The Red Storm got the job done on the ground behind their big offensive line. Carter Hewitt led the attack with five rushing touchdowns and 175 yards on 17 carries. Meanwhile, the Eagles came up short despite an amazing combination between quarterback Nathan Parliament and Andrew VanNatten that produced six touchdowns.

VanNatten, a senior, hauled in all six scoring strikes from Beekmantown’s sophomore signal caller, including three touchdown catches during the final 81 seconds of the game as the Eagles came up short attempting to erase a 43-20 deficit.

The teams traded three touchdowns each to open the game, and Saranac Lake then began to pull away with a pair of rushing scores from Hewitt and a 36-yard interception return for a touchdown from AJ Moran early in the fourth quarter. Although Saranac Lake’s 23-point advantage looked like a comfortable lead at the time, Beekmantown was able to mount an 82-yard scoring drive and follow that up with two onside kick recoveries that were converted to touchdowns. The Eagles put the final points on the board on the last play of the game on an 18-yard touchdown catch by VanNatten.

“Our kids were in a dog fight in the first half,” Saranac Lake head coach Eric Bennett said. “I thought they came out and played some really hard-nosed football. We were able to move the ball running the ball, a great thing for us to do.”

Saranac Lake’s Raymond Santiago gains ground on a running play during Friday’s game in Beekmantown. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

The game was tied 14-14 at halftime, and Saranac Lake jumped back on top on the opening drive of the third quarter, which was a seven-play, 51-yard march capped off by Hewitt’s three-yard dash into the end zone. Landon Faubert then sent his third successful conversion kick of the night through the uprights for a 21-14 Red Storm lead.

Beekmantown responded with a scoring drive on the next possession, going 59 yards in 10 plays, with Parliament finding VanNatten in the end zone on an 18-yard scoring pass for the senior running back’s third touchdown catch of the game. After making her first two conversion kicks of the night, Grace Jolicoeur missed her third attempt, leaving the Eagles trailing 21-20 with 4:25 left in the third.

The fireworks then began, especially for Saranac Lake. On the first play of the Red Storm’s ensuing possession, Hewitt rambled 51 yards for a score to put his team up 28-20. The Eagles went three-and-out the next time they had the ball and punted, and Saranac Lake then marched 70 yards in five plays, with Hewitt scoring from the five. He tacked on two points on the conversion run to up the Red Storm’s lead to 36-20.

It looked like the rout was on when Moran picked off a Parliament pass and sprinted 36 yards to pay dirt to give the Red Storm a 43-20 advantage 2:18 into the fourth quarter.

Beekmantown certainly made it a wild finish, as VanNatten hauled in his fourth, fifth and sixth touchdown grabs down the stretch on scoring plays of 25, 27 and 18 yards. But in the end, Saranac Lake’s players were wearing the smiles as they improved to 3-1. The Eagles fell to 1-3 with the setback.

Sawyer Trudeau, left, and Wyatt Gladd team up to tackle Beekmantown’s Andrew VanNatten during Friday’s game. Also are Red Storm defenders Jon Kratts (22), Austin Barry (70), Carter Hewitt (23) and Raymond Santiago (21) and Connor Bushey of the Eagles. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

Bennett said Saranac Lake’s receiving team has worked on recovering onside kicks in practice, but his players had a tough time fielding the ball in Beekmantown.

“Most of the work we’ve done has been getting on short kicks skidding along the ground,” Bennett said. “Their kicker did a great job putting the ball in the air with little rugby-type pooch kicks, and we really struggled. It was inexcusable. What this game clearly showed us is that we have a lot of work to do with our hands team if we want to be more successful moving forward.”

Only a sophomore, Parliament finished with 365 passing yards. He completed 17 of 32 attempts. Along with his six touchdowns, VanNatten finished with 10 receptions for 239 yards, and also led the Eagles on the ground with 55 yards on 13 carries. Sophomore Payton Viau also had a big night catching the ball for the hosts, finishing with six receptions for 119 yards.

Saranac Lake finished with 270 rushing yards on 30 carries. The Red Storm’s defense limited the Eagles to 84 yards on the ground but did struggle defending the pass, especially down the stretch.

Saturday marked the third time in four games that Hewitt has rushed for more than 100 yards. The junior now has run for 486 yards and nine touchdowns on 68 carries.

“It seemed like it was tighter than it was at the end,” Bennett said. “I give Beekmantown credit for playing a tough game. I’m glad we got some kids in who have been working hard all season, we got them all in, and now it’s on to face AuSable Valley.”

Saranac Lake next hosts the 3-1 Patriots on Saturday at Wilson Raymond Field beginning at 1:30 p.m. AuSable Valley also won under the lights Friday, blanking Saranac Central 27-0.

“Beekmantown’s quarterback is very dynamic, and we can’t allow a quarterback to extend plays for 10 seconds,” Bennett said. “We have to get more pressure. We’re facing another super dynamic quarterback this week, and if we don’t right the ship, we could be in for a long afternoon.”

Beekmantown is next scheduled to face unbeaten Moriah on Friday at Linney Field with the opening kickoff slated for 7:30 p.m.