Red Storm shock Moriah to stay unbeaten | News, Sports, Jobs

Facing off against the host Moriah Vikings, a perennial Section VII powerhouse, the Red Storm stunned their opponents and left with a 20-18 victory, following a game-sealing 2-point conversion stop by the Red Storm’s Scottie Nicholas. The junior deflected a pass with less than two minutes remaining in the game.

It was the first time Saranac Lake had defeated the Vikings since 2019. Moriah had outscored the Red Storm 136-17 in its last three outings, but was overmatched on offense and defense in this one.

Long-time Saranac Lake head coach Eric Bennett, whose team improved to 2-0, already besting its record from last season of 1-8, said this was one of the programs’ biggest victories in recent years.

“We felt like we had a great game plan going in on all three phases of the ball. The kids believed and that’s half the battle,” Bennett said. “We have an incredible group of coaches here right now that are beyond workers. The amount of time that they put in, whether they are JV staff, varsity staff or even modified, what they are willing to do and to contribute to our kids, this is truly a group effort and I couldn’t be more proud of our guys.”

Saranac Lake’s Alius Martelle, left and teammate Braydon Harvey (7) tackle Moriah’s Jacob Mascarenas during Saturday’s game at Linney Field.
(Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

While the game wasn’t perfect or even mistake-free for the Red Storm, the team proved to be much more physical than the Vikings and converted on first downs and scoring plays when they needed to.

“I don’t think you can get paid a higher compliment than a head coach of Moriah to tell your crew that you’ve got a physical team,” Bennett said. “That to me is the highest compliment. I’m so impressed with our kids, their physicality, their grittiness, their willingness to work, their conditioning, their composure, their desire to improve every day. They’ve got great chemistry, and it’s a total pleasure to coach them.”

Saranac Lake’s senior quarterback Zach Goetz led the way with two rushing touchdowns. Nicholas ran in for one and converted on two of his three extra point attempts.

The Red Storm used six different running backs to combine for 231 yards. Owen Lawrence paced the team with 55 yards, Nicholas had 53, David Montroy had 49 and Goetz had 45.

“It starts with our line,” Goetz said. “Without the big five up front, we wouldn’t have done anything today.”

Saranac Lake’s Connor Coventry returns a punt during Saturday’s game against Moriah. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Vikings quarterback Joe Pelkey finished the game 9-of-18 passing for 190 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Moriah had 72 yards on the ground with Isaac White leading the way with 65 yards on 17 carries. Pelkey also ran in one touchdown. Cooper Allen finished with four catches for 130 yards and two scores.

The Vikings scored the first touchdown of the game when Allen made a jump-ball catch over a Red Storm’s Owen Lawrence, a sophomore, and ran 67 yards to the house.

On Moriah’s next possession, Pelkey attempted a similar pass that Lawrence intercepted. Bennett credited Lawrence’s and the team’s resiliency following the Vikings opening drive.

“No one quits, no one gets down, and they’re not hanging their heads,” he said.

Late in the opening quarter, Moriah botched a punt that landed inside its 15-yard line, giving Saranac Lake prime field position. The Red Storm began that drive with a four-play drive into the second quarter, ending in a 1-yard quarterback sneak from Goetz for a 7-6 lead.

A few drives later, Nicholas set his team up, following a massive 41-yard rush, then scored two plays later on a 7-yard carry extending his team’s lead to 13-6 before halftime.

After the Vikings’ opening drive of the second quarter resulted in a turnover on downs inside the red zone, the team forced Saranac Lake to a three-and-out punt.

On its ensuing drive, Moriah scored following a two-yard run by Pelkey. The Vikings failed their 2-point attempt, which would’ve given them the lead, making the score 13-12.

Red Storm cushioned its lead with a lengthy 13-play drive that extend through both the third and fourth quarters with Goetz scrambling through the Moriah defense for a late score.

“To come down here to Linney Field — one of the hardest places to play — to win by me scoring across to go-ahead is huge and means a lot,” Goetz said.

With little time remaining, the Vikings marched all the way to the Red Storm’s 31-yard line. Pelkey made a short pass to Allen, who found the back of the end zone; however, the score was nullified because of a holding penalty. Backed up 10 more yards, Moriah tried the exact same play, which again found the end zone, only this time it counted.

On the 2-point conversion attempt, the Vikings attempted the play for a third time, which resulted in Nicholas swatting the ball away, essentially sealing the game.

Bennett had one word to describe his team on Saturday and that was “gritty.” So far, he’s proud of how his team has played this season.

“We’ve got a lot ball left, and we’ve got a lot of work left to do, but we like what we are doing,” he said.

The Red Storm will host the AuSable Valley Patriots at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Patriots are currently 0-2, with losses to Greenwich and Plattsburgh.

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Saranac Lake 20, Moriah 18

Red Storm 0 13 0 7 — 20

Vikings 6 0 6 6 — 18

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SCORING

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First quarter

M — Allen 67 pass from Pelkey (Run failed), 00:52

Second quarter

SL — Goetz 1 run (Nicholas kick), 00:21

SL — Nicholas 7 run (Kick failed), 9:48

Third quarter

M — Pelkey 2 run (Pass failed), 8:46

Fourth quarter

SL — Goetz 4 run (Nicholas kick), 2:51

M — Allen 41 pass from Pelkey (Pass failed), 10:14

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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

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RUSHING

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SL — Montroy 17-49; Nicholas 4-53, TD; Lawrence 14-55; Goetz 8-45, 2TD; Martelle 6-29; Coventry 1-0. Totals: 50-231, 3TDs.

M — White 17-65; Mascarenas 4-8; Pelkey 2-8, TD; Whitman 1-1; Green 1-(-4); Feeley 1-(-2). Totals: 26-76, TD.

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PASSING

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SL — Goetz 1-4-0-10.

M — Pelkey 9-18-1-190, 2TDs.

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RECEIVING

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SL — Martelle 1-10.

M — Allen 4-130, 2TDs; McGinness 2-14; White 2-39; Whitman 1-7. Totals: 9-190, 2TDs.

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INTERCEPTION

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SL — Lawrence.