Jun 24, 2025
Saranac Lake’s Alius Martelle runs with the ball during Saturday’s 7-on-7 football game at Wilson-Raymond Field. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)
SARANAC LAKE — While the high school football season won’t officially kick off until August, a large group of hearty student-athletes are already getting prepared for the upcoming season.
On Saturday, members of the Saranac Lake football team, alongside other players from local and state high school football programs, competed in a 7-on-7 tournament at Wilson Raymond Field. There were five teams in total, and along with Saranac Lake, they included Beekmantown, General Brown, Gouverneur and the tournament winners, Saranac Central.
While the Red Storm didn’t come away with the title, Saranac Lake varsity football coach Eric Bennett said his team wasn’t necessarily focused on winning it, but rather focusing on some things for next season, along with understanding some of the rules of this game.
The games were played using half the football field, with one first-down marker. Without pads and no offensive and defensive line, the quarterback had 4 seconds to complete a pass — or would be subsequently penalized.
“There are certain things you can do in a tournament like that that are advantageous to that setup, and we just chose to keep reping what we need for the season and not focus on winning the 7-on-7 tournament,” Bennett said. “So from our standpoint, it was a total success. We got to help with our kids, we got to talk to them about technique and what we want to see.”
Saranac Lake’s Alius Martelle runs with the ball during Saturday’s 7-on-7 football game at Wilson-Raymond Field. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)
Saranac Lake’s squad had more than 15 student-athletes, who will be playing for the Red Storm next fall. Bennett said it’s awesome to see kids getting excited about football while giving up their time to do so.
“We tell kids all the time that it’s a small town and you should play as many sports as you can,” he said. “We have kids juggling lacrosse, baseball, basketball and football. It’s cool that they can make it all work.”
This was the first time a 7-on-7 tournament like this has been held in this area. There are a few other ones across the state in Rochester, as well as an upcoming New York State High School Football Summer Championship for 7-on-7 at SUNY Cortland on July 12, which all five of these teams will compete in.
After hearing about the other tournaments, Bennett, who recently became a member of the New York State High School Football Coaches Association, said he talked with that association’s executive director about getting one up.
“It’s just a way to get teams moving for the season and to have a chance to compete in a passing tournament,” he said. “We had five teams this year, we hope to build it to eight next and then maybe top it out at about 16 in 2026.”
Saranac Lake’s Evan Harvey gets ready to throw during Saturday’s 7-on-7 football game at Wilson-Raymond Field. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)
Bennett added that based on the reception from the players and coaches from both Saranac Lake and the opposing teams, they seemed to enjoy it.
“They thought it was a great afternoon too, and they look forward to coming back,” he said. “I think it’s something that we can grow, and next year, hopefully, it will be on the sweet new field we have coming in.”
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