A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
Chris Paige breaks through a thicket of defenders to go on a 95-yard sprint where he would reach the end zone, but it was invalidated due to a Raiders penalty.
Jacob Thompson, sidelined with an injury, cheers on his teammates from the Massena bench.
Massena quarterback Zach Goolden runs one of his 12 carries in his varsity debut against Potsdam.
By Andy Gardner
Massena opened their varsity football season on Friday, Aug. 31 with a home game against Potsdam.
The visiting Sandstoners, taking advantage of 13 flags against the Raiders, won by a 46-14 final tally.
The game was preceded by the first-ever Raider Rally, where the community was invited to a free evening of fun with a dunk booth, concession stand, a Kids' Zone with a bounce house and obstacle course and kid friendly games. Local celebrities, athletes and school faculty competed in an obstacle course relay race. Afterward, the stands for the game were packed to the brim.
Potsdam's effort was bolstered by Will Varney, who ran 210 yards on 33 carries and scored three touchdowns.
In the first half, Chris Paige got the ball on the Massena five-yard line and ran 95 yards for what would have been a touchdown, but it was invalidated due to a penalty against the Raiders. Paige went on to score two other times -- a 90-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Zach Goolden, who then ran in a two-point conversion, which left the scoreboard at 24-8 following two Sandstoner touchdowns from Varney. Potsdam bolted ahead to a 38-8 lead after Brayden Bush intercepted and ran 78 yards into the endzone. Paige answered with a 71-yard touchdown sprint as soon as Massena got back the ball. Potsdam's Logan McCargar scored the final TD of the game, a 41 yard run, followed by a two-point conversion.
Massena's Paige ended the evening with eight carries for 93 yards, and two catches for another 90 yards. Goolden, in his varsity quarterback debut, gained 49 yards on a dozen carries and completed three of eight passes for 102 yards. Tyler McDonald carried the ball twice for 14 yards.
On the defensive side, Ian McDermott made nine tackles. Goolden and Michael Kuhn made five tackles each. Paige, Hunter Pryce, Zach Austin and David Hutchison each made four tackles.
On special teams, Kuhn kicked four punts for 65 yards and three kickoffs for 120 yards. Paige returned two punts for 70 yards.
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