Every time a team kicks off to Malone, the players hold their collective breaths.

That’s because the Huskies have returned two for touchdowns and average nearly 30 yards per kick return.

Malone uses three players consistently on returns — Derek Hanna, Jake Gravel and Darren Fullum.

“Those three guys are pretty good runners,” said Malone football coach Greg Marshall. “They work really well together as far as blocking for each other. They’ve just given us a big boost.”

The Huskies also changed some of the personnel on special teams, opting to use smaller, quicker players up front to get to blocks faster and open holes.

The change resulted in better field position and more scoring opportunities. Malone has scored 15 touchdowns this season and totaled 94 points.

Massena has seen similar success on special teams in the Northern Football Conference. The Red Raiders employ Evan Raymo as the main return player.

“It’s just the blocking,” Raymo said. “It’s there and I just do what I can and keep my feet moving.”

He’s led Massena to over 30 yards per return on average and one touchdown.

“I think our guys are making the right blocks at the right times,” Red Raiders coach Anthony Diagostino said. “When he sees that hole he can turn it into something.”

Raymo also knows that facing his teammates and coaches is a lot easier after a good return.

“Just catch the ball or else I don’t really want to go to the sidelines,” Raymo said, describing his mind-set before each kickoff. “If I don’t, then I feel like I let my team down. I don’t want to do that.”

Raymo hasn’t had that experience too often. His efforts not only result in great field position, but also give the Red Raiders a mental edge, according to Diagostino.

“I think it can make them see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “If they can see that we’re on our 40-yard line instead of the 15, that does a lot. They can see the end zone is a lot closer.”

BIG-GAME WEEKEND

Friday night and Saturday afternoon feature a number of postseason previews.

Potsdam plays at Massena on Friday night to determine the home-field advantage for a likely second meeting in the Class A semifinals.

The Sandstoners are looking to get back on track after two difficult losses to Ogdensburg Free Academy and Indian River. Massena also lost to both teams.

“It’s two teams with similar records and we’ve both played some similar teams,” said Potsdam coach Jim Kirka. “(Massena) did some stuff well early in the season.”

Win or lose, both teams know it will be a valuable learning experience to help prepare for a second meeting in the playoffs.

“You’re going to learn from what you need to improve on or maintain to keep doing well,” Kirka said. “We learn from every game.”

Massena wants to avenge last year’s postseason loss at Potsdam as well as earn home field.

“We don’t want to play away,” Raymo said. “It’s a really big game. We want home-field advantage so we’ve got to beat them here.”

Beekmantown and Malone square off on Saturday with the Huskies looking to prove they can play with the best in Class B.

The Huskies have taken a young crop of players — only eight seniors — and turned in a respectable record. With Beekmantown the favorite in Class B, Malone needs the defense to stay sharp. Last week, the Huskies shut out St. Lawrence 42-0. Marshall expects that kind of play should give Malone a chance to knock off Beekmantown.

“We’re hoping to keep up how we played last week,” he said. “Our defense didn’t put it together against Saranac (a 41-33 loss), and we’re just starting to come together.”

Also Friday night, Saranac Lake comes to Ogdensburg Free Academy with both teams holding undefeated records. They will, barring upset, face off again for the Class C championship.

The Blue Devils were tested only once this season, but came from behind to defeat Potsdam 33-32 in Ogdensburg.

Jared Morrow broke out against the Sandstoners and hasn’t stopped since. He’s climbed the NFC leaderboard in rushing, passing and scoring over the past three weeks and will be a key player to watch for OFA.

Saranac Lake hasn’t had a close game since week one in a 15-12 win over Ticonderoga.

Daniel J. Cassavaugh covers the Northern Football Conference for the Times. He can be reached at dcassavaugh@wdt.net.