Both teams will have difficult matchups at home. The Lumberjacks kick the action off tonight when they host St. Lawrence Central in a Section X matchup at Frank Tice Field starting at 7 p.m. The Red Storm then play Saturday in a Section VII game at Ken Wilson Field against Saranac Central with the opening kickoff slated for 1:30 p.m.

Tupper Lake was physically outmatched in its opener — a 54-7 setback at Malone that saw the Huskies running attack churn out 332 yards and five touchdowns.

The ‘Jacks will face another team that piled up some yards in week 1. Paced by running back Keith Felix, St. Lawrence rolled to a 43-22 victory over Canton. Felix, a senior, ran for 222 yards in a game that saw the Larries own leads of 24-0 and 30-8.

The Lumberjacks will have to contain Felix and also pressure quarterback Isaiah Lyon, a senior who tossed a pair of touchdown passes in St. Lawrence’s victory.

Saranac Lake’s defense, pictured a week ago against AuSable Valley, will have the task of facing a Saranac Central foe led by quarterback Luke Maye Saturday at Ken Wilson Field. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

A week ago, sophomore Skyler Pickering paced Tupper Lake on the ground, finishing with a team-high 62 yards on 19 carries.

Saranac Lake opened its season with a 38-30 loss to AuSable Valley, a Class C foe, and will take on another division rival in Saranac Central.

The Chiefs, who went winless in the regular season a year ago, made sure that won’t be the same scenario this fall as they toppled Plattsburgh 28-14 to start their Champlain Valley Athletic Conference schedule.

The key for the Red Storm will be shutting down, or at least containing Saranac’s talented, athletic quarterback Luke Maye. The junior gave Saranac Lake’s defense fits a year ago in two games — both narrow victories by the Red Storm — and that could be the case again on Saturday. In the Chiefs opener, Maye accounted for 289 yards, rushing for 100 and one touchdown, and completing 10-of-17 passing attempts for another 189 yards. Two of Maye’s strikes were long touchdown passes to Jacob Nolan that went for 63 and 66 yards. Nolan finished with five grabs for 139 yards.

Saranac Lake will look to shore up a defense that surrendered more than 300 yards on the ground against the Patriots. AuSable Valley’s Matt Pray launched to the top of the league rushing standings in that game with a whopping 259 yards on 25 carries.

An obvious bright spot for Saranac Lake was the effort of senior running back Jarrett Ashton, who piled up 232 yards rushing in week No. 1. Three of Jarrett’s rambles went for touchdowns, including a 61-yard run on the Red Storm’s first offensive play of the game. With the Chiefs keying on Ashton, Saranac Lake’s offense will need to get some more players involved. One weapon the Red Storm didn’t have in their opener is senior Ward Walton, who was on the sideline and is expected to bolster the team on both sides of the ball Saturday.