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Crossover week on the gridiron

SARANAC LAKE – It’s crossover weekend for the local teams on the North Country high school football front, and Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake are both on the road Saturday to play their eighth games of the season.

And after Saturday, the playoffs lie ahead for the Red Storm and the Lumberjacks.

Saranac Lake wrapped up its Champlain Valley Athletic Conference season with a strong showing a week ago, cruising past Plattsburgh 35-6 to finish in third place with a 5-2 record. The Red Storm now look to notch their sixth win when they take on the Potsdam Sandstoners, who finished Section X play with a 4-3 mark.

Meanwhile, Tupper Lake travels to Malone to face Franklin Academy for the second time this season. In their previous encounter on Sept. 9, the Huskies pulled away in a game that was tight early to topple the Lumberjacks 44-7 at Frank Tice Field.

Win or lose Saturday, Saranac Lake will compete for the Section VII, Class C title in a week against either Saranac Central or defending champion AuSable Valley, who square off tonight in semifinal action.

Playing the Sandstoners not only offers the Red Storm an opportunity take on an opponent they haven’t seen in awhile, it also provides them a chance to hone their play with a championship game looming.

“We’re looking to build on the momentum we started last week,” Saranac Lake head coach Eric Bennett said. “We want to stay sharp, stay focused and set the tone through a solid effort Saturday as a spring board moving forward. We want to play physical, mistake-free football.”

The Red Storm will collide with a run-oriented offense led by junior Brandon Buffham, who has rushed for more than 1,000 yards this season. The ‘Stoners are gearing up for their playoff game, which will be against Franklin Academy next week.

“This won’t be an easy game by any means,” Bennett said. “They are coming in at 4-3 and I’m sure knocking us off would be a great feather in their cap. They are a physical team, they play in a good league and they are a team that loves condensed sets and comes right at you.

“We’re going into what can be considered hostile territory. We’ll be coming off a long bus ride, and hopefully we can come right out of the gate and have at it.”

Saranac Lake played its first game on turf a week ago, and Saturday will afford the Red Storm another chance to utilize the speed they displayed against Plattsburgh. Bennett was pleased with his team’s preparation and performance against Plattsburgh, and said he wants to see the same effort against Potsdam, which is a Class B school.

“I felt our kids were ready to play when we had our team meeting at 4 o’clock earlier that day,” Bennett said. “As soon as we got off the bus, we were ready to go. We did a great job spreading the ball around, and we want to continue that theme. We want to keep distributing the ball, not turn the ball over and be sharp.

“I think our kids are pretty excited about this game,” Bennett continued. “In previous years, we’ve had to face a team from our section a second time in this game. I think our kids are pretty happy seeing a team from a different league. I know Potsdam will come out wanting to compete. It should be fun.”

Junior Eric Ashton has been the leader of a resurgent Saranac Lake ground game. He’s gone over the 100-yard rushing mark in each of the Red Storm’s last three games, including a 116-yard performance on 22 carries against Plattsburgh. Also in last week’s victory, quarterback Will Coats finished with 196 passing yards while completing 13-of-24 attempts, and senior receiver Joe Viscardo had five catches for 82 yards, which now puts him less than 100 yards away from setting a new Section VII receiving record.

Saturday

Tupper Lake at Franklin Academy, 1:30 p.m.

After falling for a sixth time this season a week ago in a 54-14 setback to Canton, head coach Dennis Klossner said wining isn’t the priority for Tupper Lake when it plays at Malone on Saturday in a game slated to start at 1:30 p.m. Instead, the Lumberjacks are looking to just stay healthy and enjoy playing football against another team that also has just one victory.

An already depleted Lumberjacks’ roster got two names shorter last week, as senior team leaders Ryan Becker and Jordan Young were injured and have been added to the long list of players who are out of the lineup Saturday. Becker, Tupper Lake’s leading receiver, suffered a concussion while Young, who is a force in the trenches, broke his wrist. Hopes are that both will be back in action for the ‘Jacks, who still have one league matchup and at least one playoff game remaining.

It also looks like the season has ended for sophomore tight end and linebacker Ben Lanthier, after he broke his finger in Tupper Lake’s final practice leading up to the Canton game. Also, senior running back Chase Bedore, the ‘Jacks’ leading rusher, ended his season two weeks ago after he was hurt in Tupper Lake’s lone victory to date.

All those injuries have Tupper Lake entering Saturday’s matchup with a state minimum of 16 dressed players, and the Lumberjacks, who have no junior varsity program, have elevated a freshman from the modified ranks to fill out their lineup. That player, Skyler Pickering, will start in the defensive backfield and is also the backup quarterback behind sophomore Brennen McComber.

“We’re lean and mean,” Klossner said with a smile. “We’re not big in numbers, but big in heart. We’re going in without a lot of kids. We’re banged up, not doubt about it. We have 16, but they are upbeat and excited.”

Despite being battered, Klossner said his team is better than it was when it took on the Huskies in the second week of the season and hopes to come away with some positives from the game. Last week, junior Mike Hyde had a big day for the ‘Jacks, rushing for 110 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries. McComber added 44 yards and one touchdown running the ball.

When the teams met for the first time this fall, Matthew Marlow completed 7-of-11 passes for 221 yards to lead the Huskies passing attack, and sophomore Timothy Langdon paced their ground game with 121 yards on 12 carries.

“We’re not looking to win,” Klossner said. “We’re actually looking to be safe, be healthy, and have fun playing this game. We want to go out there with high spirits and ready to play. Hopefully, we’ll have more kids back in the lineup next week, ready to go in our final league game against Massena. We have next week ahead and then either Ti (Ticonderoga) or Moriah in the Class D playoffs. We have more down the road.”

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