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SARANAC LAKE - It's a brand-new season for the Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake football teams, who will be in action tonight and Saturday in the opening round of the sectional playoffs.

The Lumberjacks will be on the road tonight to face Ticonderoga in a Class D matchup as they look to avenge a regular-season loss to the Sentinels in a game that begins at 7:30 p.m. The Red Storm, meanwhile, will be at home Saturday to tangle with Class C rival Gouverneur with the opening kickoff slated for 1 p.m. at Ken Wilson Field.

Tupper Lake got the regular season off to a strong start with four wins in a row. But since then, the 'Jacks have dropped four straight to wrap up the Northern Athletic Conference with a 4-4 record. The Lumberjacks have a tough task ahead against Ticonderoga, and head coach Dennis Klossner said his players are excited to have the opportunity to have another shot at the Sentinels, who are ranked 12th in the state Class D standings.

"This game is an opportunity to turn the season around and get a little revenge against Ticonderoga," Klossner said. "In order to do that, we will have to play better than we did last time against them. Penalties and turnovers hurt us in that game."

A big key for Tupper Lake is keeping the football away from the Sentinels offense, which is powered by senior running backs Steve Lenhart and Josh Huestis. In order to move the chains and put points on the board, the Lumberjacks will rely on their running game led by seniors Ian Smetanick and Jordan Nason, and a passing attack directed by junior quarterback Zach Meade.

"Ticonderoga has so many weapons," Klossner said. "What we need to do is find Ian running room and get Zach throwing the football. This season, we've been pretty successful at both, and hopefully, we can keep it going."

The Sentinels head into tonight's matchup after posting a 6-2 record in NAC play.

Saranac Lake finished a solid regular season with a 7-1 mark, and one of those wins was a 20-0 blanking of Gouverneur two weeks into the schedule. The Wildcats ended their NAC slate with a 3-5 mark. The Wildcats are led by running back Kevin Koerick and quarterback Darren Fuller.

Seniors Steven Burpoe and Jon Barge paced the Red Storm offense a week ago in their 34-0 shutout win over Peru. Burpoe scored twice on pass catches of nine and 56 yards from junior quarterback Brandon Patraw and Barge rushed for a pair of touchdowns on runs of 12 and 10 yards. The Red Storm defense was also tough, limiting Peru to only 72 total yards on offense.

Saranac Lake enters Saturday's contest ranked 20th in the state Class C standings, but Red Storm head coach Mark Farmer warned that Gouverneur will be a very tough opponent.

"Don't let their record fool you," Farmer said. "They are big, they are very physical and we know they are going to come up here and give us a good game. What hurt them last time was their turnovers and our speed. If we can generate some offense, we should be okay.

"We're pretty happy with how the regular season went, and the kids are excited for this playoff game," Farmer added. "The key for us is to continue limiting our mistakes and play emotional football."