PLATTSBURGH — Plattsburgh High fans were excited and exuding confidence, Saturday, with many fans stating, “Brace yourselves Saranac. Plattsburgh is coming.”
Fans were worked up after watching the Plattsburgh Hornets shut out the Ticonderoga 49-0 at the final home game of the regular season.
The win puts Plattsburgh in position to extend its season and play Saranac in the postseason, despite only winning two games this season.
The two wins, however, are coming back-to-back to cap off the season. In the penultimate game, Plattsburgh overcame the Beekmantown Eagles 39-30.
The Hornets are now riding some serious momentum, this isn’t the same locker room that lost six in a row to start the season.
“The morale is at an all-time high right now for our team,” Coach Justin Hart said. “We’ve really improved through the season and now everyone is feeling it, and the team believes it. They believe that they are better and we’re going to ride that out.”
Hart was eager to point out to the team how well the Hornets have been blocking during the win streak. Sophomore Will Boire got a special shoutout in the post-game huddle for his blocking.
“We’ve struggled blocking all season, but in the last couple games everyone has been blocking,” Hart said. “Our receivers have been really strong. Will Boire specifically made some blocks today that translated directly into some huge runs.”
Plattsburgh’s rushing game was spot on in the match. The team recorded 253 yards and four touchdowns on 29 runs. Senior Jahvari Anderson went the distance for the Hornets, and led the team with 146 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.
Senior Diego Rios reigned in 76 yards and junior Tyler Durney ran for 36 yards, with each carrying in a touchdown.
Ticonderoga struggled against the Plattsburgh linemen, only collecting 23 yards on 22 attempts. Skyler Frasier was the leader in rushing yards with 14 on eight attempts.
Plattsburgh’s passing game was a real highlight. Junior Coldon Johnson went 11/14 on completions and threw three touchdowns, zero interceptions and totalled 173 yards.
His targets? Junior Ryan Colburn led the way and caught five balls for 76 yards and two touchdowns. Boire made one reception for 39 yards and a touchdown, Holland’s reception earned the Hornets 22 yards, Prandato’s catch was good for 14 yards, Anderson’s grab earned him 19 yards and Wineglass took two short passes for a total of three yards.
For the Sentinels, Jackson Dorsett threw 5-15 for 76 yards. The Hornets defense forced two interceptions. Rios and Anderson were hands behind the catches.
Trevor Blanchard led Ticonderoga in receiving yards with 45 on two receptions.
As Plattsburgh prepared to head into the locker room, the goal was clear: “Next game is the most important game of your lives,” Hart urged the athletes before the final huddle.
“Next game, we’ve got to control what we can control,” Hart said. “So we’re gonna make sure we’re doing what we’ve coached. It’s been doing great things for us, and we believe we’ll keep that going.”
PHS now travels to face Saranac in a Section VII Class C semifinal. The game is to be played at Saranac with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
—
Plattsburgh High 49, Ticonderoga 0
TCS 0 0 0 0 – 0
PHS 14 14 0 21 – 49
Scoring Summary
First quarter
P- Rios 12 run (kick failed).
P- Colburn 21 pass from Johnson (Anderson run).
Second quarter
P- Boire 39 pass from Johnson (Rios kick).
P- Colburn 17 pass from Johnson (Rios kick).
Fourth quarter
P- Anderson 6 run (Rios kick).
P- Anderson 29 run (Rios kick).
P- Durney 10 run (Rios kick).
Individual statistics
Rushing
T- Frasier 8-14; Drinkwine 4-6; #81 3-3; Blanchard 1-4; Dorsett 5-2; Team 1-(-6). Totals: 22-23.
P- Anderson 14-146, 2TD; Rios 10-76, TD; Durney 4-31, TD; Prandato 1-0. Totals: 29-253, 4TD.
Passing
T- Dorsett 5-15-2-76.
P- Johnson 11-14-0-173, 3TD.
Receiving
T- Blanchard 2-45; Lender 1-17; Frasier 2-14.
P- Colburn 5-76, 2TD; Boire 1-39, TD; Holland 1-22; Prandato 1-14; Anderson 1-19; Wineglass 2-3.
Interceptions
P- Rios; Anderson.