Lumberjacks undefeated with 46-0 win over Vikings
TUPPER LAKE — The Tupper Lake Lumberjacks football team improved to a 3-0 record with a 46-0 victory Friday against the Thousand Islands Vikings in Clayton.
“The kids came out hard. They played really well,” Head Coach Dennis Klossner said on Sunday. “Everything was clicking for us.”
Tupper tallied 24 points in the first quarter with senior quarterback Wyatt Godin throwing an 18-yarder to junior Cohen Gerstenberger for their first touchdown. Senior Luke Robillard’s 2-point conversion run was good, and he ran another 2-point conversion after senior Brayden Shannon’s 73-yard run for the second touchdown.
“We just did an unbalanced line, moved everyone, shifted them to the short side, and we pitched it out, or as we call it, we ‘jetted’ the ball out,” Klossner said, describing the play that led to the 73-yard run. “Brayden Shannon’s got great speed, and we got it to him on the outside. We had a couple of key blocks, and he just took it from there and ran.”
Then Godin ran a 20-yarder for a touchdown before completing the 2-point conversion.
“Wyatt, he read the defense real well,” Klossner said, describing the play that led to the 20-yard touchdown. “Luke was running hard, and they were just cheatin’ in, cheatin’ in, so we called the bootleg. We fake it to Luke, and Wyatt just puts it on the side or sneaks off to the back side. We call it the naked bootleg because everybody throws to the right, and he goes to the left by himself and just took off running.”
In the second quarter, Godin ran a 1-yard touchdown, which was capped off by Shannon’s 2-point conversion.
In the third quarter, Godin ran a 44-yard touchdown before Robillard’s 2-point conversion.
“That was the same thing, just another bootleg,” Klossner said.
The Vikings were keying on Robillard and Shannon, which gave the Lumberjacks an opportunity to use Godin to rush for more touchdowns.
“It’s nice because they were both in the backfield at the same time, so all eyes are on those two guys, and it gives Wyatt the wide open run,” Klossner said.
With the score 40-0, Klossner counted on his second group for another 6 points in the fourth quarter.
“When the first group was out there, we got a nice lead. We were moving the ball on the ground. We didn’t feel the need to put the ball up. We’re not a team that likes to run it up,” he said. “We only passed when we needed to, just first downs. But that was early, and we scored. When the second group went in, we still want them to get some playing time. That’s when (junior) Brock Fleishman went in and threw a touchdown pass to our backup tight end (sophomore) Garrett Pelkey.”
The 2-point conversion attempt on the Lumberjacks’ sixth touchdown was unsuccessful.
Defensively, the team was led by Robillard, who had 12 tackles and two blocked passes. The Vikings were keen on Robillard throughout the game, as he’s been the Lumberjacks’ primary runner for the last two years. Offensively, Robillard rushed 73 yards with 16 carries and caught one pass for 2 yards.
“On both sides of the ball, I like to complement our defensive tackles because they take on the linemen to open up those holes, and Luke just finds those openings and squeezes right in,” Klossner said.
The coach calls Robillard the “workhorse of the team” on both sides of the ball. He led the Lumberjacks Friday on defense and tackles.
“Defensively, he’s our middle linebacker with (senior) Kyler McClain on the side of him, so they do complement each other,” he said. “But Luke is always first to the tackle, and he is very powerful. He was putting some hits on kids that were pushing them back and making them get up slow. He’s got an eye for the ball.”
McClain had seven tackles, with senior Karter Kenniston tallying six with one blocked pass and one pass defended. Shannon had five tackles and one interception, junior Liam McClain and Pelkey had three tackles each, while junior Cohen Gerstenberger and seniors Cooper Cuttaia, CJ Levey and Sean Bujold had two tackles each.
Offensively, Godin was three for three, passing 54 yards with one touchdown pass, and Fleishman was one for one, passing 12 yards with one touchdown pass.
Rushing, Shannon had six carries for 114 yards, Godin had four carries for 66 yards, Kyler McClain had six carries for 63 yards and Bujold had four carries for 33 yards.
Receiving, Shannon had one catch for 25 yards, Gerstenberger had one catch for 18 yards and Pelkey had one catch for 12 yards.
“This was a great team effort, and I am very proud of all the players. They have been working hard all season,” Klossner said. “Also a big shout out to the offensive and defensive linemen for creating all the opportunities for the backs and ends on offense and the linebackers on defense.”
Up next, the Lumberjacks travel to Madison County in Central New York Friday for a 7 p.m. match-up against the Morrisville-Eaton Central Mavericks, who fell to 2-1 on the season Friday with a 46-6 loss against the undefeated Frankfort-Schuyler Maroon Knights.
“They have a pretty good team,” Klossner said of the Mavericks.“They are fast, a decent size. They’re a quick team.”
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Tupper Lake 46, Thousand Islands 0
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‘Jacks 24 8 8 6 — 46
Vikings 0 0 0 0 — 0
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SCORING
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First Quarter
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TL — 18-yard pass from Godin to Cohen Gerstenberger; Robillard 2-point conversion run
TL — 73-yard run by Shannon; Robillard 2-point conversion run
TL — 20-yard run by Godin; 2-point conversion run by Godin
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Second Quarter
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TL — Godin 1-yard run; Shannon 2-point conversion
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Third Quarter
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TL — Godin 44-yard run; Robillard 2-point conversion
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Fourth Quarter
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TL — 12-yard pass from Fleishman to Pelkey; 2-point conversion no good
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Individual Statistics
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RUSHING
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TL — Shannon, 6 carries, 114 yards; Robillard, 16 Carries, 73 yards; Godin, 4 carries, 66 yards, K. McClain, 6 carries, 63 yards; Bujold, 4 carries, 33 yards.
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PASSING
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TL — Godin, 3/3, 54 yards, 1 TD pass; Fleishman, 1/1, 12 yards, 1 TD pass
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RECEIVING
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TL — Shannon, 1 catch, 25 yards; Gerstenberger, 1 catch, 18 yards; Pelkey, 1 catch, 12 yards; Robillard, 1 catch, 2 yards
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DEFENSE
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TL — Robillard, 12 tackles, 2 blocked passes; K. McClain, 7 tackles; Kenniston, 6 tackles, 1 blocked pass, 1 pass defended; Shannon, 5 tackles, 1 interception; L. McClain, 3 tackles; Pelkey, 3 tackles; Bujold, 2 tackles; Cuttaia, 2 tackles; Gerstenberger, 2 tackles; Levey, 2 tackles