Horde (2-4) tops WarEagles (5-2) in finale
By Keith Harrington
A Section II Crossover football game between Granville and Lake George/Hadley-Luzerne featured more story lines than you could shake a stick at. Not only was it the last game for six Golden Horde seniors who represented coach John Irion’s first freshman class, but it was also an opportunity for Granville to defeat a team that until a week ago had not lost.
The contest was also the final time that the team would compete as the “Granville Golden Horde.” This fall Granville will enter a merger with longtime rival Whitehall for high school football.
Despite having only one win on the season and facing a WarEagles team on the road that had a five-game winning streak snapped by Greenwich in a key Class D showdown last week, a determined Granville team fought their way to a 20-6 season-ending victory.
Granville coach Terry Wheeler, who is filling in for head coach John Irion during the Fall II season due to a medical issue, had a feeling before the game that it was going to be a special night.
“I could feel it before we went on the field,” Wheeler said. “It was a different team tonight. We were fast. We were crisp. Everything was 100 miles per hour.”
Senior Kaedin Saddlemire echoed Wheeler’s thoughts.
“I knew we were going to win when we stepped on the field,” Saddlemire said. “It was a different intensity tonight.”
After stopping Lake George/Hadley-Luzerne on the first possession of the game Granville went to work, driving 47 yards on 12 plays to grab a 6-0 lead on a Josh Oakman five-yard run with 3:07 left in the first quarter. The two-point conversion run failed.
“Bend but don’t break” has been the theme of the Granville defense all season, and the Golden Horde stayed true to that mantra on this night. Every time Lake George/Hadley-Luzerne threatened, Granville’s defense came up big.
A 33-yard pass from quarterback to Brody McCabe to Luke Pelchar put the WarEagles on the doorstep of their first score late in the first, but the Golden Horde defense stiffened. Granville maintained a 6-0 advantage at the half.
Lake George/Hadley-Luzerne finally broke through in the third quarter. With their offense stalling, the WarEagles resorted to a trick play on special teams. Speedster Brandan Lamby took off on a fake punt and scampered 42 yards to the end zone to even the game at 6-6 with 5:54 remaining in the stanza. The conversion attempt failed, leaving the game tied.
In the fourth, the Golden Horde running attack imposed its will, with Logan Beebe leading the way.
First, Beebe capped off a long Granville drive with a three-yard touchdown run to put the Golden Horde back in front 12-6 with 5:04 left to play. Oakman, Tommy Roberts and Matt Barlow also contributed important runs on the drive. The crucial two-point conversion run was halted just inches short of the goal line.
The WarEagles had one last shot to pull out the win. Aided by a defensive holding call against the Granville secondary, along with the elusive running of McCabe and Matthew Johnson, Lake George/Hadley-Luzerne navigated the ball to the Granville 15-yard line with just over 2:15 to go.
A pair of costly penalties pushed the WarEagles back to the 28. Facing a fourth and 25, McCabe passed down the middle looking for Pelchar. Barlow got his hand in to knock the pass down, halting the drive.
Barlow, who is just a sophomore, made another clutch defensive play earlier in the game when he intercepted McCabe as Lake George/Hadley-Luzerne was on the verge of scoring.
On the ensuing possession Beebe broke off a 60-yard run to the Lake George 10-yard line. The senior fullback then put the game on ice with a seven-yard scoring burst to make it 18-6. Beebe added the two-point conversion to provide the final margin of victory.
“Unreal. I can’t describe it, and I’ll never be able to describe it the rest of my life,” Beebe said after the game. “The hard work we put it in. The record will say 2-4 at the end of the year, but it was much more than that.”
The Golden Horde have been so close to big wins a few other times this year but were finally able to play a complete game.
“We played four quarters of football. We never let up,” Wheeler said. “I knew this was a good team we were playing. They had a great record, but we had the horses tonight.”
Granville finishes the season with a 2-4 record. Lake George/Hadley-Luzerne drops to 5-2.
‘A rough ‘n’ tumble team…just got it done’
By Keith Harrington
Leaders. That’s the word every coach on the Granville football staff used to describe the six seniors who played the final game of their careers in Lake George last Friday night.
Logan Beebe, Kaedin Saddlemire, Cam Parker, Tommy Roberts, Myles Pauquette and Josh Oakman all played integral roles in the Golden Horde’s 20-6 season-ending victory over a strong Lake George/Hadley-Luzerne team.
The effort of the group over the last few seasons prompted coach John Irion to say, “You are one of the best group of leaders I have ever coached.” Given Irion’s coaching resume, that’s saying a lot.
Terry Wheeler, who assumed the helm of the Golden Horde this season while Irion recovered from a health issue, sang the praises of his senior charges as well.
“Great leaders. Leadership beyond the field,” Wheeler said. “They took care of each other. They were great battalion leaders. They took care of the younger kids all the time. They kept everybody informed. You would tell them what to do and they would tell everybody else. This kind of leadership just doesn’t happen every year.”
Saddlemire, Parker, Roberts, Pauquette and Oakman have been with Irion since he arrived after a successful run at Queensbury to take over the Granville program. Beebe joined the squad as a sophomore.
“It’s truly an honor to play under Coach Irion in his system,” Beebe said. “It feels great to finally cap off this career with the Granville Golden Horde. It’s an honor to be with all of the coaches, the seniors and all of my teammates. We had a blast.”
Since Irion became the Golden Horde mentor, conditioning and getting stronger has been his calling card. Buying into the that philosophy has been a key, according to Beebe.
“You buy into the weight room,” Beebe said. “That’s what this program is about.”
The fact that the final win of their careers came against an opponent made up of mainly Lake George kids who have become a rival of the Golden Horde in all sports was not lost on Parker.
“It means everything,” Parker said. “Especially since it’s against Lake George, I feel like that rivalry is in every sport. In baseball and basketball. It’s been a hell of a rivalry. It feels great to finally take them down.”
Pauquette, the Granville signal-caller the last two seasons, had a difficult time holding back his emotions while reflecting on the game and his career.
“I’ll remember it for the rest of my life,” Pauquette said. “Being under the lights. Friday night against Lake George. They’re a rival team. It just feels good to beat them. It doesn’t matter the score. Or the records. We’re a rough and tumble team and we just got it done.”
Pauquette feels that the program under Irion is now heading in a new direction.
“John Irion has got us lifting weights. He’s turned the program around. Everybody is getting stronger and buying into the system. Everybody is doing their part.”
Anyone who knows Roberts knows how much he loves the game of football, and he was fighting his emotions as he talked about the season and what the sport has meant to him.
“It’s just the best feeling in the world,” he said. “It’s a different year. We didn’t plan on it being this late. I am personally extremely glad we got to have a season and the way it ended. I think the ball is rolling. I think football here is turned around.”
Oakman, who has been the leading rusher for Granville this year, had to come back from an injury in the first half to help lead the team to the win.
“Oh man it felt great,” Oakman said. ‘Our line really executed and did the job. That really showed. I am very happy we got to have a season this year.”
Saddlemire pointed out that he and his classmates have played together since they entered the Granville school system, now 13 years ago.
“I’ve been playing with these kids since kindergarten,” Saddlemire said. “Nothing feels better than this. Friday night lights. Our defense is next guy up. Everyone was working today.”
Even though Saddlemire and his fellow seniors will depart, he feels the Golden Horde is just scratching the surface under this coaching staff.
“The future looks very bright,” he said. “If all the kids commit to the weight room, next year is going to be really, really scary.”
That future that Saddlemire spoke off will now include the Whitehall Railroaders as the two rivals join forces in a football merger in the fall. One thing is for certain, however, this group of seniors will always be remembered for their leadership in ushering in a new era of Granville football.
Cross country championship results
By Keith Harrington
The Adirondack League Cross Country Championships were held last Thursday in Lake George and the host Warriors won both the boys and girls teams titles, but the Whitehall-Granville team also performed well.
Lake George took the top four sports in the boys race with Isaac Herrick crossing the line first with a time of 15:24.3. Cameron Orr, Sam Burns and Oliver Herrick took the next three spots for the Warriors. Hayden Serchia of Corinth rounded out the top five.
David Austin led the Whitehall-Granville runners with a seventh-place finish with a time of 16:05.2. Troy Austin placed 13th recording a 16:44.8. Quinn Johnson collected a 16th place finish with a time of 16:59.3.
In the team competition Lake George finished on top with a score of 15. North Warren-Johnsburg was second with a score of 53 and Granville third with a score of 72.
Both David and Troy Austin, both from Whitehall, were named Adirondack League First Team Cross Country All-Stars.
On the girls side, Katrin Schreiner of Hadley-Luzerne claimed the championship with a win a time of 17:36.
Whitehall-Granville’s Amber Gibbs, who attends school in Granville, was second with a time of 18:39.3. Granville’s Katelyn Panoushek was seventh with a 20:07.2.
Mattison Stark of Lake George, Alyssa Freeguard of Argyle and Taylor McClarty of Lake George also finished in the top five.
Hartford seventh-grader Brynn Tyler had an impressive race for the Tanagers. Tyler finished sixth with a time of 19:47.9.
Lake George won the team title on the girls side. The Warriors were the only squad with a complete team of five runners. All other schools could not be scored as a team.
Gibbs, Panoushek and Tyler were named Adirondack League First Team Cross Country All-Stars.
Horde, Railroaders do well in golf championship
By Keith Harrington
Even with less than perfect conditions the Adirondack League held its end-of-season golf championship and Invitational Tournament at Skene Valley Country Club in Whitehall last Wednesday.
Granville and Whitehall both had strong showings, but it was Hadley-Luzerne that stole the show, winning both the team championship and the Adirondack League Invitational.
The Eagles nipped Lake George 3-2 in the team championship match. Cam Plummer, Joe Amendola and Sean Frasier won their matches for Hadley-Luzerne. Zach Bruno and Cayden Johnston picked up victories for the Warriors.
Cam Plummer and Bruno earned medalist honors as they both shot 41. Tyler Plummer and Johnston tied for second with a score of 43.
Granville’s Andrew Rathbun had a stellar performance, finishing third by firing a 44.
“Andrew (Rathbun) played very well in the last three matches and ended up with the lowest stroke average for the season on the team,” said Granville coach Justin Nassivera. “He also had a match play record of 5-1-1. His third-place finish in the league invitational was just a glimpse of more to come from him.”
Hadley-Luzerne and Lake George tied for first in the Adirondack League Invitational with identical scores of 84. The Eagles won the tournament in a tiebreaker. Granville was next with a 96. Whitehall was right behind the Golden Horde with a 99. Fort Ann-Hartford with a 103, North Warren 110, Fort Edward 119, Bolton 153 rounded out the invitational standings.
“The boys did well yesterday,” Nassivera said. “Due to Covid restrictions, we could not bring as many golfers to the league tournament as usual. We could only bring three and the two lowest scores would count.”
Ryan Kunen shot a 51 for the Golden Horde.
Nassivera was pleased with his squad’s season.
“Overall this season we had a 6-2 record,” Nassivera said. “Corinth and Warrensburg did not have teams during Fall II season, so it limited our number of matches, but they are expected to be back in the fall.”
Despite how strong the top two teams are, Nassivera is optimistic that the Golden Horde can chase them down in the fall.
“Hadley-Luzerne and Lake George have been tough in the league the last couple years, and we hope to be able to catch and compete with them come August,” Nassivera added.
