DJ Alexander
Ben Munn ran for 130 yards as the Saranac Lake Red Storm won the Section VII/Class C football title with a 31-26 victory over AuSable Valley.
PLATTSBURGH | Ben Munn’s one yard scoring run in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference, as the Saranac Lake varsity football team scored a 31-26 win over the AuSable Valley Patriots, reclaiming the Section VII/Class C title, their first since 2016 and one year after winning only one game.
Quarterback Rhett Darrah was part of four scoring plays for the Red Storm, connecting three times on passes of 84, 28 and 20 yards to Jeffrey LaVair, while also running for one.
Darrah totaled 160 yards through the air and 60 more on the ground, while Munn had 130 rushing yards and LaVair 135 receiving yards.
The Patriots were the first team to score, as Luis Perez hauled in a 73-yard touchdown pass on an option throw from back Eli Douglas, who then ran the conversion in for an 8-0 lead 20 seconds into the game.
It took the Red Storm less than 1:30 to respond, as Darrah scored on his one yard rush to cut the lead to 8-6 before connecting with LaVair on their first touchdown with 39 seconds left in the quarter, giving the Red Storm a 12-8 lead.
Patriots quarterback Evan Snow put the Patriots back into the lead just over a minute into the second, connecting with Nate Doner on a 69-yard throw-and-catch for a 14-12 lead. The teams then exchanged scores in the eighth minute of play in the quarter, as Darrah connected with LaVair for the second time at the 7:03 mark for a 18-14 Red Storm lead, which was short-lived as Snow threw a 53 yard scoring pass to Douglas 28 seconds lated for a 20-18 lead heading into halftime.
The Red Storm took the lead in the third quarter, as Darrah and LaVair connected on a lone score in the quarter for a 24-20 advantage heading into the fourth.
Munn then scored the needed insurance touchdown for the Red Storm as Darrah connected on the only extra point for Saranac Lake in the game, giving the team a 31-20 lead with less than eight minutes remaining.
The Patriots were able to get on the board one more time when Snow hit Douglas for a 45 yard touchdown pass, but were unable to convert again in the 31-26 final.
Snow finished with 255 yards passing and three touchdowns, while Douglas combined 73 passing yards and 109 receiving yards.
Perez had 140 receiving yards, while Doner had 63 yards receiving and 40 yards rushing.
