The Sherburne-Earlville Marauders football team is off to a hot 3-1 start as they defeated APW 46-15 on Friday. (Photo by Morgan Golliver)

SHERBURNE – Sherburne-Earlville’s football team is off to its best start since 2016, beating Altmar-Parish-Williamstown, 46-15, at Marauders Stadium on Friday.

S-E improved to 3-1 on the season, matching the start from seven years ago.

“Darren (Miles) stood up after the game and told the team that they can’t be satisfied at 3-1,” said second-year S-E coach Steve Franklin. “He said it feels great to be winning, but if we want to change the culture, we have to come to practice each day and work hard.”

Miles, a fourth-year senior starter, has already surpassed the combined win total over his first three seasons after Friday’s blowout.

Miles finished 15-for-24 passing for 181 yards and two TDs, and he added two more rushing scores to his gaudy ledger.

Miles led a balanced run-pass attack that has gone more up-tempo, while implementing a quick, high-percentage passing game like that run by NCAA Division III local product, Cortland State.

Ethan Shaw, Nick Hull, and Justin Race all had first-quarter TD runs lifting the Marauders to a quick 20-0 lead.

The offensive onslaught kept that pace with three more touchdowns in the second quarter.

Miles had a pair of short TD runs, and capped a 40-point opening half tossing a four-yard TD strike to Hadden Price.

“We’ve gone away from that smash-mouth football style of play,” Franklin said. “We can still go to it (when needed), but the coaching staff has put in a lot of time in the offseason developing new methods. The players have worked their butts off learning the new system and the new verbiage.”

Miles capped S-E’s scoring early in the third period, when he connected with Hull on a four-yard TD strike.

At that point, with the game well in hand, Franklin worked in much of his second unit.

“We’ve been at the bottom, and we wanted to make sure we didn’t make those mistakes that can keep teams in games,” Franklin said. “We wanted to put the game away as fast as we could, and we did that (Friday).”

Score by quarters

A-P-W  0   8  7  0—15

S-E  20  20  6  0—46

S-E scoring summary

1st quarter:  Ethan Shaw 9 run (run failed); Nick Hull 12 run (pass failed); Justin Race 6 run (Darren Miles pass to Aaron Key. 2nd quarter:  Miles 7 run (pass failed); Miles 2 Run (Miles pass to Hadden Price); Miles 4 pass to Price (pass failed). 3rd quarter:  Miles 4 pass to Hull (run failed)

Individual Statistics

Passing:  Darren Miles 15-24-0, 181 yds, 2 TDs; Price 1-1-0, (-3) yards.

Rushing: Miles 5-55, Hull 7-52, Shaw 5-47, Aydin Gunther 1-9, Races 3-7, Tomek Jusianiec 1-(-2).

Receiving:  Hull 8-84, Key 1-43, Shaw 2-29, Price 2-12, Race 3-10, Key 1-43.