EFL Communications – August 5, 2011
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BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – Week five features a four game schedule, the first of the EFL season. Syracuse (3-0) and Albany (4-0) will both look to stay unbeaten, as the Shock travel to Watertown (1-2) while the Mallers will host Elmira (0-3). A battle for third in the standings will take place in Plattsburgh as Glens Falls (3-1) visits the North Stars (2-1). The EFL Game of the Week will feature the home opener for Watertown as they look to bounce back against Syracuse. A Shock squad that has outscored its last two opponents 93-0, are looking to continue their hot streak. As we approach the midway point of the season, there is plenty of action in the EFL this weekend. Teams will be jockeying for position in the standings to set themselves up for a late run.
Syracuse will head north about 70 miles to take on Watertown and run their EFL win streak to four. The Shock received an extremely productive running game from the duo of Justyn Hardwick and Dewayne Gordon. The pair combined for 272 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, helping Syracuse defeat Amsterdam 49-0 to improve to 3-0 on the season. The other two touchdowns came by way of the air as quarterback Cedric Stevens connected with receiver Tyler Gage twice. The Shock defense recovered three fumbles and held the Zephyrs to 68 yards of total offense. Amsterdam did play shorthanded, losing their starting quarterback during the game and without tailback Elijah White. It would have mattered little however, as the Syracuse defense was impenetrable.
Syracuse head coach Ken Anderson knows it will be an unfriendly environment Saturday night in Watertown. “We realize that Watertown is a hostile place to play, but we look forward to the challenge and we are excited to play against a team that has so much support from their community.” In order to offset the home field advantage Anderson plans on using his one-two punch in the backfield. “We are blessed to have two very talented tailbacks who work well together. Our offense tries to utilize both backs at the same time, keeping them both on the field as much as possible so we are as dangerous as possible.” Getting all his weapons the ball doesn’t seem to phase Coach Anderson knowing his players are all focused on one goal. “All of our great athletes decided months ago that they would put the team before themselves and thus far they have done just that and the results prove it.” In regards to the Watertown running game Anderson stated, “Although they’ve had a slow start, we know at any point they can explode and get back on track so we have to respect that.”
Returning home for their opener may be just what the Watertown Red & Black need. Coming off two straight road losses, the Red & Black look to get back on track against a very good Syracuse team. Watertown played a hard game last week at Plattsburgh, but was unable to take advantage of their scoring opportunities and get stops when they needed, falling 20-6. The ground attack was more potent against the North Stars than in week two, combining for 114 yards on 29 carries. The Red & Black have rushed for over 100 yards in both of their games, but are ineffective through the air as quarterback Brian Williams has thrown for just 56 yards. Watertown will need big games from running backs Anthony Noel and Joe Brennan as well as Williams to be successful against Syracuse.
Watertown welcomes the challenge of facing an undefeated Syracuse squad, “My team has a very good attitude and we look forward to playing Syracuse,” said head coach George Ashcraft. “We’re moving forward and not looking back at previous weeks and what could have been.” Ashcraft believes if the Red & Black control the clock and play mistake-free football they will be successful. “Hopefully we can play a turnover-free game…we turned the ball over five times in the last two games and we can’t do that against Syracuse.” Well aware of the Shock’s dynamic offense Ashcraft will send his best players out and see what happens, “You put your best players on their best players and hope for the best… I have a tremendous amount of respective for their team especially those two (Hardwick and Gordon).” In order to immobilize the Syracuse offense Ashcraft would like to slow down the game and keep the Shock offense on the sidelines. “I have the upmost respect for that organization, but I can’t wait to play…We really want to get in the win column, it should be a great game,” concluded Ashcraft.
There are three other games on slate for Saturday night, including a matchup for third place in Plattsburgh, with Glens Falls coming to town. The North Stars are technically a half-game back of the Greenjackets because of their 2-1 record, but a win would put them ahead of Glens Falls in the standings. Both teams are coming off week four wins, with Plattsburgh beating Watertown 20-6 and Glens Falls defeating Montreal 21-14. The quarterback matchup in this game will be the highlight, with the pair ranking one-two in the league in passing. Greenjackets quarterback Ian Godfrey leads all EFL quarterbacks with 750 yards passing and 8 touchdowns. His counterpart for the North Stars Ken Stay has been extremely efficient throwing for over 500 yards with four touchdowns and just one interception. Last week both quarterbacks had efficient games leading their teams out of dangerous matchups. Stay threw two touchdowns last week to lead the North Stars over the Red & Black while Godfey was an effective 9-for-15 for 165 yards and touchdown, adding 35 yards on the ground against the Voyageurs. Stay was equally proficient going 8-for-12 for 123 yards as neither quarterback threw an interception.
Montreal visits Amsterdam as both teams look to get healthy before another physical game. Last week, Montreal was edged out by Glens Falls and Amsterdam fell victim to a very hot Syracuse team. The Voyageurs played a tough game against the Greenjackets, but made costly turnovers in vital situations and was defeated 21-14. Amsterdam played without leading rusher Elijah White and lost starting quarterback Datwan Hemmingway during the game. The Zephyrs had no answer for the Shock running game as the score was 28-0 at the half. Amsterdam was held to 68 yards of total offense. Each team is looking to get healthy fast and regain their missing players before a hotly contested matchup.
In the final matchup of the weekend, Albany will host Elmira with their perfect 4-0 start on the line. A stingy Evolution squad will look for the upset as they travel to Bleeker Stadium Saturday evening. Both teams were off last weekend with Elmira enjoying their bye week and Albany earning a forfeit victory over Vermont for their previous scheduled game. A daunting Albany defensive front will test the Elmira offensive line, who look to protect quarterback Jeff Case from the Maller pass rush. The Albany secondary will look to add to their interception total against the pass-friendly Elmira offense. However, if the Evolution slips a few passes by the dangerous Maller defense the game could prove closer than expected.
Please go to www.empire-football-league .com for updates throughout thenight on all games via the twitter feed on the right side of the website.
For live footage of the Watertown/Syracuse game please go to http://www.steveweedproductions.com/live.html.
Also visit http://adirondacksportsnet.com/ for highlights of all Glens Falls Greenjackets games.
WEEK FIVE SCHEDULE:
Syracuse at Watertown, 7:30 p.m.
Glens Falls at Plattsburgh, 7:30 p.m.
Montreal at Amsterdam, 7:30 p.m.
Elmira at Albany, 7:30 p.m.
