Raiders Face Tough Road Test Against Ithaca; SLC Hosts AV
Massena Central hits the road for a non-league game at Ithaca on Saturday while St. Lawrence Central makes its home debut against AuSable Valley in a Northern Conference matchup.
RAIDERS HEAD TO ITHACA
Coming off a season-opening 21-2 win over SLC, the Raiders will be facing a tough test in their first road trip going up an Ithaca squad that debuted by churning out 413 yards of rushing offense en route to generating an impressive 65-21 rout of Southside.
Junior quarterback Troy Myers anchored a balanced offensive effort against the Larries. He completed three of 10 passes for 60 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown hook-up with Anto Almasian and a six-yard strike to Trevor Convertini. Trevor Bacon covered 44 yards on the other reception. Myers also scored the first Massena points of the season on an 18-yard touchdown burst while Josh Blanchard accounted for the majority of the rushing offense for the Raiders with 64 yards on 14 carries. Johnny Square had 32 yards on nine runs and Josh Miller went for 23 yards on six attempts.
The Raider offense will look to contain Ithaca senior Riley Lasada who carried the ball 18 times last weekend, going for 241 yards and six touchdowns. Starting quarterback Shane Bartley left the game due to an injury while playing on defense but Vinnie Gneo capably took over the offense, helping to guide the Little Red to a commanding 41-14 halftime lead after they had fallen behind 14-13 in the first quarter. Ithaca also showed scoring potential on defense, returning two interceptions for touchdowns in its season opener.
Kick-off on Saturday is slated for 4 p.m.
LARRIES HOST AUSABLE VALLEY
In a game between two teams looking to rebound from opening-day losses, the Larries hope to build on the a solid defensive effort they came up with against the Raiders. Dan Tower accounted for the majority of the SLC offense, going for 81 yards on 15 rushes while sophomore Devon Euto completed three of five passes for 40 yards in his varsity debut at quarterback. Todd Ramsdell (24 yards), Eric LaBier (12 yards) and Tower (4 yards) had the three catches. Jordan Sochia ran the ball three times for 10 yards and Jessie Greer had another 10 yards on six carries.
Defensively for SLC, Sean Roshia led the way with seven tackles. LaBier notched six takedowns and a fumble recovery. Tower had four tackles along with Ray Bjork, Corey LaBarge and Dan Frohm. Quinn Patraw chipped in another three and notched an interception.
AuSable Valley is coming off a 27-20 loss to Saranac Central in what turned out to be the closest finish of Week One in the Northern Conference.
John Sikander ran for 135 yards to lead the Patriots' ground game. Quarterback Austin House showed explosive potential with both his arms and his legs, rushing for 108 yards and two touchdowns, including a 59-yard scamper, while connecting with Hank Whisher for a 69-yard touchdown pass.
Saturday's game kicks off at 1:30 p.m.
