Led by a dominating performance by senior quarterback Mitch Senecal, Plattsburgh came through with a 27-15 victory to send Saranac Lake reeling to its third loss in a row.

With the win, the Hornets finished their Champlain Valley Athletic Conference schedule with a 4-3 record, and more importantly, clinched the top seed and a first-round bye in the Section VII, Class B playoffs. Meanwhile, Saranac Lake wrapped up its slate with a 1-6 mark, and will now have travel to play AuSable Valley Friday in a Class C semifinal matchup as a result of the setback.

A win against the Hornets would have had Saranac Lake hosting that postseason tilt, but instead, a familiar scenario played out as the Red Storm saw another opponent take control and pull away in the second half. The game marked the fourth time Saranac Lake was unable to hold onto a lead this season, which again was in part due to a rash of mistakes and untimely penalties that took their toll throughout the afternoon.

Saranac Lake’s defense had no answer for Senecal. The Hornets’ burly signal caller ran for 159 yards and three touchdowns and also tossed a scoring pass to senior Jason Moore, who was the game’s top receiver with seven catches good for 82 yards. And once again, a tremendous effort by Saranac Lake senior running back Jarrett Ashton was all for naught. After sitting out the Red Storm’s last game — a 51-7 loss at Moriah — with a knee injury, Ashton returned to the lineup and amassed 217 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries against the Hornets.

Red Storm quarterback DJ Morgan picks up yardage while Ian Detulleo defends for the Hornets. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

The Red Storm took a 15-9 lead on the opening possession of the second half when quarterback DJ Morgan burst across the goal line on a 7-yard run, and freshman Rhett Darrah added two points on a conversion scamper. Saranac Lake’s defense then followed the lead of its offense, forcing Plattsburgh to go-three-and out and punt. But with a chance to ride some momentum, the Red Storm self destructed beginning when their two deep players on the return team collided, fumbled the punt and Nick Tkacz made the recovery for Plattsburgh. An additional 15 yards was tacked on due to a personal foul against Saranac Lake, and a play later, Senecal tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Moore in the corner of the end zone to forge a 15-15 deadlock.

The Hornets went on to score touchdowns on their next two possessions, which were set up by an interception and a blundered fake punt, to spoil homecoming day in Saranac Lake.

“It’s like groundhog day,” Red Storm head coach Eric Bennett lamented. “We put ourselves in position for a good half of football, we make a critical error, the field position flips and then we’re down. We had ample opportunities to win that game, we didn’t and it’s frustrating.”

Saranac Lake made three advances deep into Hornets territory in the opening half, but mistakes, including penalties, had the Red Storm coming up empty on the scoreboard. The first half ended with the Red Storm turning the ball over on downs at Plattsburgh’s 3-yard line.

After a scoreless opening quarter, Plattsburgh took a 3-0 lead on a 31-yard field goal by Senecal early in the second. Saranac Lake then went ahead on the ensuing possession, marching 69 yards on four straight running plays, with Ashton scoring on a 28-yard dash into the end zone. Matt Kratts followed with the successful conversion kick for a 7-3 Red Storm edge.

Red Storm running back Jarrett Ashton escapes as a Hornets defender tries to drag him down by the jersey in Saturday’s game. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

Plattsburgh answered back, driving 74 yards with Senecal capping off the advance with a 42-yard touchdown run to send his team into halftime with a 9-7 lead.

Ashton again came up big to start off Saranac Lake’s go-ahead drive when he returned the second-half kickoff from near his own goal line to Plattsburgh’s 46. Five plays later, the Red Storm was out in front on Morgan’s 7-yard scoring run. But as it turned out, that drive ended up being the lone bright spot the rest of the way for the hosts.

Senecal put Plattsburgh ahead for good when he banged into the end zone from the 1-yard line with 17 seconds remaining in the third quarter to make the score 21-15. He sealed the deal with a 4-yard touchdown run 1:15 into the final period, and the Hornets then went on to eat up most of the clock by playing ground control football against the deflated Red Storm.

“I was very pleased with how we ran the football, especially in the second half,” said Plattsburgh head coach Pat Keleher, who was hired four years ago to help revitalize a Hornets’ program that dropped varsity football. “We started to control the ball on the line of scrimmage and run the football. We may have run the football as well today as we have all year, and that made a difference because it kept it away from them.

“This is been a long time coming — four years to get to this point,” Keleher continued. “It’s been 20 years or whatever since the Hornets have really mattered. Some big things have happened for us this year. We beat Peru for the first time in 40 years, we’re a number one seed, and I don’t know when the last time that’s happened. We haven’t won a sectional title since ’81. We have a shot. We’re very proud and very happy about what’s going on at Plattsburgh.”

Saranac Lake’s Brandon White (30) and Ward Walton combine to tackle Plattsburgh quarterback Mitch Senecal early in Saturday’s game at Ken Wilson Field. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

Plattsburgh is next slated to travel for a crossover game against a Section X opponent, most like Ogdensburg, this weekend and will then take on the winner of the Peru-Beekmantown contest in the Section VII, Class B final.

Saranac Lake visits AuSable Valley Friday for a semifinal matchup between two 1-6 teams, with the winner facing top-seed Saranac Central for the Class C crown. Friday’s game is slated to start at 7:30 p.m.

“I feel for our kids, but we can’t keep making mistakes at critical times in the game,” Bennett said. “We do our best to put our kids in the best position to win. We’ve gone over our offensive and defensive schemes exhaustively, and we’re going to get there. We have a big week coming up. We’re going to put our heads forward and make sure our kids are prepared for the playoffs.”

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Plattsburgh 27, Saranac Lake 15

Hornets 0-9-12-6 — 27

Red Storm 0-7-8-0 — 15

Scoring

Second Quarter

P — Senecal 31 Field goal, 2:05.

SL — Ashton 28 run (Kratts kick), 3:48.

P — Senecal 42 run (Kick failed), 6:04.

Third Quarter

SL — Morgan 7 run (Darrah run), 3:06.

P — Moore 12 pass from Senecal (Kick failed), 4:54.

P — Senecal 1 run (Kick failed), 11:43

Fourth Quarter

P — Senecal 4 run (Pass failed), 1:15

Individual Statistics

RUSHING

P — Senecal 21-159 3TDs, Atwood 9-35, Detulleo 2-6, Stone 6-28, Bushey 1-2. Totals: 39-230 3TDs.

SL — Morgan 15-53 TD, Swanson 1-6, Ashton 18-217 TD, Lahart 1-0, Shipman 1-2. Totals: 36-278 2TDs.

PASSING

P — Senecal 10-21-0-120 TD.

SL — Morgan 7-14-1-70, Darrah 0-1-1-0. Totals: 7-15-2-70.

RECEIVING

P — Bieber 2-15, Moore 7-82 TD, Detulleo 1-23.

SL — Walton 3-49, Swanson 3-15, Shipman 1-6.

INTERCEPTIONS

P — Stone, Phillips.