Despite the rough outing, Lumberjacks head coach Dennis Klossner said he was proud of the effort his team showed. He added that the team has shown a lot of improvement since the beginning of the season.

“I am very proud of our kids for playing hard and keeping their heads up and playing physical football all the way to the last whistle,” Klossner said in a statement.

Sophomore running back Brayden Shannon led the team with 46 yards rushing on 16 carries. Shannon also had two catches for eight yards. On special teams, he had 56 yards off five kickoffs.

Cooper Cuttaia, a sophomore, ran the ball four times and picked up six yards, while junior Tyler Wood had one carry for eight yards.

Tupper Lake’s Brayden Shannon, right, runs down the field for a big kickoff return during Saturday’s road game against Spackenkill.(Provided photo)

Tupper Lake sophomore quarterback Wyatt Godin completed 4-of-14 passes for 58 yards. Junior Tyler LaPlante caught one pass for 38 yards and senior Jamin Whitmore hauled in one catch for 12 yards.

Klossner said he was impressed with the play of senior captain Owen Whitman. He added that Whitman had several jobs during the game including playing center on offense and when the team need him to, he moved to guard to open up holes on the outside.

On the defensive side, Whitman started the game by playing defensive tackle to plug up the middle.

“When Spackenkill ran outside we moved Owen to cornerback to shut down the outside,” Klossner said. “Then we moved him to middle linebacker and he picked up five tackles. To finish off, he returned the last kickoff return for a 15-yard gain.”

Tupper Lake senior Avery Amell led the team with seven tackles and one fumble recovery. Whitmore and Kyler McClain each had six tackles. Cuttaia, Wood, Bryce Hutt and Jayden Farnsworth had 2 tackles each. Shannon, Keegan Dattoma and Nathan Barkley each had on tackle.

With the loss, the Lumberjacks fall to 2-3 on the season. Tupper Lake will travel to Boiceville to take on the Onteora Eagles on Saturday. The contest will be held at Saratoga High School and is slated to start at 5 p.m. The Eagles are currently 0-4 on the season.