High school football: Carthage hosts Indian River in traditional rivalry game

Sep. 9—The Carthage and Indian River football teams, both coming off dominant opening-week performances, will resume their rivalry tonight.

Carthage, which competes in Class A, and Indian River, which is now playing in Class B, will square off at 7 p.m. at Carthage High School.

"Any time we play Indian River, it's a big deal," Carthage coach Jason Coffman said. "They're really good and we've had limited success against them over the past handful of years. We look forward to playing them, but we know it's going to be a really big challenge."

"It's a great rivalry, it's something that's good for the communities," Indian River coach Cory Marsell said. "You just hope that your team goes out there and plays a good football game."

The Comets won their season opener, rolling past Watertown, 49-6, last Friday night in a Section 3 Class A National Division game.

The Warriors also prevailed in their opener decisively, defeating Beekmantown, 30-15, last Saturday in a nonleague game played at Potsdam High School.

"In our (Week Zero game), I thought we did a nice job playing physical, I thought our defense was in some good spots and did some really good things," Marsell said. "Now we've just got to take care of the football, we had four turnovers."

Indian River was dominant on the ground, totaling an eye-opening 570 rushing yards and four touchdowns on a combined 68 carries.

"That means our offensive line is doing a lot of good things and hopefully that will continue on Friday night," Marsell said. "Carthage is a different team than Beekmantown. Beekmantown is pretty physical, so I like what I did and I just hope some more of that continues."

Kane Lynch led the way as he ran for 207 yards and a pair of scores on 19 carries and fellow junior Ethan Hattori also carried the ball 19 times and finished with 112 yards.

Also, juniors Azhari Berroa-Prensa rushed for 96 yards on six touches and Derek Jones totaled 91 yards and two touchdowns on the ground on six touches.

Marsell was also pleased with his team's defensive effort, allowing only two scores Saturday.

"Very much so, I think our defense played well," Marsell said. "Although we had a couple small breakdowns, their second touchdown came late in the game. But with that being said, I thought we were in some good run-fit windows, I thought that are coverage for the most part was good, and the pass rush ended up being pretty good towards the end. We were not as good in the beginning, but better towards the end."

Against Watertown, Carthage racked up 341 rushing yards on a combined 49 carries.

"We've got some veteran guys on the offense that are big, strong kids," Coffman said. "And this is going to be a great test for us this weekend because Indian River has big, strong, kids, too. What our strengths are, I believe are their strengths, too. It's going to be a very tough matchup."

Senior tailback Josh Bigelow led the way with 129 yards, including scoring three touchdowns, on 23 carries, and quarterback Kalel Tevaga ran for 113 yards and two scores on 10 touches.

"It was awesome that everybody got to play," Coffman said. "So we got to see some different kids and see what they can do."

Carthage's defense didn't allow a score. Watertown scored its lone touchdown on a fumble recovery return.

"It was kind of a group effort, we did enough to be successful," Coffman said. "Nobody played outstanding and at the same time, everybody played decent, and we're going to have to be a lot better this week if we're going to be successful, right across the board."

Carthage and Indian River last played in a Section 3 game in 2019, as the Comets prevailed, 51-8, in a regular-season meeting, en route to winning a Class A sectional title and making a run to the state final. The two teams also met in the spring of 2021, with Indian River winning, 58-6.

Indian River is playing in Class B for the first time in Section 3 after it moved from competing in Section 10 back in 2009.

"Even though they're in Class B and we're in Class A, you know they're a Class A team playing in Class B," Coffman said of Indian River. "I mean Cory has built one heck of program there and they're used to playing 'A' football. ... I don't look as it being we're playing a 'B' team, I look at it as we're playing a team on the other side of Fort Drum and it's a great challenge for us."

The Warriors won last year's Class A National Division title and went on to win a pair of playoff games to advance to the Section 3 final, where they were defeated by Christian Brothers Academy.

"We know Indian River is really good on offense, what they do they do really well," Coffman said. "They're going to come at you on defense and they're going to be very aggressive and we have to be ready."

Last year's meeting between Carthage and Indian River was canceled after the death of 14-year-old Carthage student and junior varsity football player Tyler Christman.

SECTION 3 CLASS A

Watertown (0-1) vs. Fayetteville-Manlius (1-0)

When, where: 6:30 tonight, at Watertown

Outlook: The Cyclones and Hornets meet in a Class A division crossover game. Watertown, which is playing in Section 3 for the first time since 2018, looks to bounce back after last Friday's season opening loss to Carthage. Johnathon Porco paced the Cyclones on the ground with 45 yards on nine carries and quarterback John Flowers IV completed five of nine passes for 56 yards. Fayetteville-Manlius is coming off a 48-0 win over Auburn last Friday in a Class A American Division game.

CLASS B

South Jefferson (0-0) vs. Cortland (0-0)

When, where: 6:30 tonight, at Cortland

Outlook: The Spartans and Purple Tigers meet in a Class B division crossover matchup. South Jefferson is looking to bounce back from a winless 0-8 campaign last season. Spartans' juniors Cobin O'Brien and Landon LaDuke entered training camp competing for the starting quarterback job, as well as playing at linebacker and safety. Cortland beat South Jefferson, 14-7, last year in Adams.

CLASS C2

General Brown (0-0) vs.

Vernon-Verona-Sherrill (1-0)

When, where: 7 tonight, at Verona

Outlook: The Lions will open their season with a road game at the Red Devils in a Class C2 Division game.

General Brown went 9-1 last year and was defeated by Skaneateles, 35-14, in Section 3's Class C title game at the Carrier Dome. The Lions cruised through the regular season to win the Class C2 Division crown before defeating Southern Hills and Bishop Ludden in the playoffs to reach the final. General Brown does return several seniors, including running back Gabe Malcolm, who last year rushed for 712 yards and nine touchdowns, and running back Kaleb Natali (498 rushing yards, eight TDs) and fullback and defensive end Sheamus Devine, as well as offensive lineman/defensive end Armondo Orcesi (58 tackles, four sacks). V-V-S, which opened its season with a 14-0 win over Oneida in a nonleague game last week, competed in Class B last year, advancing to the Section 3 semifinals.

Lowville (0-0) vs. Adirondack (0-0)

When, where: 7 tonight, at Boonville

Outlook: The Red Raiders and Wildcats will square off in a Class C2 Division matchup. Now three years removed from reaching the state playoffs, Lowville will look to bounce back after an uncharacteristic two-win season in 2021, missing the postseason. The team lost seven players to graduation, but running back Sean Kelly returns after he rushed for a team-leading 431 yards and six touchdowns and versatile senior Dalton Myers, who can play running back or wideout while also playing at cornerback on defense. Junior Logan Watson and senior Tanner Millard entered the team's training camp competing to start at quarterback this fall for the Red Raiders. Adirondack is moving up to Class C after faring 9-1 in Class D last season, including a 36-6 sectional victory over Sandy Creek, before losing to Dolgeville, 20-6, in a semifinal.

CLASS D

Beaver River (0-0)

vs. Utica-Notre Dame (0-0)

When, where: 1 p.m., Saturday, at Utica Outlook: The Beavers and Jugglers will square off in a Class B West Division game in the season opener for both teams. Beaver River went 2-6 last season, including 1-3 and finishing last in Class D's North-West Division. But the Beavers return 16 players, including Brit Dicob and Josh Bush. Utica Notre Dame is coming off an 0-8 season, including 0-3 in the East.

Sandy Creek (0-0) vs. Onondaga (0-0)

When, where: 7 tonight, at Nedrow

Outlook: The Comets and host Tigers will meet in a West Division game. Sandy Creek, a perennial Section 3 power, has struggled during the past two seasons having won just four games, including three last year. The Comets defeated Waterville, 41-7 in Class D first-round game before they were beaten by Adirondack, 36-6, in a semifinal. Sandy Creek returns 12 players from last year's team, including junior running back Mason Ennist (349 yards, two TDs) and tight end Hayden Haines (173 yards receiving, two TDs). Dustin Mackey returns to play quarterback after missing the entire 2021 season with an ACL injury.

SECTION 10

OFA (1-0) vs. Massena (0-0)

When, where: 7 tonight, at OFA

Outlook: The Blue Devils have their home opener tonight after defeating Section 7's Plattsburgh 38-15 in a nonleague game last weekend in Plattsburgh. OFA went 5-1 in divisional play last year, finishing second. The Blue Devils did win the Section 10 Class C title. Massena is coming off a 4-2 divisional season and has a new coach in former Red Raider Taylor Zappia. Zappia was previously an assistant coach for Massena. The teams have not played since the 2019 season as last year's game was postponed and there was no fall season in 2020.

St. Lawrence (0-1) vs. Canton (0-1)

When, where: 6 tonight, at Brasher Falls.

Gouverneur (0-0) vs. Potsdam (0-0)

When, where: 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Gouverneur.

8-MAN

South Lewis (0-0)

vs. Cooperstown (0-0)

When, where: 7 tonight, at Turin

Outlook: South Lewis and Cooperstown will square off in division crossover play. Clayton Kreager will step in as starting quarterback, while fellow seniors Aidan Highers (running back), Matt Farese (wide receiver) and Adam Mear and Kaleb Burdick, who are both offensive linemen, look to help lead the Falcons on offense. Last season, the Falcons fared 4-5, including defeating New York Mills, 26-18, in a Section 3 playoff game at home before losing to Morrisville-Eaton, 44-6, in a semifinal. Cooperstown, which competes in the East Division, is coming off a one-win season.

Thousand Islands (0-1) vs. West Canada Valley (0-0)

When, where: 7 tonight, at Clayton

Outlook: The Vikings are coming off a 26-20 nonleague loss at Tupper Lake last week. Quarterback Jackson Ludlow threw for a pair of touchdowns for Thousand Islands and Devin Davis hauled in a scoring reception and ran for another touchdown. This is a division crossover game for the Vikings, who went 2-5 last year, including 1-2 in the North-West Division. West Canada Valley went 8-2 last season, including winning Section 3's eight-man crown.