Penfield, NY - The Salamanca Warriors ran the hide off the football Saturday afternoon in the Far West Regional match-up against Section V’s ER/Gananda, winning 42-20. The victory puts the Warriors back into the NYS semi final round for the second straight year, where they will take on Chenango Forks from Section IV.
Xavier Peters rushed for 239 yards on 22 carries, and scored four touchdowns to lead Salamanca.
“Our gameplan was simple, run Maddox, run Xavier and then find some passing windows,” head coach Chad Bartoszek said after the game. “We just took what they gave us and I’m proud of how our guys played today, that was a very tough game, very physical.”
Indeed it was a physical affair with a lot of tough runs on both sides of the ball. For ER/Gananda, senior running back Cadearrell Sneed Jr., was a handful for the Salamanca defense. “He was tough to bring down and had some really good runs. He broke one late in the first half where we had him but couldn’t wrap him up and he went the distance,” Bartoszek said.
Salamanca seemed to be in good control after Peters scored his second touchdown and gave the Warriors a 28-6 lead. The Bombers responded though, quarterback Benjamin Neuman hit Justice Allen to pull them too within 2 scores.
On the ensuing drive, the Bombers defense forced Salamanca into a punt situation and for the moment you could sense the momentum was turning. ER/Gananda could not do anything on their next drive however as the teams headed to halftime.
"It felt like we were losing in the locker room, I kind of had to remind the guys we were up by 14," Bartoszek said.
The Warriors took the ball to lead off the second half and went 45-yards in three plays and increased their lead 36-14.
The Bombers would add another score to make it interesting but that's as close as they would get to making a comeback.
"We faced Chautauqua Lake earlier who had a nice passing attack but that was about it, everyone else we played ran the ball. So this was really a big test for our guys because we knew they loved to throw it," Bartoszek said.
Zach Trietley led all Warrior tacklers with 13. "He's our guy back there, he's the guy that sets the tone," Bartoszek said of his senior linebacker. "We ask him to do a lot and he always responds."
Cory Holleran put the game to bed with a late interception.
The Warriors next game is Saturday at noon against Chenango Forks (11-1) at Vestal High School. "That's one of those tough, storied programs, and it's going to be a battle. They beat Waverly earlier. One of our coaches went out there to see that game. There's a lot of work to do and we'll start right away," Bartoszek said.
Pics Courtesy of Levi Sponeybarger/Salamanca
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