Triumph on the field and perseverance off of it have defined the Salamanca football season.

The Warriors endured tragedy this fall with the loss of a player’s father due to cancer. After winning a Section 6 Class C championship two weeks ago at Highmark Stadium, coach Chad Bartoszek’s thoughts turned quickly to the memory of his friend, Darren Ross, the father of Warriors quarterback Jaxson Ross.

“The performance you saw tonight … that was Ross strong right there, baby,” Bartoszek said that night after Jaxson helped lead Salamanca to a 36-23 win. “There was something special inside our heart in our team.”

Salamanca won its first sectional title in 22 years, and a week later its first Far West Regional since that same season. At 10-2, the Warriors will look to extend their season to the final week in New York, playing a Class C state semifinal at Cicero-North Syracuse Saturday against Section 4’s Waverly.

Fresh off the win over Medina, Salamanca earned some hardware at the 2023 Big 30 Football Testimonial Dinner at Pitt-Bradford. The Warriors had three players earn a slot on the selective 30-man all-star list. And their coach, Chad Bartoszek, received the Coach of the Year plaque.

“Some of the reasons I’m up here, this season has been awesome and successful but there has been a lot of difficulty,” Bartoszek said, addressing the dinner attendees. “I’m just really proud of how Salamanca came together, our players, our staff and our community, to rise up. Some of you guys have seen in the papers, after this past win, we were a little more public about it. We felt it. But it wasn’t something that we talked too much about.”

In 1998, he earned a Big 30 All-Star honor himself before embarking upon a distinguished college career, then, in 2014 and 2015, he won the Big 30 Coach of the Year award twice. In ‘14 and ‘15, then the Franklinville/Ellicottville coach, Bartoszek was recognized as the Big 30 Coach of the Year, the Alfred Joe Bunnell — Rod Rohl Memorial Award, sharing the latter honor with Kane’s Todd Silfies.

Bartoszek recognized the accomplishment for all 30 players selected this year, having been a Big 30 All-Star once himself.

“I think when I look out at you guys, the players, just think about what you’re doing and how elite and special you are,” he said. “There’s a lot of success in this room. You guys are going to go off to college and live your lives and have families. Just remember, you’re in an elite group and football means so much to me and my family and I want to make sure we represent it right. Being a part of the Big 30 is something I cherish, it’s something I’m proud of. I would like to thank the committee members who spend all their time, volunteer their time, to make sure that they get this right, and they did this year. So I’m just proud to be here. I’m proud to be a Warrior. Thank you very much.”

Bartoszek won the Coach of the Year from a four-man field of nominees that also included last year’s winner, Justin Bienkowski of Port Allegany, along with Pioneer’s Jim Duprey and Cameron County’s Ryan Neyman.

Duprey led Pioneer back to Highmark Stadium, playing in the Section 6 Class B championship game for the second consecutive year, finishing the year at 9-2.

Bienkowski’s Port Allegany team was the last Big 30 team standing in Pennsylvania, going 10-3 with a trip to the District 9 Class A championship game.

Neyman’s Cameron County team won the Leon Abbott Memorial Award for team sportsmanship. The Red Raiders went 6-4, making the District 9 Class A playoffs.

Pioneer was well-represented for its Section 6 Class B finalist season, which saw the Panthers lose twice all year to the same sectional champion Health Sciences team. Pioneer not only had five Big 30 All-Stars, its players won both the Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

A pair of repeat All-Star selections, running back Dalton Giboo won the Gary Sage Memorial Award for Big 30 Player of the Year and defensive end Sam Platt won the Lou Foy Memorial Defensive Player of the Year.

Kaedon Holcomb (Portville/Cuba-Rushford), Carson Neely (Port Allegany), Arlen Newark (Salamanca) and Hunter Smith (Franklinville/Ellicottville) were also nominated for Player of the Year. Ethan Coleman (Portville/C-R), Noah Shenk (F/E), Zach Trietley (Salamanca) and Miska Young (Port Allegany) were nominated for Defensive Player of the Year.

In addition to an offensive and defensive player of the year, the selection committee also recognizes the players who don’t always see their share of recognition. The

E.B. Fitzpatrick — James Russell Memorial “Unsung” Lineman of the Year — presented to the Big 30’s best lineman — went to Port’s Carson Neely, from a field of nominees including Luke Matheis (Pioneer), Hayden Emley (Portville/C-R) and Jimmy Steppe (Pioneer).

This year’s team included five repeat All-Stars: Giboo, Neely, Miska Young and Manning Splain (Otto-Eldred).

In a tradition started in 2016, the committee recognized an individual who has dealt with hardship in life but displays qualities such as teamwork, compassion and character. The Joe DeCerbo Memorial Award, named for the long-serving late youth coach and official, goes to an individual who reflects DeCerbo’s values. This year’s DeCerbo Award winner was Coudersport senior Dylan Howard.

The Big 30 Athletic Corporation also presented its first two scholarships of the school year, announcing the 12th Man Award, a $500 gift given to a senior football player on each side of the New York-Pennsylvania border.

The 12th Man typically goes to a senior who has played football for four years and, while not necessarily a star player on the field, one who displays exceptional effort throughout his time with the program. This year’s Mike Abdo Award, the New York 12th Man, went to Allegany-Limestone’s Tyler Babb, while the Joe Bizzarro Award, for Pennsylvania, went to Cameron County’s Jesop Farabaugh.

(Editors Note: A follow up story on the Pennsylvania All-Stars will appear in The Bradford Era on Wednesday, Nov. 28.)