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’Jacks run past Marauders for second straight win

Tupper Lake senior Kodee Hill brings in a catch for a touchdown during the first quarter of Friday’s game against Sherburne-Earlville. (Enterprise photo — Justin A. Levine)

TUPPER LAKE — The Tupper Lake football team jumped out to an early lead at home on Friday night against Sherburne-Earlville and never looked back, claiming the Lumberjacks’ second win of the season 30-14.

After kicking off, the Lumberjacks forced and recovered a fumble at the 50-yard line. Senior Skyler Pickering gave Tupper Lake even better field position after a 25-yard run, and quarterback Jayden Farnsworth put the home team on the board midway through the first quarter with a pass to the right side that was caught in the end zone by Kodee Hill to put the ‘Jacks up 6-0. Tupper Lake attempted the two-point conversion, but was denied.

Just over a minute into the second quarter, Pickering tallied the first of his three touchdowns to give the Lumberjacks a 14-0 lead after a successful two-point conversion. With 5 minutes left in the first half, Pickering lost a fumble near the middle of the field, but Tupper Lake’s defense held strong and the home team took a 14-0 lead into the intermission.

Coming out after the half, the Lumberjacks picked up where they left off as Pickering found the end zone again with 8 minutes left in the third quarter to put the home team up 22-0 after another good two-point conversion. Pickering then put another six points on the scoreboard with a 50-yard touchdown run with 5:30 left in the third. Farnsworth then found Grant Godin in the right side of the end zone with a short pass for the two-point conversion, giving Tupper Lake a 30-0 lead.

Sherburne-Earlville began to bounce back, scoring a touchdown just 10 seconds later to make the score 30-6 going into the fourth quarter.

Tupper Lake's Skyler Pickering waltzes into the end zone during the first half of Friday's home win over Shelburne-Earlville Central. (Enterprise photo — Justin A. Levine)

With 2 minutes left in the game, the Marauders’ John Bonanno made it into the end zone for the visitors’ second and last score. With the successful two-point conversion and a final goal line stand by the Lumberjacks, Tupper Lake walked away with the 30-14 win to improve to 2-3 on the season.

Pickering said after the game that he hopes the team gets one more win, which would give the team one more win on the season than last year.

“It was great; I enjoyed it,” he said. “I had a lot of fun. The crowd was good, everyone was cheering. Last year we only had two wins and we’ve got one more game coming up. I’m hoping to get a third win and just improve from there.

“We had a rough start with those three losses, but we really moved up and turned it around by working hard in practice. It’s showing on the field.”

Tupper Lake coach Dennis Klossner said his team — which has just five seniors — played well and showed that the younger players are getting more comfortable in their roles.

Tupper Lake’s Skyler Pickering runs through an open field in the third quarter of Friday’s home win over Sherburne-Earlville. (Enterprise photo — Justin A. Levine)

“I’m real happy with the way we played,” Klossner said. “We played real solid all the way through the game. We made a few mistakes here and there, but nothing major, nothing we couldn’t bounce back from. But I was real happy with the play all the way through the game.

“It was great seeing the seniors take a leadership role. Skyler Pickering ran well, Kodee Hill did a great job blocking. We only have five seniors, so we are a very young team. Our young kids did a great job. I’m just proud of all the kids.”

Marauders’ coach Edward Homquist said his team could have played better, but credited the ‘Jacks for the win.

“I don’t think we played quite to our potential,” he said. “It was a long road trip — no excuse, we should have played better. We’ve got some injuries, so we’ve got to figure that out this week.

“But they’re a good team. They played hard and they deserve the win. Good for them, and we’ll regroup.”

Tupper Lake’s Beckett Savage runs from Marauders’ junior John Bonanno during the fourth quarter of a Lumberjacks’ home win on Friday night. (Enterprise photo — Justin A. Levine)

Sherburne-Earlville fell to 1-4 on the season with the loss.

The Lumberjacks were slated to close the season this coming Saturday against Cooperstown, but Klossner said Cooperstown forfeited its season so Tupper Lake will likely end its season with a home scrimmage against Pulaski on Saturday, Nov. 2.

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