SARANAC LAKE – It’s that time of year when the onset of winter is here or just around the corner, and high school football teams are lining up for their biggest games of the season.

Saranac Lake will play its most important game so far on Saturday when it attempts to win its sixth Section VII, Class C championship in the past seven years.

The matchup is on the turf at AuSable Valley High School starting at noon, and pits the top-seeded 6-2 Red Storm against their unlikely opponent, the Saranac Chiefs, who snapped a 16-game losing streak a week ago by upsetting AuSable Valley 12-6 in overtime on the same field where Saturday’s final will take place.

Meanwhile, Tupper Lake will wait one more week before making its appearance in the Class D playoffs, but the young Lumberjacks are in action tonight to wrap up what has been a rocky Section X regular season schedule. They’ll host Massena at Frank Tice Field with the opening kickoff slated for 7 p.m.

The way the regular season unfolded this fall, it looked like Saranac Lake and AuSable Valley were on a path toward colliding Saturday for the Class C crown. But that all changed in the semifinal game last week when Johnny Devin ran for an 8-yard touchdown in overtime as Saranac Central ended the defending Class C champion Patriots’ season while winning for the first time this year.

So instead of a rematch with AuSable Valley, Saranac Lake and Saranac Central will square off, with the winner advancing to face the Section X champion in the first round of the state playoffs.

“I give Saranac all the credit in the world,” Saranac Lake head coach Eric Bennett said. “What a great way to get their first win of the season. They went into that game determined to run the ball. They were able to pound the ball lined up in tight formation sets, and they kept it away from a very potent AuSable Valley team.

“We’re treating this like a game against a 7-0 team hungry for a championship,” Bennett continued. “We’re affording Saranac all the respect they deserve.”

Saranac Lake is making its seventh-straight appearance in the sectional final, and looks to take down Saranac Central for the second time this fall. They first met on the second weekend of the Champlain Valley Athletic Conference schedule in a tight game that saw the Red Storm emerge with a 23-12 victory.

The Red Storm had its share of struggles in that game, including containing quarterback Luke Maye, who ran for one touchdown and threw for another. Maye finished with 71 yards rushing and 157 passing yards against the Red Storm, and has been Saranac Central’s leader on offense ever since.

“He’s only a sophomore, and you can already tell he’s a really special athlete,” Bennett said. “Saranac will be fortunate having him around for seasons to come.”

Bennett said Maye is a dual threat, but expects that the Chiefs will mainly attempt to grind it out on the ground. Last week Saranac ran 57 times for 210 yards against AuSable Valley, with Devin piling up 105 yards on 24 carries and Maye adding 83 yards on 14 runs.

The Red Storm kicked off the season with three victories, lost two straight to the top two teams in the CVAC, and are now riding a three-game win streak. Saranac Lake is coming off a 32-12 road win a week ago against Potsdam, and it was another occasion where the Red Storm gave up some yards early but buckled down late to pull away.

Senior receiver Joe Viscardo and junior running back Jarett Ashton were among the Red Storm players who had big days against the ‘Stoners. Viscardo had six catches for 96 yards to become the all-time CVAC career receiving leader with 1,818 yards, and Ashton ran for three touchdowns and 148 yards in his fourth-straight 100-plus yards rushing performance.

Bennett said he’s pleased with the way senior quarterback Will Coats is running the option for a diversified Red Storm offense.

“I’m really liking the way Will Coats has been with his reads,” Bennett said. “He’s been much more decisive with our run game. Recently, as coaches, we’ve been doing a much better job dispersing the ball, and that’s really taken some pressure off our top guys. “

Bennett said playing in a cold driving rain Saturday and following that up with practices this week in wet, biting cold weather should have his team prepared for any type of conditions that could arise as they begin to make a hopeful playoff push into the state playoffs.

“The good thing is we’re certainly acclimated to the climate,” Bennett said. “To quote a Led Zeppelin song, ‘We come from the land of ice and snow.’ We’re happy to be where we are at. The one thing we didn’t do when we played them the last time is we didn’t get off the bus. We were flat, we had a major breakdown in coverage that led to their big touchdown, and we were fortunate to get out of there with a win.

“This time, we’re coming in with fire and passion against a worthy opponent,” Bennett added. “It’s awesome. Our coaches are juiced, the kids are excited, and I’m confident we’ll be ready to play. It’s do or die time. It’s playoff football.”

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Tonight

Massena at Tupper Lake, 7 p.m.

As the only Class D squad in Section X, Tupper Lake automatically advances into the regional playoff round against the Section VII representative, which will be a matchup next weekend against either Ticonderoga or Moriah.

While those teams are battling it out tonight at AuSable Valley for their sectional game, the Lumberjacks will face Massena’s 5-2 Red Raiders football squad.

Tupper Lake has posted a 1-7 record during a season that has seen the squad attempt to overcome inexperience, and more recently, a rash of injuries, including the newest ones that kept senior two-way starters Ryan Becker and Jordan Young out of the lineup a week ago in the ‘Jacks 28-0 setback in Malone against Franklin Academy. Tupper Lake entered that game with a state-minimum roster of 16 players.

Head coach Dennis Klossner said he’s hoping to have some more bodies back for tonight’s game as the ‘Jacks prepare for the postseason.

The running of junior Mike Hyde has been a recent bright spot for the Lumberjacks. After posting back-to-back 100-plus yard rushing efforts during Tupper Lake’s 40-24 victory over Clinton and a 54-14 loss to Canton, Hyde was able to muster 59 yards on the ground a week ago in his team’s soggy showdown in Malone.

As the only Class A team in Section X, and with no large school teams in Section VII, Massena already has a date in a regional playoff matchup against Section II in two weeks.

The Red Raiders started off their schedule with five wins in a row, but are now looking to end a two-game slide in which they were outscored 93-22 against non-league opponents.

Massena does have a chance to claim a share of the Section X, Class A title tonight with a win over Tupper Lake. If they do prevail, they would finish tied with Gouverneur as the two unbeaten teams in the league.

Key players for Massena include senior receivers Michael Brown and Nate Bressard, and senior running back Josh Cameron, who has done the bulk of the work in the Red Raiders rushing attack. Junior Montana Pierce will start at quarterback for Massena.