The Red Storm did turn things around in the fourth quarter, but the effort proved to be too little too late as the Hornets escaped with a 31-26 victory to finish the regular season with a 5-2 record.

Facing a 31-13 deficit and implementing the two-minute drill, Saranac Lake scored a pair of late touchdowns to keep the fans in the stands. The hosts then had one last possession with the game on the line in closing seconds but came up short, losing the ball on downs near midfield as the clock expired.

In the end, the Red Storm was unable to overcome a Plattsburgh offense that piled up 409 yards led by quarterback Daniel Hartmann, who ran for two touchdowns and threw for three more scores, all to different receivers.

“First of all, I’m proud of our kids,” Saranac Lake head coach Eric Bennett said. “They showed a lot of resilience and showed a lot of heart right there at the end. It’s too bad that we got ourselves in such a hole and had to be in that position.”

With the victory, the Hornets improved to 5-2, their best record since 2006. They’ll now be heading into a Section VII, Class B semifinal battle at Peru on Friday, with the winner of that game slated to take on top-seed Beekmantown, which finished unbeaten in Champlain Valley Athletic Conference action this season.

Meanwhile, Saranac Lake dropped to 4-3 and will next take on Saranac Central in the Class C title game on Nov. 9 in Beekmantown with the opening kickoff scheduled for noon. In their last start, the Red Storm topped the Spartans 21-6.

In addition to its late comeback attempt that saw junior running David Montroy and senior quarterback Zack Goetz rush for a touchdown each, Saranac Lake had a host of other opportunities to put points on the board against Plattsburgh. The biggest breaks that went in the Red Storm’s favor were three interceptions tossed by Hartmann, but Saranac Lake was unable to convert that trio of turnovers into scores.

Hartmann, the CVAC passing leader this season, completed 16 of 28 attempts for 275 yards. The senior put his team on the board first on a 21-yard touchdown run almost 10 minutes into the game. Cooper Holland connected on the conversion kick for a 7-0 Hornets lead.

Saranac Lake answered right back on its next possession as Goetz, who ran for a pair of scores, closed the gap to 7-6 on the opening play of the second quarter on a two-yard run to cap off a 40-yard march. The the Red Storm drive started in great field position after sophomore Owen Lawrence’s 50-yard kickoff return.

Plattsburgh took advantage of even better field position for the next score after its defense pinned Saranac Lake near its own goal line and forced a punt. A short kick gave the Hornets the ball at the Red Storm 21, and three plays later, Hartman connected with Dominic DeAngelo on a 17-yard scoring strike with 1:07 left in the half. The point-after attempt was blocked, sending the Hornets into intermission on top 13-7.

The Red Storm offense went thee-and-out to start the third quarter, and the Hornets responded by taking a 19-6 lead, driving 69 yards in just five plays, with Hartmann capping it off on an 11-yard run.

Saranac Lake again answered back, taking its next possession to the house on a 60-yard march. Lawrence capped off the all-run drive with a 14-yard rush up the middle to cut his team’s deficit to 19-13.

At that point, it looked like Saranac Lake was turning the tables as its defense came through when senior Sam Clark recorded his second interception of the day, setting his team up with the ball at Plattsburgh’s 44. But the Red Storm offense failed to capitalize with another three-and-out and a punt, and when Plattsburgh got the ball back, lightning struck as Hartmann completed a 78-yard touchdown bomb to Ryan Colburn. It then looked like the rout was on after the Hornets recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. Starting at the Red Storm 43, Plattsburgh’s offense strung together a seven-play march with Hartmann finding Bobby Kemokai open in the end zone on a four-yard touchdown pass with 39 seconds gone in the final quarter.

Trailing 31-13, Saranac Lake finally found some life. The Red Storm offense took off on a 67-yard march that was capped off by a four-yard touchdown run by Montroy with 7:14 remaining on the clock. The big play in the drive was a 40-yard Goetz-to-Scottie Nicholas completion that set up Montroy’s score on the next snap.

Saranac Lake got the ball back on downs at its own 36 with 4:25 to play and put the two-minute drill to work. In a span of 2:31, the Red Storm rattled off 10 plays and scored on a six-yard run by Goetz, who dove into right corner of the end zone to make it a 31-26 game and keep his team’s hopes alive with 1:53 remaining.

Goetz then came up big again, intercepting Hartmann for the third time to give Saranac Lake one last shot at a remarkable comeback. Starting at their own 32 with 1:21 and one timeout left, the Red Storm picked up one first down and crossed midfield. But that’s as far as they got, with the final play of the game being a fourth-down Goetz incompletion from Plattsburgh’s 48-yard line.

“That one was a heart-stopper right there. It was a little more excitement than I anticipated today,” said first-year Plattsburgh head coach Justin Hart. “Last year we were 1-8. “The turnaround is the kids, the coaching staff all buying in. Everybody is bringing their A game. Today, when we saw adversity, we stepped up and faced it.”

With his passing performance, Hartmann now has thrown for 1,783 yards this season, which ranks 10th in the history of CVAC football.

Goetz finished the game with 36 rushing yards on 15 carries, and completed 12-of-18 pass attempts for 121 yards and no interceptions. Nicholas, a junior, was the big target with nine receptions for 109 yards. Montroy was the game’s leading ground gainer, picking up 77 yards on a dozen carries.

“It was close,” Goetz said. “Lately, in the beginning of the games we have been slow. At halftime, we just didn’t want the season to end like that. We came back fired up and executed some stuff. That’s kind how our season has been, but come playoffs, we should be ready to go.

“We can always be more physical — just come off the ball and play our game,” Goetz continued. “Plattsburgh passed the ball well. They were finding guys open and when we ran a spread defense, they ran the ball. Good play calls by them.”

Saranac Lake’s football program played its first varsity game on the currently named Wilson-Raymond Field back in 1963. A new turf field with lighting is slated to be built around the corner inside the track at the high school in 2025, which could ultimately mean Saranac Lake’s 61-year storied run of football clashes on its grass field may have ended Saturday.

“I played on this field as a kid. I’ve coached on this field for a long time,” Bennett said. “A lot of people have a lot of investment, a lot of memories in this field, and I respect and appreciate that. It’s a special place.”

“We wanted to come out and end the great tradition we have here on a winning note,” Goetz added. “It’s unfortunate that we didn’t, but it’s great to be a part of history here. It’s an honor.”

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Plattsburgh 31, Saranac Lake 26

Hornets 7 6 12 6 — 31

Red Storm 0 6 7 13 — 26

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Scoring

First Quarter

PHS — Hartmann 21 run (Holland kick), 9:48

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Second Quarter

SL — Goetz 2 run (Kick missed), 00:06

PHS — DeAngelo 17 pass from Hartmann (Kick blocked), 10:57

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Third Quarter

PHS — Hartmann 11 run (Pass failed), 3:54

SL — Lawrence 14 run (Nicholas kick), 6:14

PHS — Ryan Colburn 78 pass from Hartmann (Pass failed), 9:37

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Fourth Quarter

PHS — Kemokai 4 pass from Hartmann (Kick missed), :39

SL — Montroy 4 run (Nicholas kick), 5:46

SL — Goetz 6 run (Run failed), 1:53

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Individual statistics

Rushing

PHS — DeJesus 1-4; Anderson 11-68; Hartmann 5-52, 2TD; DeAngelo 2-8; Calkins 2-3; Team 1-(-1). Totals: 22-134, 2TDs.

SL — Montroy 12-77, TD; Ragsdale 1-2; Nicholas 8-29; Team 1-2; Martelle 5-29; O. Lawrence 7-36, TD; Goetz 15-36, 2TDs. Totals: 49-211, 4TDs.

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Passing

PHS — Hartmann 16-28-3-275, 3TDs.

SL — Goetz 12-18-0-122; Team 0-1-0-0. Totals: 12-19-0-122.

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Receiving

PHS — Wineglass 1-22; DeAngelo 6-90, TD; Colburn 2-100, TD; Brooks 1-21; Calkins 3-14; Kemokai 2-11, TD; Anderson 1-17. Totals: 16-275, 3TDs.

SL — Nicholas 9-107; O. Lawrence 1-8; Martelle 2-7. Totals: 12-122.

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Interceptions

SL — Clark 2; Goetz.