High-noon showdown: Saranac set for defending state champ Schuylerville

PLATTSBURGH | Saranac will face one of its steepest tests in program history Saturday when it meets unbeaten, defending state champion Schuylerville in a NYSPHSAA Class C football regional at noon at Plattsburgh High. The Spartans (8-3), No. 18 in the latest New York State Sportswriters Association rankings, enter the matchup after earning their first-ever state-playoff win, a 29-6 sub-regional victory over Gouverneur. Schuylerville (10-0), ranked No. 4 and riding a 22-game winning streak, brings one of the state's most dynamic rushing attacks. Schuylerville averages 324.4 rushing yards per game and 7.9 yards per carry, powered by a four-man rotation that includes juniors Max Montgomery (767 yards, 16 touchdowns) and Blake Cumm (841 yards, 13 touchdowns) and sophomore Ernie DaCosta (906 yards, 14 touchdowns). Senior quarterback Ben VanVegthen adds 301 rushing yards and eight scores while completing 56% of his throws for eight touchdowns. Saranac's defense, which held Gouverneur to 90 rushing yards and forced two interceptions last week, will face a Schuylerville front that has produced nine 100-yard games. Offensively, Saranac continues to lean on senior running back Zander Daniels, who broke the program's single-season rushing record last week and now sits at 1,548 yards and 16 touchdowns. The Spartans average 218.4 rushing yards per game behind an offensive line that controlled the sub-regional with 243 yards on the ground. The emergence of senior Branigan Boulds at quarterback has added balance. Filling in for injured starter Corbin Duffield, Boulds has gone 14-for-24 with 167 yards and three TDs over the past two weeks while rushing for 81 yards against Gouverneur. Saranac's passing game has produced 12 touchdowns this fall, led by Boulds (344 yards, three touchdowns), Chace Scovil (218 yards, three touchdowns) and Antoney Bingham (151 yards, three touchdowns). Saranac's defense enters with momentum after holding an opponent below 10 points for the sixth time this season. The Spartans' secondary has totaled 18 interceptions, including four from Bingham, three apiece from Caleb Champagne, Duffield, Boulds and Skyler Walker, and one from Daniels. Schuylerville took down Gouverneur 45-6 in this round last year on its way to defeating Buffalo area's Salamanca 26-20 for the state title. The Black Horses have outscored opponents 450-135 this season, topped 40 points eight times and held five opponents to single digits. Saturday marks Saranac's first state playoff game against a Section II opponent. The Spartans have won eight of their last nine and posted their most complete performance of the year in the sub-regional, scoring twice in the final 6:19 of the first half and responding to Gouverneur's third-quarter touchdown with two scoring drives. Saranac head coach Dylan Everleth said consistency remains the focus entering the regional. "From here on out, everybody's tough," Everleth said after last Saturday's win. "Everybody's here because they're the best team in their section. It just comes down to who can show up and play four consistent quarters of their best football." The winner faces either Section I's Bronxville or Section IX's Chester-Seward in the state semifinals next week at Middletown High School.

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High-noon showdown: Saranac set for defending state champ Schuylerville

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