Empire Football League

Red/Black's strategy works versus Titans

EMPIRE FOOTBALL LEAGUE: Chateauguay sees success in passing game, but not on scoreboard

By MATT CORDOVA

TIMES SPORTSWRITER

Sunday, September 09, 2007

NIKO J. KALLIANIOTIS /
WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES

Watertown's Anthony Noel breaks through Chateauguay's Jean Lerouge, left, and Wesley Joseph during the first quarter of Saturday night's EFL game at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds.

It was no secret as to what the Watertown Red and Black was facing. The Chateauguay Titans like to throw the ball, and they do it pretty well. Better than any team in the Empire Football League, in fact.

Watertown's defense, however, will let Titans quarterback Kevin Wyeth (21-for-37) have the 253 passing yards he racked up during Saturday's EFL game. The local semipro football team knows, in some ways, it was all just wasted energy.

Chateauguay spent so much time lighting up the Red and Black secondary, it forgot all about the scoreboard.

The Titans couldn't handle the Red and Black running game, either.

Anthony Noel ran 17 times for 114 yards as Watertown defeated the Titans 26-7 at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds, and the game's first drive set the tone for the entire game.

After Noel netted runs of 8, 10 and 11 yards on the Red and Black's first three plays, the holes carved out by the offensive line just kept getting bigger. Watertown finished with 261 rushing yards, including Ernie Miller's 87. He also notched a 17-yard TD run with just under two minutes remaining in the game.

The Red and Black improved to 7-1 and also clinched first place in the EFL's West Division.

"We needed to come out hard, and punch them in the nose early and get their morale down," Noel said. "We just came out running hard, and we were determined to score."

Unlike the Titans, Watertown didn't spend much time in the air. Todd Kiechle attempted just eight passes, and he completed five of them. One was a strike to Lester Cole, who jetted 45 yards for a second quarter touchdown.

But Cole wasn't finished. He wanted in on some of the running action, too, and he virtually sealed the Titans' fate on Watertown's following series.

The standout wide receiver, who missed two of Watertown's four road games because of work obligations, took a reverse pitch and raced 38 yards for a touchdown that gave the Red and Black a 20-0 halftime advantage.

"I really wanted to show I'm a factor on this team — that I can run the ball, and not just catch it." Cole said. "We kept pounding the middle, and they couldn't stop us. They were crashing down as soon as our backs hit the hole. We kicked back outside, and I just followed the linemen."

The Titans (4-4) meandered deep into Watertown territory a few times, but they couldn't keep themselves out of trouble. Chateauguay racked up simultaneous personal fouls on two occasions inside Watertown's 20, and after a first down pass to Dan Houle at the Watertown 18, the Titans found themselves starting the next play from the 40.

"Defensively, we just shut them down," Watertown head coach George Ashcraft said.

Treldon James led the Titans with 11 receptions for 146 yards, and Houle reeled in an 8-yard screen pass for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Chateauguay, though, never connected for the "big one."

"We play with a bend-but-don't-break mentality. Everybody's going to make mistakes. You can't get down on each other," Watertown cornerback Keith Jones said. "We have to make sure everybody just shows up to make a play at the right time. That happened tonight."

RING CEREMONY

Miller and Jeremy Padilla will both remember a lot more than a football victory when they think about Saturday night.

Both Watertown players proposed to their girlfriends on the field. And, both accepted by slipping on shiny new engagement rings.

Apparently, it's a Red and Black first.

"In my 17 years coaching, we've never had one," Ashcraft said. "Both players came to me early in the week, and I gave them the green light to go ahead. It was an awesome thing to have happen here."

LAKE CITY 31, ST. LAWRENCE VALLEY 7

Kellen Nolan completed three touchdown passes, including two to Matt St. Clair, as the Stars ran away from the Trailblazers in an EFL matchup in Plattsburgh.

Lake City (2-5-1) built a 27-0 halftime lead on two Nolan touchdown passes and a pair of rushing scores from Heath Geiser and Brandon Keleher. Jordon Keleher logged game highs in carries (18) and yards (104).

James Compeau scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter for St. Lawrence Valley (0-8). Christopher Tom threw for 133 yards, and Joe Hutchinson contributed 64 receiving yards.

Copyright 2007. Watertown Daily Times, Inc., Watertown, NY. All rights reserved.

Lake City snaps out of it

By CLIFF CONNERS
Staff Writer

— PLATTSBURGH -- After going 0-1-4 in their last five games in which they were outscored 93-33, the Lake City Stars took out some of their frustration Saturday night.
In a good way.
The Stars scored on the opening drive and rolled to a 34-7 win over the winless St. Lawrence Valley Trailblazers in Empire Football League action at Melissa L. Penfield Park.
The win moves the Stars to 2-5-1 on the season and gives them a remote shot of getting into the playoffs.
The Stars must win the two remaining games and hope for Chateaugay or Amsterdam to lose out in the process.
It may seem like a long shot, but stranger things have happened.
"We have been right in a lot of the games we have lost this year, but we haven't been able to come away with a lot of positives," Stars head coach Pat Keleher said. "The guys have worked hard this year and they deserve a win like this."
The Stars wasted no time getting on the board with a 6-play, 58-yard drive capped by an 11-yard touchdown reception on a fade by Matt St. Clair from Kellen Nolan.
After Andrew Trombley intercepted a pass on the Trailblazers first drive, the Stars added to their lead with a two-yard scamper by Heith Geiser to make the score 13-0. Ryan DeCamp then booted his second extra point to make the score 14-0 just 12:05 into the contest.
"We haven't showed a lot of it this year, but we do have some playmakers," Keleher said. "Our biggest issue is our depth, but tonight the guys played well all the way up-and-down the bench."
Brandon Keleher, who finished with 104 yards on 18 carries, put the Stars up by three scores with a 5-yard run midway through the second quarter. The extra-point snap was muffed, leaving the Stars with a 20-0 lead.
With time running out in the half, Nolan found Jordon Keleher wide open in the corner of the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown reception. It was one of three touchdown passes for Nolan, who finished with 111 yards through the air on 10 completions.
"We have been working hard on giving our quarterback protection," Keleher said. "Aside from a couple of times, we gave him the time he needed and he did a good job for us."
St. Lawrence avoided being shutout when tailback James Compeau scored from a yard out 8:14 into the fourth quarter.
"We played great defensively tonight and our guys should be proud of the way we played. We play hard and tough," said Keleher. "Overall, I'm pleased with our effort."
With less than four minutes remaining in the game, Matt St. Clair hauled in a 75-yard reception for a score after making a nice stop-and-go move on the defender as he caught the ball. It was one of two St. Clair touchdown catches.
The Stars held a significant 288-22 in rushing yards over the Trailblazers, which was a big reason for their success.
"We ran all over them and they couldn't run on us. Our running game opened up our passing game tonight, and we clicked all the way through.
Now, we have to look forward to next week."
The Stars will host the Amsterdam Zephrys next week for a 7:30 p.m. start.
--
Lake City 34, St. Lawrence 7
St. Lawrence 0 0 0 7 -- 7
Lake City14 13 0 7 -- 34
First quarter
LC- M. St. Clair 11 pass from Ke. Nolan (DeCamp kick), 3:21.
LC- Geiser 2 run (Decamp kick), 12:05.
Second quarter
LC- B. Keleher 5 run (Kick failed), 7:01.
LC- J. Keleher 19 pass from Nolan (DeCamp kick), 14:08.
Fourth quarter
SL- Compeau 1 run (Chandonnet kick), 8:14.
LC- M. St. Clair 75 pass from Nolan (DeCamp kick), 11:54.
Individual statistics
Rushing
LC- M. St. Clair 2-26; B. Keleher 18-104, TD; Geiser 10-61, TD; Ke. Nolan 3-5; Gordon 2-26; Ky. Nolan 1-1; Parks 2-7. Totals: 38-232.
SL- Compeau 6-25, TD; Tom 2- (-13); Deon 5-10. Totals: 10-22.
Passing
LC- Ke. Nolan 10-20-1-111, 3 TD's. Totals: 10-20-1-111.
SL- Tom 5-22-3-133; Compeau 1-2-0-12. Totals: 6-24-3-145.
Receiving
LC- T. St. Clair 1-7; M. St. Clair 2-85, 2 TD's; Gordon 2-13; Lamoy 1-9; J. Keleher 2-30, TD; Geiser 1-4; Talley 1-15; Verkey 1-13; B. Keleher 1-10. Totals: 12-176.
SL- Compeau 4-34; Tom 1-12; Hutchinson 2-64; Downie 1-35. Totals: 8-145.
Interceptions
LC- Trombley 2, M. St. Clair.
SL-Dashnaw.

Copyright © 1999-2006 cnhi, inc.

Roundup

Published: Sunday, September 9, 2007
SCRANTON, Pa. -- The Vermont Ice Storm ran its record to 11-0 with a 37-10 Empire Football League win over the Scranton Eagles on Saturday night.

Brad Ruderman completed three touchdown passes, hitting Jason Young and Matt Bombardier in the first quarter and Rob Joy in the third quarter.

Austin Partain ripped off a 52-yard touchdown run in the second quarter for the Ice Storm and Evan Hicks drilled a 27-yard field goal in the fourth. Matt Paul's 51-yard pass to Troy Canada capped the Vermont scoring.

Donny LaFleur accounted for eight tackles and a sack and Kase Long had a sack for the Ice Storm, who improved to 8-0 in the league.