Back rushes for 217 yards, 3 TDs, By Evan Drellich Press and Sun Bulletin, Binghamton

Jesse Wood eclipsed 200 yards on the ground and scored three touchdowns for a second consecutive week since he was named Seton Catholic Central's primary running back.

More than last week, Wood had to shoulder nearly the entire load Saturday night in the Saints' 20-7 Section 4 Football Conference Division VII victory over visiting Harpursville (1-4, 0-4 Div) at Alumni Stadium.

He carried the ball 41 times for 217 yards, including 28 rushes in the second half. He had 20 carries last week against Hancock.

"I was dying," Wood said of the workload. "I just had faith in my line, I just kept running hard and following my line through the right holes."

With top receiver Joe Martin out for the year due to a dislocated hip and starting quarterback James Hranek day-to-day since suffering a fractured leg in the third game of the season, the Saints (4-1, 2-1 Division VII) have had little choice other than to look to Wood and the running game.

"You lose those guys, you throw the playbook away," Saints coach Jim Clarke said. "We had to reinvent things ... With them gone, we're definitely putting the weight on Jesse's shoulders."

Wood capped the game's opening 12-play, 55-yard drive with a 4-yard score. He was stopped at the line of scrimmage before he broke free to the left side, stretching forward to break the plane of the goal line.

Harpursville fumbled two plays into its first possession, turning the ball over on its 39-yard line with 6:12 left in the first quarter. Wood scored on another 4-yard run five minutes later to make it 13-0.

A Saints fumble, one of two they lost, set up Harpursville inside Seton CC's 10 with 6:13 left before halftime. Tyler Boudreau, who rushed for a team-high 92 yards, ran 9 yards to cut the lead to 13-7.

In the second half, the Saints converted two fourth downs in an eight-minute drive that began in the third quarter and ended with a 20-7 Seton lead and 7:38 left in the fourth. Wood scored his third touchdown on the drive, and also broke a 23-yard run. He added a 37-yard run later in the quarter.

"At halftime we said, you know, why go away from what you're good at so we went back to him the second half," Clarke said.

Harpursville turned to its passing game in the second half, but quarterback Ryan Dalpiaz couldn't connect with his receivers. Dalpiaz finished 1-for-7.

"We had a lot of near misses," Harpursville coach Nick Gentile said. "If you complete one more, it's an even ballgame or you're six behind."