Saranac rushes past Plattsburgh, 36-21
Oct. 10—PLATTSBURGH — It was a tale of two halves, with one dominated by Nathan Hamel.
In Saranac's 36-21 victory over Plattsburgh, Hamel totalled 206 yards on the ground and four touchdowns. 173 of those yards came in the second half.
When asked about his performance, Hamel could simply say it was fun.
"I put all my trust in my o-line," he said. "I just lower my head and trust the hole will be there and power through it. I wouldn't be able to do anything without them."
Chiefs coach Dylan Everleth couldn't agree more.
"Our offensive line did a hell of a job today, just working every single play," he said. "We were physical and it was an out of ordinary game. We just ran the ball a lot and stayed with the ground and pound inside."
The out of the ordinary Everleth referenced was the fact both teams combined for four total possessions in the first half. When the halftime whistle blew, the only dent in the scoreboard was from a Hamel one yard blast up the middle.
The fireworks began near the end of the third quarter.
After Hamel scored his second touchdown of the day, a controversial call arose on the next series for Plattsburgh.
Hornets quarterback Michael Phillips threw the ball towards teammate Max Filosca. The end of the play was still talked about as the game ended. The ball hit Filosca's hands, but the question remains if it was a catch or incomplete pass. It was a bang-bang play. Arguments went both ways, depending on who you pulled for.
The referee ruled it a fumble as it was scooped up by Saranac and carried into the redzone. Two plays later, Chiefs running back Alex Clancy took the ball from five yards out into the endzone to push the score to 22-0.
"That (play) was similar to last week," Everleth said. "Anytime we can come out of the half and make a big play like that, it's a huge swing (in momentum). Hats off to the defense for just coming out firing in the second half and giving us that spark we needed to get."
The Hornets never gave up, responding with a nine play drive, culminating in a 10-yard pass from Phillips to Dominic DeAngelo.
In fact, in every drive in the fourth quarter the team's traded touchdowns. Neither team could stop the other. Whether it was Saranac on the ground or Plattsburgh in the air.
"I thought we did a good job moving the ball in the second half when we had it," Everleth said. "Once we got that lead, we had to do our thing and get back to our type of football. That's playing at our pace, being physical upfront, pushing the ball down the field and getting it in the endzone. I thought they did a much better job. They settled in and got the job done."
The Hornets will be keeping tabs on the health of Phillips. During the second quarter, it looked as if he rolled his ankle avoiding a tackler on the sideline. There was a noticeable limp while he remained in the game before Daniel Hartmann replaced him in the huddle.
Phillips finished the day 12-16 for 98 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Hartmann went 7-15 for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
His health will be answered Friday when Plattsburgh hosts Ticonderoga for their last regular season game at home. Both teams will be going for their first win of the season.
Saranac will look to continue their winning ways when they host AuSable Valley, Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
