Red & Black prevails, tops Green Jackets

GLENS FALLS — The wheels fell off the Red and Black’s charter bus on its way to Glens Falls Saturday night, but the semipro football team was able to stay the course, and safely escaped East Field with a 21-16 victory in the first round of the Empire Football League playoffs.

Watertown improved to 6-5 overall, the first time the team has been above .500 all season, and will play at top-seeded Syracuse in Saturday’s semifinals.

Running back Joe Brennan ran for 121 yards on 18 carries, including a 12-yard touchdown run that put the Red and Black up 21-10 with four minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Glens Falls (6-5) answered on the ensuing possession, as Ricky McVay threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Tom Hammond with less than three minutes remaining.

The Greenjackets then tried an onside kick, but touched the ball before it went the required 10 yards. The Red and Black took over possession and ran the clock out to earn the victory.

Dan Robl blocked a punt with just over a minute left in the first half, and Ian Clark scooped it up and took it to the end zone, giving the Red and Black a 14-10 lead at halftime.

Watertown fell behind 10-0 early in the first quarter.

Quarterback Brian Williams threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Paul Owens in the first quarter, and Watertown never trailed after taking the lead on Clark’s blocked punt return.

The kickoff was delayed 40 minutes because of two wheels rolling off of Watertown’s charter bus on the ride down, somewhere between Lowville and Turin on Route 12.

Red and Black coach George Ashcraft went back to Watertown with one of his players, and after being unable to secure another charter, returned to the scene almost two hours later with a school bus.

Players passed the time by searching through nearby fields for the two tires, both of which Ashcraft said were found, and snapping pictures of the bus and its missing wheels. No one was injured in the ordeal.

The Red and Black will travel, hopefully in a safe fashion, to Sunnycrest Park in Syracuse for a 7:30 p.m. matchup with the Shock on Saturday.

Watertown lost its home opener to Syracuse, 55-0, on Aug. 6 in the only meeting between the two teams this year.

Syracuse is 10-0, and has the scored the most points in the league, 348, while giving up the fewest points 69.