Two safeties, kickoff return power Saranac Lake past PHS

PLATTSBURGH | Defense and special teams in the third quarter carried Saranac Lake to a 25-14 win over Plattsburgh High in CVAC football on Saturday, Oct. 4. Following back-to-back safeties, the Red Storm extended their lead as Scottie Nicholas took the ensuing kickoff 65 yards to the end zone, and Owen Lawrence converted the extra point. "I saw no defenders — just everyone blocking for me," Nicholas said. "Had a free lane. That's the same thing as the last kickoff return I took (against AuSable Valley). Just great scheme by the coaches and all the kids picking up the blocks." Earlier in the quarter, Saranac Lake recorded two safeties — one resulting from intentional grounding and the other from a ball out of the end zone — giving the Red Storm an 18-14 advantage. "It's an overused word, but it's a theme of ours this year, and it's grit," Saranac Lake head coach Eric Bennett said. "Our kids are gritty. They persevered. They don't get too high, they don't get too low. Steady Eddy. "They made defensive and special teams plays when they needed to. The pressure they brought down here in the low red zone was awesome and certainly a game-changer." Plattsburgh High overcame a 14-0 deficit and tied the game in the second quarter on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Colden Johnson to Ryan Colburn, with the extra point by Diego Rios. Saranac Lake had built an early lead in the first quarter on runs by Evan Harvey and David Montroy. Harvey scored from 18 yards out, and Montroy added a 4-yard touchdown run, with Lawrence converting both extra points. Plattsburgh High got on the board late in the first quarter when Josiah Wineglass recovered an errant Saranac Lake snap in the end zone for a touchdown, narrowing the gap to 14-7. Saranac Lake finished with 36 rushes for 28 yards, led by Montroy's 19 carries for 47 yards and a touchdown and Harvey's 8 carries for 20 yards and a score. Harvey completed 12 of 22 passes for 82 yards. Johnson threw 15 completions on 31 attempts for 197 yards and one touchdown. Colburn caught 12 passes for 137 yards, including the Hornets' only receiving touchdown. Defensively, Saranac Lake recorded one interception by Austin Webb-Brown, while Plattsburgh High had picks from Colburn and Johnson. With the win, Saranac Lake improved to 4-1 overall and 4-0 in the CVAC. The Red Storm will host unbeaten Peru in a highly-anticipated matchup on Friday, Oct. 10. Saranac Lake closes its regular season with Peru (5-0, 4-0 CVAC), Saranac (3-2, 3-1 CVAC) and Beekmantown (4-1, 3-1 CVAC). "We're a pretty young team in some critical positions, and so I think that the schedule has benefited us," Bennett said. "Now it's time to play like a mid-season team and put it together. "We're looking forward to hosting Peru. They're well-coached, they've got some nice athletes, and it should be a helluva game." — Saranac Lake 25, Plattsburgh High 14 Saranac Lake 14 0 11 0 — 25 Plattsburgh High 7 7 0 0 — 14 First quarter S- E. Harvey 18 run (O. Lawrence kick), 9:11. S- Montroy 4 run (O. Lawrence kick), 4:55. P- Wineglass 0 fumble recovery (Rios kick), 0:44. Second quarter P- Colburn 15 pass from Johnson (Rios kick), 6:56. Third quarter S- Safety, intentional grounding by Johnson, 5:38. S- Safety, ball out of end zone, 0:38. S- S. Nicholas 65 kick return (O. Lawrence kick), 0:27. Individual statistics Rushing S- S. Nicholas 1-1; Montroy 19-47, TD; E. Harvey 8-20, TD; Team 2-(-24); Webb-Brown 2-0; Martelle 2-(-23); O. Lawrence 2-7. Totals: 36-28, 2TD. P- Wineglass 2-4; Anderson 3-22; DeJesus 2-5; Johnson 9-(-7); Team 2-(-8); Custode 1-(-9). Totals: 19-7. Passing S- E. Harvey 12-22-2-82. P- Johnson 15-31-1-197, TD; Mitchell 0-1-0-0; Custode 1-2-0-6. Totals: 16-34-1-203, TD. Receiving S- O. Lawrence 6-31; B. Harvey 4-48; Martelle 1-3; S. Nicholas 1-0. P- Colburn 12-137, TD; Holland 3-25; Augustin 0-35; Boire 1-6. Interceptions S- Webb-Brown. P- Colburn; Johnson.

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Two safeties, kickoff return power Saranac Lake past PHS

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