BEEKMANTOWN — After an early 7-0 deficit, Beekmantown responded for 29 unanswered points in a 29-14 defeat of Plattsburgh High in Champlain Valley Athletic Conference play Saturday.
Hornets quarterback Shawn Courson opened scoring with a one-yard plunge with just over two minutes remaining in the first quarter to put the Hornets (1-2) up 7-0.
However, the lead was short lived.
“I give all the credit in the world to Plattsburgh High,” Beekmantown head coach Jamie Lozier said. “They came out well-coached and prepared, and they smacked us. Defensively, we made some careless mistakes and when they put the first points on the board, it definitely woke us up.”
Michael Guerin, who finished the contest with 13 rushing attempts for 101 yards and a touchdown, punched-in the opening Eagles’ score that ignited the rally with his physical presence in the backfield.
“I just lower my shoulders and deliver the hitting,” Guerin said. “When I knew I had to step up, I didn’t want to let the coaches down. My brother (Rufus Guerin) picked us up and delivered a speech that gave us a spark.”
Zachary Myers continued the Eagles assault through the air with his lone touchdown strike of the contest on a 34-yard completion to Quenton Barber and showed his versatility by registering a one-yard plunge to put Beekmantown on top 22-7 at the half.
“Their offensive line plays with no splits, so we had to adjust in order to slow them down a little bit,” Lozier said. “We couldn’t capitalize on what they were giving us. They tried setting the tempo against us, and we knew Plattsburgh had the potential because of how many athletes they have.”
Dustin Pickering intercepted a Courson pass down the far side line, hurdling into the end zone at 6:38 of the third.
“We scouted those pass plays in the flats and we knew it was coming,” Lozier said. “They hurt us with it a little bit in the beginning. All of the analysis paid off, especially for (Pickering), who didn’t have his first 100-yard game of the season on offense.”
Myers was eventually picked off by Courson for a 35-yard touchdown with just under five minutes remaining in the final stanza, but the Hornets were unable to get any closer.
Plattsburgh High finished the contest with 187 of total offense on 37 rushing attempts and five completed passes.
With the victory, Beekmantown jumped out to a 3-0 record in consecutive seasons and head to the Apple Bowl next Saturday afternoon for a Class B showdown versus Peru.
“It’s absolutely a rivalry,” Lozier said. “Our kids always get up for Peru and they always get up for us. It’s a game where home field advantage is on the line. We had a lot of kids who were out with illnesses or injuries in the last few weeks, but we’ll be back at full strength.”
—
Beekmantown 29, Plattsburgh High 14
Plattsburgh High 7 0 0 7 — 14
Beekmantown 8 14 7 0 — 29
First quarter
P- Courson 1 run (Shea kick), 9:23.
B- M. Guerin 9 run (Remchuk), 10:53.
Second quarter
B- Barber 34 pass from Myers (Remchuk kick), 5:31.
B- Myers 1 run (Remchuk kick), 9:57.
Third quarter
B- Pickering 20 interception (Remchuk kick), 6:38.
Fourth quarter
P- Courson 35 interception (Shea kick), 4:51.
Individual statistics
Rushing
B- M. Guerin 13-101, TD; Pickering 6-41; Myers 7-36, TD; Roser 3-16; Dupigny 1-(-3); Remchuk 3-(-3). Team totals: 33-188, 2 TD.
P- Miller 13-53; Shea 15-51; Courson 9-(-5). Team totals: 37-99.
Passing
B- Myers 1-10-1-34, TD.
P- Courson 5-20-2-88.
Receiving
B- Barber 1-34, TD.
P- Miller 1-62; Matthews1-13; Shea 3-13.
Interceptions
B- Seymour Jr., Pickering.
P- Courson.
