a learning moment, not just for his players but also his staff as they look to make adjustments before their first league contest of the year.
“Obviously, we talked about it, we saw the areas where we fell short, not only players, but as a staff and addressed them,” Tatlow said. “But it’s important (to remember) there’s a game every single week to be able to move on from that, so we have to have a good week of practice and be prepared starting league play.” Unlike their playoff matchup last season, the Titans will hit the road to face Wilson this time around.
— Pioneer, the frontrunners in B-2, will look to move to 3-0 when it meets Cheektowaga. Meanwhile, Olean will try to rebound against Lewiston-Porter after suffering a heavy defeat to Springville last week. — Portville/Cuba-Rushford has itself another challenge this week in the form of Falconer/Cassadaga Valley, which sits 2-0 in the early season.
It will be the first home league game of the season for the Panthers as they will try to bounce back from that close loss to Salamanca..
