Junior quarterback Rhett Darrah picks up yards for Saranac Lake during action against Moriah last Friday at Linney Field. Darrah has thrown six touchdown passes in the Red Storm’s last two games. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

SARANAC LAKE — On Saturday, Saranac Lake’s football team will be playing one of its most important games in the past few seasons. Starting at 1:30 p.m. on Wilson Raymond Field, the Red Storm will clash with Beekmantown in a matchup where the winner will be in the driver’s seat toward a possible Champlain Valley Athletic Conference championship.

Both teams are tied at the top of the league standings with 4-1 records. They were handed their lone losses on the third weekend of the season, and have since won two straight.

Before Saranac Lake and Beekmantown square off, Tupper Lake plays on the road for the third week in a row. The Lumberjacks are still looking for their first win in eight-man football and will travel to face Altmar-Parish-Williamstown today for a matchup starting at 4 p.m. Tupper Lake is 0-3 and coming off a 62-14 loss to South Lewis in a game in which coach Dennis Klossner his team did not play well.

The ‘Jacks take on a Altmar-Parish-Williamstown team that owns a 2-1 record. The Rebels lost their first encounter of the season and then won two straight, including a 38-26 victory over winless Cooperstown a weekend ago.

Kodee Hill scored both Lumberjacks’ touchdowns against South Lewis, with his first a 53-yard scoring reception of a pass from freshman quarterback Jayden Farnsworth. Hill then returned a kickoff 80 yards for his second touchdown early in the third quarter.

Hill’s first touchdown came on the opening possession of the game, but then things headed quickly south for the Lumberjacks.

“A great start, we scored on our first drive,” Klossner said. “But then on our second possession, we had two offensive penalties, and then had an interception and things went downhill from there. We actually played really bad; nine penalties and miscue after miscue.”

A bright spot last week for Tupper Lake was the play of running backs Beckett Savage and Noah Varden. Savage, a sophomore, piled up 96 rushing yards and Varden, a junior, followed with 56 yards on the ground. Klossner expects Varden, especially, to be a key part of the offense against the Rebels.

After giving up more than 60 points in their last two games, Klossner thinks his team should be more evenly matched against APW.

“They are a comparable team,” Klossner said. “They run an unbalanced offense, they like to keep things and then throw in some plays that try to throw you off. We’ve been working on that this week in practice. We do have to minimize our mistakes and we can’t have them early. Hopefully we can score first and not go backwards, and if we can do that, we have a shot.”

Klossner said his team will be traveling on a chartered bus to the game, thanks to the generosity of the booster club.

“They do a lot for us and as coaches, as players, we can’t thank them enough,” Klossner said.

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Saturday

Beekmantown (4-1) at Saranac Lake (4-1), 1:30 p.m.

This fall marks the first time in a while that Saranac Lake is in the hunt for a regular-season title this late on the schedule. If the Red Storm can win their next two games, that will become a reality, but it’s one game at a time, and their opponent finds itself in the same position and will be hungry.

A gutty 29-22 win over Moriah on the road at Linney Field a week ago helped put Saranac Lake in such a position. In that game, Saranac Lake got the go-ahead touchdown with 9:01 left in the fourth quarter when quarterback Rhett Darrah threw a 41-yard scoring strike to Sam Donaldson. The Red Storm’s defense then came up big time, ending three Moriah drives deep in Saranac Lake’s end of the field as the clock ran down.

“We control our own destiny and we’re looking forward to putting our best foot forward and see what kinds team we have,” Red Storm head coach Eric Bennett said. “Winning at Moriah last week was good for us in that it showed our kids that your never out of it no matter whatever happens in a game. It’s always about the next play. It shows what resiliency and not quitting can do for you.”

Saturday’s game features the CVAC’s top two defenses. The Eagles blanked Plattsburgh a week ago and have given up a league low 54 points in five games played. Saranac Lake stands second in least points allowed with 77.

Beekmantown boasts two of the league’s top running backs in Kayden Myers and Connor McGinnis. Myers leads the team in rushing with 380 yard on 60 carries and McGinnis has toted the football 29 times for 321 yards.

Although quarterback Nate Finley has only 24 completions this season, seven of those throws have gone for touchdowns. Bennett credited the Eagles’ offensive style of play for their ability to catch teams by surprise with the pass.

“They’re a gritty run team with a lot of pulling, trapping, misdirection and play action,” Bennett said. “It’s very clear they are rooted in the wing T, and if you try to look at what the backs are doing you are going to get toasted.”

After struggling in Saranac Lake’s loss at AuSable, Darrah has put together two wonderful performances leading the offense. In his last two games, the junior has completed 17-of-24 pass attempts for 389 yards and six touchdowns. He also ran for 135 yards and one touchdown on eight carries against the Vikings.

Brayden Ryan has continued to be a factor for Saranac Lake on both sides of the ball, and especially as a receiver. In the past two weeks, the senior has six catches for 150 yards and three touchdowns.

Bennett said he wants to continue to get the ball in the hands of his receivers Ryan, David Warner and Jeff LaVair, among others.

“Those are our perimeter players, and they are the kids who can make plays,” Bennett said. “It’s been a few years since we’ve been in a regular season game like this that has so much meaning. If we can just do the little things right, take care of the ball, make the right decisions, good things are going to happen. It’s going to be quite a battle on Saturday.”