The Tupper Lake football team didn’t come up with a win on Sunday, but the Lumberjacks came close.

Playing 11-man football for the first time in more than three years, Tupper Lake fell 34-28 in a back-and-forth battle in Malone with Franklin Academy.

The ‘Jacks are playing a two-game spring season, and after competing in 8-man football in 2019 and 2018, they had many positives come out of their clash with the Huskies.

“It sure would have been nice to get the win, but overall, the kids played a hard, physical game,” Tupper Lake head coach Dennis Klossner said. “The game was good, the football was good. We scrimmaged Malone earlier last week, and I think we got a lot of the kinks out. Our kids were more physical and they were really excited to be in a tight game. We had the lead a few times. Turnovers and penalties were really costly.”

Senior Noah Vardin had a record-setting day carrying the football for Tupper Lake. He finished with a school record 321 rushing yards on 28 carries and scored four touchdowns, including runs of 68 and 51 yards.

Tupper Lake sophomore quarterback Jayden Farnsworth completed 8-of-11 passes for 80 yards. He had one interception.

Senior Jace Desmarais grabbed three passes for 43 yards and junior Grant Godin caught five passes for 37 yards.

Klossner credited cornerback Owen Gonya with a strong performance on defense, and said Jay Gagnon and Nolan Savage had standout efforts on the line on both sides of the ball.

“They opened up big holes on offense and defensively, they were opening holes for our linebackers,” Klossner said.

The Lumberjacks now turn their attention toward renewing a rivalry. On Friday, Tupper Lake will host Saranac Lake in the battle for the Mayor’s Cup. The contest at Frank Tice Field is slated to start at 6 p.m.