Playing the team’s final game at home, the Lumberjacks were defeated by the Sauquoit Valley Indians 44-32, pushing the team’s final record to 2-3.

The last time the Tupper Lake football team had played at home, the team was defeated by just four points in a back-and-forth match up against South Lewis on Sept. 22. On Friday, the game didn’t start out as great for the Lumberjacks.

With starting quarterback Jayden Farnsworth out of the game due to an injury, the Tupper Lake offense started the first quarter poorly. The Lumberjack offense turned the ball over three times in the first half, including an interception that was returned for a touchdown by the Indian’s Ethan Benn.

The defensive side was not much better for the Lumberjacks. The team allowed Sauquoit Valley to score touchdowns on back to back drives in the first quarter. The Indians scored on runs from Brandon Dunlop and Andrew Walker.

Tupper Lake’s Beckett Savage runs downfield during Friday’s game against Sauquoit Valley.(Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

The Lumberjack defense did find a sliver of hope with Sauquoit Valley failing on both of its two-point conversions.

Down 14-0 in the second quarter, the Tupper Lake offense finally found some life when senior Beckett Savage ran in for the first of three touchdowns he had in the game. Savage capped off the score by running in for the two-point conversion.

Any bit of momentum that the Lumberjacks had was short lived, when the Indians scored three touchdowns in a row, which included two passing touchdowns from Walker and the Pick 6.

Luckily for Tupper Lake, Sauquoit Valley again failed on two of three two-point conversion attempts to end the half at 32-8. The Indians converted just one two-point conversion during the game.

On the first drive of the second half, the Indians’ Walker ran in for his fourth touchdown of the night.

Tupper Lake’s Karter Kenniston looks downfield with Sauquoit Valley’s Brandon Dunlop attempting to tackle him during Friday’s game. (Enterprise photos — Parker O’Brien)

Not willing to give up, Savage scored on the ensuing drive. After Karter Kenniston completed a pass to senior Grant Godin for the two-point conversion, the score became 38-16.

“The kids adjusted. We adjusted. They stayed on the blocks longer. We handled the ball. We didn’t fumble. We didn’t turn it over. We controlled the ball and had it a little more,” Tupper Lake Head Coach Dennis Klossner said. “The kids just didn’t want to go out the way we came in. We wanted to come out on a higher note than the first half.”

Following the Lumberjack’s score, Sauquoit Valley scored once again when Dunlop ran in for his second touchdown of the night. Dunlop finished the game with a triumphant 163 rushing yards.

Playing his final game as a member of the Lumberjacks, Savage was handed the ball at his own 18-yard line. Not knowing it would be the last run of his high school career, he ran 81 yards for the touchdown.

The long distance score provided enough yards to earn him his 1,000th rushing yard of the season, a feat he accomplished in just six games. Savage finished the night with an astounding 215 rushing yards.

“Beckett Savage is a great kid. He is a hard runner. He has worked hard all season for it and to get it in six games, that’s pretty amazing,” Klossner said. “I’m just proud of him. He’s a good runner and he’s worked hard for us all season.”

Tupper Lake’s Hudson Baldwin followed up the touchdown by rushing in for the two-point conversion.

The Lumberjacks scored once more to end the game when Kenniston found Godin for a touchdown. Godin finished the game with six catches for 96 yards. Tupper Lake’s Nolan Savage ran in for the two-point conversion to finish the game.

Even with Savage’s dominant play in the backfield, it was not enough to overcome the deficit as the Lumberjacks fell. The Indians’ defensive play in the first half proved to be too much for Tupper Lake.

“Our defense has been tough all season,” Sauquoit Valley head coach Joe Inglis said. “We had some games where we had some miscues that shouldn’t have happened. But, all in all, we have played tough defense all season.”

The game marked the last for seniors Godin, Baldwin, Lowden Pratt, Beckett and Nolan Savage. The seniors were also the team captains.

“I’m happy with the team, overall. We played really good. We played as a group. We just had early mistakes. Turnovers hurt,” Klossner said. “Other than that, they played great. It’s a great group of kids. I really enjoyed working with them all season.”