Storm look to stay hot on the gridiron following bye | News, Sports, Jobs

This Saturday, the Red Storm will be hosting the red-hot Beektmantown Eagles at 1:30 p.m. at the Wilson Raymond Field. Saranac Lake is currently the only unbeaten team in Section VII, with a 3-0 record, but Head Coach Eric Bennett doesn’t want to think about being the top team in the area.

“We’re not looking at what our record is,” he said. “We just want to go 1-0 against Beekmantown coming up this week.”

Saranac Lake’s impressive start to the season has been led by its physical play — something Bennett has said the team wanted to get back to after it posted a 1-8 record last year.

Red Storm running backs David Montroy, Owen Lawrence and Scottie Nicholas have led the charge offensively this season. The trio rushed for at least 125 total yards in three games this year and combined for five touchdowns.

Saranac Lake’s Alex Drinkwine, left, runs with the ball while Andrew Gay (71) blocks Tryon Haltigan (70) during a practice on Thursday.
(Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Quarterback Zack Goetz has continued to play well this season, leading the team in total touchdowns with five. Goetz has also yet to throw an interception this season.

Saranac Lake most recently routed the AuSable Valley Patriots 37-16 on Sept. 21. The team’s two wins before were a 20-18 defeat of the Moriah and an 18-14 win over Massena.

The Red Storm were slated to take on Oxbow High School from Vermont this past weekend; however, the game was taken off the schedule after Oxbow canceled its season because of low numbers, according to the Vermont Daily Chronicle.

With a week off, Saranac Lake has spent that time practicing. Bennett said there are pros and cons of having a bye.

“It gives you a chance to get healthy, and it gives you a chance to get in-depth on a team,” he said. “But also there is the ‘Is it going to take you a quarter to get caught up once the game actually starts?’ Two weeks is a long time to go between playing games. We’re just going to have to get out of the gate early and execute. I think if we can do that, it puts us in a good position to be successful.”

The Eagles (3-1) will come here fresh off a 31-6 victory over the Peru Nighthawks Saturday at the Apple Bowl in Peru. Beekmantown has won its last three match-ups by a combined score of 118-6 — predominantly through its running game.

“They’re obviously a very dynamic running team,” Bennett said. “They’ve got a lot of great athletes. They play some real solid D. We’re just trying to be as prepared as we can be and get our kids as familiar with what they’re doing as much as possible.”

The Eagles are led by running backs Shamus Bibeau and Parker Broughton, who have combined for more than 800 yards and 10 touchdowns. The team has also had strong play from quarterback Josh Sand and receiver Patrick Hagadorn.

“When you have (to go against) that many weapons and a well-coached team, you have your work cut out for you,” Bennett said. “We’re aware and we’re doing everything we can to try and stop them. It’s definitely going to be a challenge, but I think our kids are going to be ready and we’re looking forward to it.”

The Eagles have won seven of the last 10 match-ups against Saranac Lake, including the last two contests.