The Spartans rolled out to a first-quarter lead before scoring four touchdowns in the fourth, en route to a 40-0 victory over Saranac Lake at the new Wilson Raymond Field.

Saranac Central used a solid rushing attack that churned out 389 yards and six touchdowns, while the Spartans’ defense limited the Red Storm to 115 total yards, including just 30 yards on the ground, while forcing five turnovers.

Running back Zander Daniels also recorded a game-high 173 rushing yards for Saranac Central on 17 carries, while reaching the endzone twice as the Spartans improved to 5-2 overall.

Both squads headed into this game with 4-1 records in Champlain Valley Athletic Conference play, and having defeated both of their Class C foes — AuSable Valley and Plattsburgh. The top seed remaining after the sectional semifinal round will host the championship game.

Saranac Lake’s Austin Webb-Brown hauls in a 32-yard pass during Saturday’s game against Saranac Central. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

But for the Red Storm, the much-anticipated matchup got off to a rough start, even before the game began. Junior Owen Lawrence, who has accounted for around 27% of the team’s scores this season, suffered a foot injury in warm-ups and was essentially ruled out. Saranac Lake’s head coach, Eric Bennett, said his injury threw his team a bit sideways.

“We just didn’t seem to have any fire coming out for the start of the game,” he said. “We got in a hole early, turned the ball over too much and lost to a physical team that took it to us.”

On the opening drive, the Spartans used just two plays to reach paydirt, with quarterback Corbin Duffield scoring on a 59-yard run. After forcing the Red Storm into a three-and-out punt, Saranac Central found the endzone again, this time on a 6-yard carry from Daniels. Ethan Pflanz converted on four extra point kicks.

While Lawrence’s absence left a hole in all three phases of the ball, Bennett said they always prepare their backups, and it’s not an excuse for the early woes.

“We should have our kids better prepared,” he said. “But it all sort of came together in the worst of ways for us.”

Saranac Lake’s Braydon Harvey looks to shed off a tackle during Saturday’s game against Saranac Central. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Facing a 13-0 deficit, Saranac Lake’s defense stepped up and halted two Spartans red zone trips by forcing a turnover on downs. However, the Red Storm offense struggled with turnovers and was only able to reach the Spartans’ territory twice through three quarters.

After scoreless second and third quarters, Saranac Central grabbed a 19-0 edge on a 4-yard touchdown run by Duffield early in the final period. The Spartans then took advantage of great field position, following an interception near midfield, before Daniels reached the end zone from 42 yards out.

While trailing 26-0, the Red Storm had its longest drive as freshman quarterback Mackaid Nicholas led a 46-yard march. The drive kicked off with an unsportsmanlike penalty from Saranac Central, before Nicholas completed his first career varsity pass to his older brother, Scottie, for 13 yards. Mackaid then rushed for 12 yards to give his team possession near the red zone. However, the drive stalled after a few plays, resulting in a turnover on downs.

With the game essentially out of reach, the Spartans scored two more touchdowns in the quarter, first on a 66-yard run from Sam Larche, before Pflanz reached the endzone on a 35-yard run.

Duffield completed four of 13 passes for 26 yards, and while he found more success on the ground, rushing for 60 yards on 10 carries, he nearly scored a touchdown through the air with around two minutes left in the game, when he took a deep pass was dropped near the goal line. Duffield also intercepted the ball twice on defense.

Senior running back David Montroy led Saranac Lake with 25 rushing yards on 10 attempts. Starting quarterback Evan Harvey, a sophomore, completed five of his 12 passes for 72 yards. His longest throw was a 32-yard deep shot to Austin Webb-Brown in the third quarter.

While it was a disappointing loss, Bennett said his team is a group of “heady kids” and has high hopes moving forward.

“They know what we’re trying to do, and when they feel like something’s not working, they’ve got great suggestions,” Bennett said. “We’re just going to keep continuing and listening to them and get prepared for Beekmantown and hopefully bring it to them.”

The Red Storm, which dropped to 4-3 overall, will wrap up the regular season against the Beekmantown Eagles at 7 p.m. on Friday. The Eagles defeated Saranac Central earlier this season, but have since lost three of their last four games — against Peru, Moriah and Plattsburgh.

“The scores are all kind of crazy this year in the league,” Bennett said. “We told our kids to ‘lick your wounds for 24 hours and come back and get ready to work on Monday.’ I think that hopefully we can we can do that.”

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Saranac Central 40, Saranac Lake 0

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Spartans 13 0 0 27 — 40

Red Storm 0 0 0 0 — 0

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First quarter

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SC — Duffield 59 run (Pflanz kick), 11:12.

SC — Daniels 6 run (kick blocked), 6:27.

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Fourth quarter

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SC — Duffield 4 run (kick missed), 11:12.

SC — Daniels 42 run (Pflanz kick), 10:43.

SC — Larche 66 run (Pflanz kick), 5:28.

SC — Pflanz 35 run (Pflanz kick), 2:04.

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Individual statistics

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Rushing

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SC — Daniels 17-173, 2TD; Duffield 10-60, 2TD; Walker 5-42; Larche 1-66, TD; McDevitt 1-5; Pflanz 2-43, TD. Totals: 36-389, 6TD.

SL — Montroy 10-35; E. Harvey 6-(-15); S. Nicholas 4-(-5); Team 1-(-3); M. Nicholas 2-12; Hamelin 2-17; Webb-Brown 1-(-3); Willet 1-(-4); Kilbourne-Hill 1-(-4). Totals: 28-30.

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Passing

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SC — Duffield 4-13-0-26.

SL — E. Harvey 5-12-4-72; Martelle 0-1-0-0; M. Nicholas 1-5-0-13. Totals: 6-18-4-85.

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Receiving

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SC — Boulds 2-22; Bingham 1-2; Scovil 1-2.

SL — S. Nicholas 2-17; Martelle 1-13; B. Harvey 2-23; Webb-Brown 1-32.

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Interceptions

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SC — Duffield 2; Walker; Champagne.