BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – Week three of the Empire Football League matches up a pair of 2-0 teams while Elmira seeks their first win and Syracuse and Montreal will be featured in the EFL Game of the Week. Montreal (1-1) will be visiting Syracuse Saturday evening after dropping their season-opener last week at Plattsburgh. Syracuse (1-0), coming off a bye week will be looking to continue their early season momentum after a 76-19 trouncing of Elmira in week one. Other action around the league includes, Glens Falls (2-0) visiting Albany (2-0), as one team will be handed their first loss of the season. The game marks Albany’s third straight home game to open the season. The final game on slate for week three is Elmira (0-2) at Amsterdam (1-1). Plattsburgh is off this week and Watertown will earn a forfeit victory over Vermont.
After an impressive showing in week one against an undermanned Elmira squad, the Syracuse Shock will seek a 2-0 start to the 2011 EFL season. Scoring points in every facet of the game, the Evolution were no match for the defending NAFL East Region Champions. The Shock were led by week one Special Teams Player of the Week Dewayne Gordon and Rookie of the Week Tyrone Burke. Gordon scored on offense, defense and special teams. For his first touchdown Gordon returned a punt 59 yards for the score, and then he returned an interception 43 yards for the touchdown. Finally, Gordon scampered 50 yards for a touchdown on offense. Burke caught four passes, three of which were touchdowns, with a long of 59 yards. In his EFL debut, Burke racked up 135 yards in receptions. In all the Shock had four touchdowns through the air, three on the ground, three on defense and one punt return for a score in week one.
Syracuse head coach Ken Anderson feels his team is responding well to their adjustments early in the season. “I feel that as a team we understand the mission at hand. We have been able to score early on our three previous opponents and that has allowed us to go deeper into our rotations and get a good long look at a lot of new athletes. The players appear to be focused and determined to stay on course.”
A quick and fast Syracuse defense caused six turnovers against Elmira, picking off quarterback Jeff Case three times and recovered three fumbles. Defensive back CJ Moore led the Shock with two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, two passes defended and a sack. Syracuse safety Stephon Cunningham also scored on defense, returning a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Anderson believes this past week of practice has prepared his players for Montreal Saturday evening. “We had an exceptional week of practice. Although Wednesday was extremely hot, we had what I feel was the best practice we've had all season. That’s saying a lot considering we started in early January.” Anderson knows his team will have to be on point to come out victorious against Montreal. “They (Montreal) are in their first year of existence so it's tough to know what to expect. I will say that based on last weeks performance against Plattsburgh, it would appear that they have a solid pass defense as they limited the Stars to 100 yds passing.”
Following a week two defeat at Plattsburgh, Montreal hopes for better circumstances versus Syracuse. The Voyageurs played admirably against the North Stars but it wasn’t enough to stop a punishing Plattsburgh running game. In order for Montreal to have success in Syracuse they must remedy their woes from the previous week. Getting off the field on third down will be imperative as the Voyageurs face a dynamic Shock offense.
The most anticipated matchup of week three will be Glens Falls versus Albany. Both teams are riding two-game winning streaks heading into week three and are looking to stay on top of the EFL standings. Albany is coming off its second straight impressive home victory after beating Watertown 30-7. Albany has played both teams from last year’s championship game and handed them each losses. Glens Falls is riding the momentum of a 76-6 rout over Elmira in a game where quarterback Ian Godfrey threw for a season-best five touchdowns. In week one, the Greenjackets defeated Amsterdam 27-6.
Amsterdam and Elmira round out the week three action as the Evolution travel east to take on the Zephyrs. Elmira hopes to bounce back from a pair of lopsided losses while Amsterdam looks to ride running back Elijah White to victory.
WEEK 3 SCHEDULE:
Glens Falls at Albany – 7:30
Montreal at Syracuse – 7:30
Elmira at Amsterdam – 7:30
