Backed by three rushing touchdowns from senior quarterback Zack Goetz, and a solid effort on defense, the Red Storm defeated the Saranac Central Spartans, 21-6 on the road. It was Saranac Lake’s first victory over Spartans since 2021, snapping a four-game losing streak.

In a battle of Section VII’s only two Class C football teams, the two squads entered halftime tied at 6-6, before Saranac Lake took control in the second half with 15 unanswered points from its ground-and-pound run game. The Red Storm maintained possession of the football for most of half and essentially sealed the victory, while improving to 4-2 overall.

“We had a really good halftime, and we talked about a couple of adjustments,” Saranac Lake head coach Eric Bennett said. “We knew our kids were committed to showing up in the second half and finishing the game and that’s what they did.”

Goetz paced the Red Storm run game with, 97 rushing yards on eight carries to go along with his three scores. His total yardage marked the most by an individual Saranac Lake runner this season, and more than doubled his season total.

“We put a couple different formations out there to focus on getting our quarterback the ability to run the ball,” Bennett said. “He did just that today, but it’s not just him. Obviously it’s that whole line that’s making it happen and creating those holes.”

Red Storm senior captain and lineman Andrew Gay said strong play at the line is a big part of team’s game.

“Battling at the line of scrimmage, shove it down their throats and run them out,” he said.

Junior running back David Montroy also piled up 71 rushing yards on 17 attempts for Saranac Lake. Five runners combined for 233 yards on the ground for the team.

On the other side of the ball, the Red Storm defense allowed just 116 total yards — 26 on the ground and 90 through the air. Branigan Boulds led the Spartans with three carries for 24 yards, while senior quarterback Zach Lucia recorded 20 yards on 15 attempts.

Lucia also completed six of his 14 pass attempts for 90 yards, which also included a touchdown pass to Xavier Dubay.

The Red Storm’s efforts were a far cry from the past two weeks. The team, which began the season 3-0 for the first time since 2016, had previously dropped its last two contests by combined score of 76-26.

“We lost a couple of games that we wanted to win — and thought we could win,” Gay said. “As we finish the season (we’ve) got to work hard, finish strong. For us seniors, it’s all we’ve got left.”

When Saranac Lake lost to Peru last week, Bennett said a big reason for the lopsided loss was because his team didn’t get off the bus ready to play. It became a point of emphasis heading into Saturday’s game.

“We talked about bringing some energy and some emotion,” he said. “I thought we had a great warm up. I thought our kids were ready.”

Just three plays into the contest, Saranac Lake sophomore Owen Lawrence leapt over a Spartan defender for an interception. However, the Red Storm were unable to convert the turnover into points.

Following a three-and-out punt from Saranac Central, and a fumble from Saranac Lake on their own 38-yard line, the Sparans broke through when Lucia hooked up with Dubay on a 21-yard touchdown pass with 3 minutes, seconds left in the opening quarter.

Trailing 6-0, the Red Storm marched into Saranac Central territory, but two short runs and an incomplete pass left Saranac Lake with a fourth down situation, nearly halting the drive.

However, Goetz darted past the Spartan defense for a 40-yard score to tied the game at 6-6, following a missed extra point attempt.

On the ensuing drive, Saranac Central drove all the way to the Red Storm 1-yard line, before Saranac Lake’s defense came up with four straight goal-line stands to get the ball back and keep the lead.

“Our defense, I thought, played really well,” Bennett said. “A little bend don’t break, and they played tough when they needed too.

After coming away with a series of defensive stops to keep the Spartans off the board in the first half, the Red Storm marched 77 yards on nine plays for a touchdown on the first possession following intermission, with Goetz reaching the end zone on a 34-yard run. Saranac Lake’s other score in the quarter came on safety when an errant snap on the Spartans’ punt attempt sailed over the head of the punter and into the end zone.

Goetz added the final score of the game, with an 8-yard scamper in the fourth quarter, followed by a successful extra point attempt from Scottie Nicholas.

The Spartans were unable to put together a scoring drive through the last two quarters. They weren’t able to do much of anything as the team was limited to just 12 plays off offense in the second half, compared to Saranac Lake’s 28 plays.

“For them to actually come out in the second half and grind the ball like we did, I couldn’t be prouder of a group of kids,” Bennett said.

Up next, Saranac Lake is slated to host the Plattsburgh Hornets at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Wilson-Raymond Field. The Hornets are currently 4-3 overall, following a 55-16 loss to Beekmantown this past Friday.

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Saranac Lake 21, Saranac Central 6

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Red Storm 6 0 8 7 — 21

Spartans 6 0 0 0 — 6

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SCORING

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First quarter

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SC — Dubay 21 pass from Lucia (Kick blocked), 8:56

SL — Goetz 40 run (Run failed), 11:35

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Third quarter

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SL — Goetz 34 run (Kick blocked), 4:52

SL — Safety, 7:04

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Fourth quarter

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SL — Goetz 8 run (Nicholas kick), 00:03

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Individual statistics

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RUSHING

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SL — Montroy 17-71; Goetz 8-97, 3TDs; O. Lawrence 8-36; Nicholas 5-14; Martelle 4-15. Totals: 42-233, 3TDs.

SC — Lucia 15-20; Larche 8-7; Boulds 3-24; Team: 1-(-25). Totals: 26-26.

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PASSING

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SL — Goetz 2-3-0-15.

SC — Lucia 6-14-1-90, TD.

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RECEIVING

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SL — Nicholas 1-9; Martelle 1-6. Totals: 2-15.

SC — Dubay 3-30, TD; Duffield 1-33; Boulds 1-16; Powers 1-4. Totals: 6-90, TD.

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INTERCEPTIONS

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SL — O. Lawrence.