With seniors Evan Willett and Markus Navarra leading the charge on offense, the Red Storm scored a touchdown in each quarter on the way to evening their record at 1-1.

Saranac Lake owned a 14-0 edge at halftime, and after the Hornets kicked off the third quarter with a touchdown march, the Red Storm responded with two unanswered scores to pull away. With the game out of reach and trailing 28-6, Plattsburgh put its final points on the board with a touchdown on the last play of the game.

Navarra had a memorable performance to pace the Red Storm. The 6-7 receiver hauled in three touchdown passes from Willett – including a 58-yard reception to open the scoring – and also tacked on 75 rushing yards on five carries, which all went for 10 yards or more. He was the contest’s top offensive player, piling up 153 total yards. He also finished a perfect 4-for-4 on extra-point kicks.

In addition to tossing three scoring strikes to Navarra, Willett ran for Saranac Lake’s other touchdown and was the leading ground gainer in the game with 104 yards on 13 attempts.

Saranac Lake’s Logan Daunais-Martelle carries the ball during Friday’s game in Plattsburgh. (Provided photo — Lou Reuter)

The Red Storm had a strong night mounting a ground attack, which netted 241 yards on 35 carries. For the most part, Saranac Lake’s defense also had a solid outing, limiting the Hornets to just 64 yards on the ground on 19 attempts. More than half of the Hornets’ output came on four passing plays in the second half that accounted for 128 of their 214 total yards of offense.

“We played hard against Massena, we played hard tonight,” Saranac Lake head coach Eric Bennett said. “We want to be relentless in everything we do, and we’re big on accountability. It’s been a focus of ours from the start. The kind of team we have right now – win, lose or draw- they are showing up on Monday hungry and ready to go.”

Both teams failed to score on the game’s opening possessions. Saranac Lake started on offense first at its own 35 and reached Plattsburgh’s 28-yard line before turning the ball over on downs. The Hornets then went three-and-out and punted to set up the Red Storm close to midfield, and a play later, the game was halted due to lightning in the area. Action resumed following a half-hour delay, and after getting knocked backward on the first play back from the break, Saranac Lake opened the scoring on a wild 58-yard touchdown reception by Navarra.

On the play, Navarra actually tried to break up what he described as an underthrown pass from Willett. But instead of one of the two Hornets defenders who were double-teaming Navarra coming up with an interception, the Red Storm receiver hauled in the deflected pass and sprinted all alone into the end zone to give the visitors a 6-0 edge with 2:09 left in the opening quarter.

“I just wanted to deny them the ball, so I hit the ball and it bounced off one of their shoulders,” Navarra said. “I saw it pop up, and it went right into my hands. There was nobody in front of me, and I had a clear path to the end zone.”

Saranac Lake then scored on its next possession when Willett connected with Navarra on a 10-yard touchdown toss with 4:35 left in the second quarter to complete a 51-yard, nine-play drive.

Trailing 14-0, Plattsburgh cut its deficit on the first possession of the second half with a one-yard touchdown run by Braeden Calkins that capped off an eight-play, 73-yard drive.

Saranac Lake, however, answered right back on its next possession, which started in great field position at the midfield stripe. Staying on the ground, the Red Storm took just four plays to score, with Willett striking paydirt on a 19-yard ramble through the middle of Plattsburgh’s defense. Navarra tacked another point on the conversion kick to up the Red Storm edge to 21-6 with 5:43 remaining in the third quarter.

After forcing the Hornets into another three-and-out on the next possession, Saranac Lake picked up its final touchdown on the opening play of the fourth quarter on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Willett to Navarra.

With the clock winding down, the Hornets got on the board one more time, mounting an 85-yard march. Three completions by junior quarterback Daniel Hartmann accounted for 86 yards on a drive that saw the Hornets bounce back from a penalty that nullified a big gain. The touchdown came as time expired on a 35-yard Hartmann pass to Dominic DeAngelo.

Hartmann completed 12 of 19 passing attempts for 154 yards. Navarra said he’s worked hard in the offseason to come back bigger and stronger than his junior season, and the effort certainly paid off on Friday.

“You don’t go into a game expecting to score three touchdowns,” he said. “You go in like it’s another day at the office. I give most of the credit to our line tonight. Those guys made everything happen. They played great.”

Saranac Lake next has a tough test in front of it as defending Class C champion Saranac Central brings its 2-0 record to face the Red Storm at Wilson-Raymond Field Saturday with the opening kickoff slated for 1:30 p.m.

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Saranac Lake 28, Plattsburgh 12

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Red Storm — 7 7 7 7 –28

Hornets — 0 0 6 6 — 12

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Scoring

First Quarter

SL — Navarra 58 pass from Willett (Navarra kick), 9:51

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Second Quarter

SL — Navarra 10 pass from Willett (Navarra kick), 7:25

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Third Quarter

PHS — Braden Calkins 1 run (Pass failed), 3:55

SL — Willett 19 run (Navarra kick), 6:17

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Fourth Quarter

SL — Navarra 14 pass from Willett (Navarra kick), :06

PHS — DeAngelo 35 pass from Hartmann

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Individual Statistics

Rushing

SL — Willett 13-104 TD, Daunais-Martelle 6-32, Navarra 5-75, Goetz 4-22, Sloan f1-2, Moffatt 4-2, Coventry 1-6, Thomsen 1-(-2). Totals: 35-241 TD.

PHS — Calkins 4-5 TD, DeAngelo 3-10, Hummel 1-8, Hartmann 2-(-8), LaDue 1-5, Walker 8-44. 19-64 TD.

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Passing

SL — Willett 6-9-0-99 3TDs

PHS — Hartmann 12-19-1-154 TD.

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Receiving

SL — Navarra 4-78 3TDs, Coventry 1-10, Nicholas 1-11.

PHS — Filosca 3-10, Calkins 1-(-4), Hummel 1-5, Brooks 1-4, LaDue 3-65, DeAngelo 3-74 TD.

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Interceptions

SL — Coventry.