PLATTSBURGH -- After watching his team end the first half deadlocked 7-7 with Plattsburgh High, Saranac coach Mark Burrell had a few select things to say.

He told his team they weren't playing a Saranac brand of football and reminded them of the playoff implications the game held.

Message heard loud and clear, coach.

Saranac came out in the second half and dominated Plattsburgh High on both sides of the ball, scoring five touchdowns and blanketing the Hornets en route to a convincing 41-7 Northern Football Conference victory Saturday afternoon.

Jake Mullady ran for 129 yards and Cody Wood had 159 combined receiving and rushing to help Saranac (2-4, 2-2) secure a spot in the Class B playoffs and spoil Plattsburgh High's homecoming.

"It's a huge boost for this football team," Burrell said. "I know it's the first time they've ever been in the playoffs, and they're very excited about it. That was one of our goals coming into the beginning of the year, to be able get there, and they did it with a tough schedule."

Saranac opened the scoring in the second quarter when quarterback Jason Lavarnway hit a wide open Wood in stride for a 69-yard touchdown.

The Hornets responded on their following drive. A nice return by Bo Baker and a 15-yard late-hit penalty on Saranac gave Plattsburgh High field position inChiefs territory. Not long after, Joe Kirkpatrick, who replaced Jared Murphy at quarterback early in the game, found Baker for 38-yard gain down the right sideline.

After a miscue cost the Hornets four yards, Kirkpatrick found Brett Gilman open on the left side of the end zone for the score.

The half ended in a stalemate, but when the clock started in the third quarter, it was all Saranac.

TheChiefs punted on their first possession but went ahead on the second thanks to a nifty 20-yard reverse by Wood and a 29-yard touchdown run by Mullady.

The Hornets (1-5, 0-3) fumbled on their next possession and Saranac seized the opportunity, scoring on a quarterback keeper when Lavarnway plunged in from two yards out.

That drive was also aided by a long reverse run by Wood. All five of the senior's rushing attempts came via reverse plays, netting him 81 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown scamper for Saranac's third score of the second half that put it up 28-7.

"We felt that Plattsburgh was really going with our flow and our fakes and Cody's got such good ability, you know he'll make a play," Burrell said.

Plattsburgh High's offense sputtered in the second half, unable to sustain any sort of meaningful drive while turning the ball over three times..