SARANAC LAKE — Coach Eric Bennett said Saranac Lake's season will be determined by the defense.
And that defense set the tone with a big series in Saturday's first half.
After Dan Morrison ended the first quarter with a 49-yard run, Ticonderoga began the second with a first-and-goal from Saranac Lake's 1-yard line. The Red Storm stopped the Sentinels four straight times.
The Sentinels, stalled by both Saranac Lake's defense and their own hole at the quarterback position, didn't get near the end zone the rest of the game as the Red Storm opened the Northern Football Conference season with a 30-0 win.
"That goal-line stand was phenomenal," Bennett said. "We know that we have a nice defensive squad. I feel like we're pretty athletic and we can move sideline to sideline.
"The scheme's in place and we've got the athletes, so our defense is what we're going to rest the season on. And hopefully we can come next week and do the same."
Ticonderoga fullback Ryan Borho played the whole game at quarterback because the No. 1, Luke Bartlett, has a shoulder injury, and the Sentinels' don't have a No. 2.
"That's our biggest problem. We don't have anybody who can even get under center right now, much less throw the ball," Ticonderoga coach Bob Sutphen said, adding that he wasn't sure when Bartlett will be back at quarterback.
Sean Ryan gave Saranac Lake a first-quarter lead with a 1-yard run, and Michael Phelan scampered 35 yards to score with just under three minutes left in the second. After a Ticonderoga drive went just three yards, C.J. Stewart ran back the punt for a 60-yard touchdown and the Red Storm took an 18-0 advantage into the half.
Saranac Lake capitalized on great field position in the third quarter and added two more scores — a four-yard run by Peter Madden and Forest Morgan's 23-yard pass to Dalton Demarco.
Morgan and Phelan competed all preseason for the starting quarterback job, and the competition has been so tight Bennett is content to use both.
"I told them both they were going to get quality snaps. I was committed to making that happen in the first half, and they both did," Bennett said. "And they're making my job difficult.
"So we're just going to keep rolling like we've got it and keep the ship moving."
The Sentinels threw just once all game — an option pass by Morrison that Demarco intercepted — and relied on Morrison and Borho for almost all of the carries. Ticonderoga turned the ball over four times in the second half.
"We knew we were going to struggle at times. We were hoping to be able to hit home runs here and there," Sutphen said. "We just have to find a way to get the ball in the hands of our athletes as best we can and put them in positions where they can put us in positive yardage."
Sutphen also said the Sentinels made it harder on themselves with too many penalties and poor special teams play.
E-mail Courtney Lewis at: clewis@pressrepublican.com
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