HOT MIDSEASON
When the NYSPHSAA put the extreme heat rules into place, I don’t think it ever had late September in mind.
Yet, that’s where we were at the beginning of this week, with practices and games canceled because of extremely high “real feel” temperatures that soared near triple digits. Some games went on, but had water breaks midway through each half in order to ensure student-athletes were properly hydrated throughout the contests.
Photo by Keith Lobdell
Saranac Lake’s Sean Lincoln engages with AuSable Valley’s Ross Douglas during their matchup earlier this season. The two teams may meet again in the Class C semifinals, depending on the outcome of Saturdays Saranac-AVCS matchup.
SEEDING GAME
While Saranac Lake (1-3) prepares to host Beekmantown (1-3) Saturday, they will be waiting to head word from Saranac, where the Chiefs (2-2) will host AuSable Valley (1-3) to determine the top seed in the Class C playoffs. Having lost to both teams, the Red Storm will be the third seed, traveling to the loser of the Chiefs/Patriots game, while the winner will receive a first round crossover game.
All three schools come off losses, as the Red Storm fell behind 21-0 in the first in a 35-13 loss against Ticonderoga (4-0) where Ryan Meyer had 115 yards receiving and a touchdown with DJ Morgan throwing for 187 yards. The Red Storm were hushed on the ground, only managing 24 yards, 21 by Jarrett Ashton.
For the Patriots, it was a 34-8 defeat at the hands of Peru (1-3). Chance Lapier started rounding into form as a running back, rushing the ball six times for 123 yards and a touchdown. The rest of the team accounted for 50 yards of total offense.
RUNNING SWEEP
The Saranac Lake boys and girls cross country teams continue to enjoy strong seasons, as the boys team is ranked top 10 in the state. At the Salmon River Invitational, Lauchlan Cheney-Seymour led the Red Storm to a win where the first eight runners all wore the SL logo. Tyler Martin followed in second, with Micha McCulley, James Catania, Anderson Gray, Peter Fogarty, Adam Hesseltine and Jacob Alberga.
Maddie Grimmone and Evelyn Eller placed third and fourth for the girls team, who also won the invitational.
In Lake Placid scored a pair of wins in both races against Beekmantown and AuSable Valley, while the EKMW team scored wins against the Beekmantown and AuSable boys teams while the girls were swept by the same teams. Scotty Schulz, Jess Izzo and Kai Frantz swept the podium for the Bombers, while Logan VanBuren finished fourth, Kaiden Sears sixth, Denali Garnica eighth and Isaac Defelice 10th for EKMW. Zach Lawrence, Matt Russom and Spencer Daby finished 11th, 12th and 13th for the Patriots.
In the girls race, the Lady Patriot’s Lily Pothast scored the individual win, while Marli Damp, Annie Rose-McCandish and Sara Rose-McCandish took the next three spots in the running order. EKMW’s LeAnna Costin followed in fifth, with AVCS runners Sylvia Tardiff, Haley Christensen and Olivia Hetfield following.
Photo by Jill Lobdell
Annette Stephens looks to track down the ball for Elizabethtown-Lewis/Westport against Ticonderoga’s Meg McDonald Sept. 22. The Lady Griffins scored a 2-0 win over Moriah and a 5-0 win over the Lady Sentinels to end the first half of the season. More photos from these games can be found online at mycapture.suncommunitynews.com.
SOCCER STANDINGS
In a big week for the Keene boy’s soccer team, the Beavers scored a 6-0 win over Crown Point and a 10-2 win over Schroon Lake as they finished the first half of the Division III season undefeated, The Beavers then suffered their first loss of the season, 4-0, on George Brendler Field in Chazy, in what could be a preview of the Class D championship game. Willsboro could also be in the mix, having tied Keene in the second game of the season and defeating every other non-division Class D team they have played.
For the Keene girls, Alyssa Summo scored a pair of goals against Crown Point as the two teams played 100 minutes in a 2-2 tie, pulling even with the top team in Division III, However, a 3-1 loss to Schroon Lake dropped the team back two points behind the Panthers as the second half of the divisional season continues.
The EL/W Lady Griffins start the second half on a two-game winning streak, having defeated Moriah 2-0 and Ticonderoga 5-0 to end last week. Meanwhile, the Griffin boys are still looking for their first divisional win, fighting back in the second half against Willsboro last Friday but unable to find the equalizer in a 3-2 defeat.
In Willsboro, the Lady Warriors finished the first half of the season with a tough, 1-0 loss to Johnsburg, sitting at 3-4-0 in the middle of the standings. Both AuSable teams will look to improve in the second half of the season as they continue to run through a tough Division I schedule prior to the Class C playoffs, where the field will be narrowed to Division-I’s Saranac Lake along with Division II teams NAC, Seton Catholic and Ticonderoga.
IN THE POOL, ON THE COURT
Alison McCormick scored the lone win for the Lady Patriots in the pool as the team dropped a league contest to Peru, 125-45, winning the 100 fly.
On the volleyball court, AuSable Valley was almost able to score a win over Beekmantown, falling 25-16 in the fifth game. Erykah Siegrist had 11 digs and 12 kills for the Patriots, while Taylor Mattila had 14 assists to go with 11 digs and four aces.
Saranac Lake got hit by the upset bug, as Northeastern Clinton scored a 3-2 win over the Red Storm. Katie Gay was big for the Red Storm with 16 digs, 10 assists and seven aces.
