From left, Saranac Lake’s Brady Owens, Cedar Rivers, Evan Willett and Carter NiCastro celebrate after Willett scored his team’s second touchdown of Saturday’s Section VII, Class C championship against Saranac Central at AuSable Valley High School.
(Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)
CLINTONVILLE — A disappointing season for the Saranac Lake football team came to an end on Saturday as the Red Storm fell 43-12 to the Saranac Central Spartans in the Section VII, Class C championship game at AuSable Valley High School.
The Spartans, who entered the championship contest having won their first-ever Champlain Valley Atheltic Conference league title with a 7-1 record, dominated early, scoring three touchdowns in the first quarter. Saranac Central also scored two touchdowns in the second quarter, giving the team a 36-0 lead at halftime that the Red Storm was unable to mount.
The Spartans improved to 8-1 overall and will take on the Gouverneur Wildcats in the Class C regional contest on Saturday. Saranac Lake finished the season with a 1-8 record, the team’s lone win came against the Plattsburgh Hornets on Sept. 8.
“It’s been a season like no other on a number of levels,” Red Storm head coach Eric Bennett said. “What I can say is that these kids finished. To have a season like we did — in the win-loss column — and to have every kid who started finish, to have a couple of kids join, to have kids showing up every day and no one taking days off, they finished and honored their commitment. I can’t wait to see what they do in their lives because if they can finish this, they can finish anything.”
Saranac Lake scored its first touchdown of Saturday’s game on a 13-yard pass from senior Evan Willett to fellow senior Cedar Rivers late in the third quarter. Willett then capped off the day with a 13-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Saranac Lake’s Zack Goetz carries the ball during Saturday’s Section VII, Class C championship against Saranac Central at AuSable Valley High School.
(Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)
The Red Storm outscored the Spartans 12-7 in the second half. Bennett said his team did a better job of executing their assignments.
“They stayed on their blocks and I was glad to see our seniors get some touchdowns and some work. Hats off to them,” he said.
Saranac Lake finished with 117 yards of offense, which included 103 rushing yards. Senior Owen Muncil led the charge with 75 yards on the ground. Willett had 20 yards on 12 carries and senior Owen Moffatt had 18 yards on two attempts.
Saranac Central used a balanced offense that included 193 passing yards and 206 rushing yards. Spartans quarterback Zack Lucia completed nine of his 10 passes for 190 yards while tossing one touchdown. Lucia also led his team with 54 rushing yards, while scoring once on the ground.
Saranac Central’s Nate Hamel had 38 rushing yards on seven carries while scoring two touchdowns and Cayden Bouvia had 46 yards on eight attempts.
Saranac Lake’s Evan Willett carries the ball during Saturday’s Section VII, Class C championship against Saranac Central at AuSable Valley High School. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)
The Spartans defense stepped up right away, stripping Saranac Lake’s junior quarterback, Zack Goetz, on the opening. With the ball just a few yards away from the endzone, Saranac Central scored in just two plays with Zack Daniels scoring from 25 yards out.
The Spartans extended their lead when Hamel scored his first touchdown of the game from 7 yards out. Clancy completed a pass to Bryce DeAngelo for the two-point conversion to make the score 15-0.
Hamel found the endzone again late in the quarter on an 18-yard run. Hamel also converted on all five of his extra-point kicks.
Saranac Central scored their two touchdowns in the second quarter on a 10-yard pass from Lucia to Caswell McCoy, before Clancy scored on an 8-yard handoff to give his team a big first-half lead.
The Spartans scored their final touchdown on a 6-yard run from Lucia in the third quarter.
Saturday marked the final high school game for 11 seniors for the Red Storm. Bennett said it was an honor to coach those seniors.
“They’re a great group of kids and I’m sorry we couldn’t get it done for them,” he said.
While Saranac Lake finished its season on a sore note, the future appears bright. The Red Storm’s JV squad finished their season with an undefeated 7-0 record and many of those players were moved up for Saturday’s contest.
“We have kids, who are willing to put the work in,” Bennett said. “We’re going to get to work real soon and get the ship back to where it needs to be.”
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Saranac Central 43, Saranac Lake 12
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Spartans 22 14 7 0 — 43
Red Storm 0 0 6 6 — 12
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First Quarter
SC — Daniels 25 run (Hamel kick), 2:13
SC — Hamel 2 run (DeAngelo pass from Clancy), 8:07
SC — Hamel 18 run (Hamel kick), 10:48
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Second Quarter
SC — McCoy 10 pass from Lucia (Hamel kick), 4:39
SC — Clancy 8 run (Hamel kick), 8:16
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Third Quarter
SC — Lucia 6 run (Hamel kick), 4:35
SL — Rivers 13 pass from Willett (Run failed), 10:40
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Fourth Quarter
SL — Willett 13 run (Pass failed), 8:20
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Individual Statistics
RUSHING
SC — Hamel 7-38, 2 TDs; Bouvia 8-46; Daniels 3-40, TD; Lucia 3-54, TD; Duffield 1-12; Clancy 1-11; Poulin 1-5. Totals: 24-206, 4 TDs.
SL — Muncil 12-75; Willet 12-20, TD; Goetz 4-0; Montroy 3-(-5); Moffat 2-18; Coventry 1-(-4). Totals: 34-104, TD.
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PASSING
SL — Goetz 0-6-0-0; Willett 1-2-0-13, TD. Totals 1-8-0-13, TD.
SC — Lucia 9-10-1-190, TD; Clancy 1-3. Totals: 10-11-1-193, TD.
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RECEIVING
SL — Rivers 1-13, TD.
SC — Clancy 4-78; DeAngelo 3-87; Daniels 2-18; Burns 1-10, TD. Totals 10-193, TD.
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INTERCEPTIONS
SL — Goetz.
