Saranac's Storm D'Ambrosio (4) flies in for the shoulder tackle on Peru's Finley Coon (11) for the open-field tackle and stops the first down. PERU, N.Y. — A battle of undefeated teams quickly turned into a showcase for the home team Friday night as the Peru Nighthawks rolled past the Saranac Spartans 55-0 in Champlain Valley Athletic Conference action. Peru set the tone early and never looked back, scoring in every phase of the game while improving to 2-0 on the season. The Nighthawks opened the scoring in the first quarter when Caleb Starke broke free for an 8-yard touchdown run, giving Peru a 7-0 advantage. That score stood as the lone touchdown of the opening quarter. Peru struck again early in the second quarter. Just 2:45 into the period, the Nighthawks extended their lead to 14-0 when Marco Amato hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass. The game's turning point came late in the first half. With just over two minutes remaining before intermission, Usaiah Hendrix intercepted a Spartans pass and raced 78 yards for a touchdown. The pick-six pushed Peru's lead to 21-0 heading into halftime and firmly put the Nighthawks in control. The second half began with fireworks as Deacon Giroux returned the opening kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown, extending the lead to 28-0. Just over two minutes later, Isaiah Hendrix found the end zone for the second time on the night, powering in from 10 yards out to make it 35-0. Peru continued its third-quarter surge when Deon Lawyer scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with 6:20 remaining in the period, pushing the advantage to 42-0. The Nighthawks never eased up in the fourth quarter. Darius Jenkins added a 21-yard touchdown run before Justin Schmidt capped the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run as Peru cruised to the 55-0 victory. Isaiah Hendrix led the way for the Nighthawks with two touchdowns, while Peru's defense pitched a shutout and added a touchdown of its own. The special teams unit also contributed a score, highlighting a complete team performance. With the win, Peru improves to 2-0 and will look to keep its perfect record intact next week against the Plattsburgh Hornets. Saranac falls to 1-1 and will try to rebound when it faces the Beekmantown Eagles next weekend.

Peru's Deon Lawyer (44) and Deacon Giroux (1) go high and low to bring down Saranac's Skyler Walker (11) along the sidelines.

Beekmantown's Shamus Bilbeau (1) fighting through the tackle for the extra yards. It would be the Section VII Class B Football championships from the Plattsburgh High School, and it would be the classic rivalry as the #1 Beekmantown Eagles would take on their longtime rivals, the #2 Peru Nighthawks, for the title and the berth in the NYSPHSAA tournament. The game would start well for the Eagles as they would get on the board in the 7th minute of the first quarter when Patrick Hagadorn would hit the 34-yard field goal and give them the 3-0 lead. In the closing seconds of the first quarter, the Eagles would get the game's first touchdown on a 24-yard run from Shamus Bilbeau and take the 10-0 lead. Then, just past the halfway mark of the second quarter, the Eagles would connect on another field goal and take the 13-0 lead. However, during that drive, there would be a scary moment as the Eagles Quarterback Josh Sands would be tackled, have his lower leg, get rolled up on, and need to be stretched off the field. Then, with 11 seconds left in the half, the Eagles would strike again on Shamus Bilbeau's second game score, this time from 5 yards out, and take the 19-0 lead into the intermission. When the teams returned for the third quarter, the Nighthawks would do their best to keep them in the game as the defense would step up, and there would be no scoring in the quarter, and the Eagles would hold onto the 19-0 lead as they entered the 4th quarter. In that fourth quarter, though, the Eagles would waste little time adding to their lead when Shamus Bilbeau would get his third game score, this time from 7 yards out, and they would take the 26-0 lead. Then, with just over two minutes left in the game, the Eagles would put the icing on the cake with a touchdown from Parker Broughton and make it a 33-0 win. With the win, the Eagles go to 8-1 on the season and will head to the Nymphs tournament next weekend against Ogdensburg on November 15th at Plattsburgh High School. As for the Peru Nighthawks, the season will end 6-3. Gallery

Peru's Brody Blaise Smith (44) with the tackle drags Beekmantown's Parker Broughton (33) to the ground for the short gain. Gallery

Peru's Jake Frechette (7) splits through the defense and gains the first down. It would be the lone section vii football gamer of the weekend as the #2 Peru Nighhawks would host the #3Plattsburgh Hornets in Class B semi-finals as the winner would get the #1 Beekmantown Eagles the next weekend at Plattsburgh High School with a title on the line. The Nighthawks would get the game's opening points halfway through the first quarter in an unusual way with a safety and take the 2-0 lead. The Nighthawks would then add a touchdown two minutes later from Elijah Hendricks on the 12-yard pass and take the 9-0 lead. The game would stay there till the six-minute mark of the second when Wyatt Bridges would score from 2 yards out to take a 16-0 lead. Then, with three minutes left in the half, the Hornets would get on the board with a two-yard run from Dan Hartman to make it a 16-6 game, and that's where we would enter the half. When we returned for the third quarter, the Nighthawks would stay on the pedal when Wyatt Bridges would get the 16-yard score 4 minutes in and extend their lead to 23-6. The Hornets would answer back with three minutes left in the third quarter when Jahvari Anderson would score on the 26-yard pass reception to make it a 23-12 game. The Nighthawks would answer back 30 seconds into the 4th quarter when Wyatt Bridges would score from 19 yards out and make it a 30-12 game. Then, to finish off the game, Wyatt Bridges would score again 4th on the night, this time from 29 yards out, to secure the 37-12 victory. In the winning effort, the Nighthawks would go to 6-2 in the season as they will take on the Beekmantown Eagles in the Section VII Class B Finals on November 8th. Gallery

Plattsburgh's Dan Hartman (11) with the side step the Nighthawk defender and gains the extra yards. Gallery

A pair of Ausable Valley defenders bring down Peru's Landon Wilkins (32) short of the first down. It would be week 7 of the Champlain Valley Athletic Conference season, and the Peru Nighthawks would host the Ausable Valley Patriots on the Nighthawk's senior night. The Nighthawks would take the early lead in the game at 7-0 on the 4-yard rush by Chase Carpenter 2 minutes into the game. Then, to finish the quarter, the Nighthawks would add two rushing touchdowns to give them the 21-0 lead after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Nighthawks continued their success and added a pair of touchdowns from Chase Carpenter and Jake Frechette, who took the 34-0 lead into the intermission. When the teams returned for the third quarter, the Nighthawks would stay hot and expand their lead to 41-0 on the Owen Smith 1-yard run. Then, in the fourth quarter, the Patriots would break through and get on the board as they connected on a 74-yard pass to Lucas Dashnaw and got the two-point conversion to make it a 41-8 game, and that's where the scoring would end. With the win, the Nighthawks go to 4-2 in the season as they enter the season finale next week against the Moriah Vikings. As for the Ausable Valley Patriots, they fall to 0-7 on the season and will finish off their season next weekend against the Beekmantown Eagles. Gallery

Peru's Chase Carpenter (4) breaks the tackle down the sidelines and takes it in for the Nighthawks score. Gallery

Saranac Lake's David Montroy (34) fends off Peru's Chris Williams (12) as he breaks off the big run. It would be week #6 of the Champlain Valley Athletic Conference Football season, and the Peru Nighthawks would host the Saranac Lake Red Storm from the Apple Bow. The Peru Nighthawks would get off to a quick start and have a 21-0 lead by the end of the first quarter on the Red Storm. The Nighthawks would keep the pedal down as they would get a 6-yard score from Landon Wilkins at the 3:15 mark and make it a 28-0 game. Then the Red Storm would get on the board with 1:53 left in the half on a 46-yard scoop and score of the Red Storm, making it a 28-7 game. Then, with 1- seconds left in the half, the Red Storm would score again on a 6-yard run to make it a 28-14 game as they head to the intermission. With under four minutes left in the third, the Nighthawks would extend the lead to 34-14 on a 1-yard run by Wyatt Bridges to make it 34-14. The game would stay there till the three-minute mark of the fourth when Carpenter would score on a 56-yard pass and catch it, making it a 41-14 game. Then, with 2:40 left in the game, Landon Wilkins would break off a big 73-yard run for the score and take the 48-14 victory, and from there, they would hold on for the win. In the winning effort, the Nighthawks go to 3-2 in the season as they will host the Ausable Valley Patriots next weekend. Meanwhile, the Saranac Lake Red Storm would fall to 2-3 during the season as they will travel to Saranac and take on the Spartans next weekend. Gallery

Peru's Chase Carpenter (4) sheds tacklers as he gains the first down. Gallery