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BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – Albany, Plattsburgh and Watertown will all play host Saturday night as the EFL heads into the final stretch of its schedule following the Labor Day weekend break. The Montreal Voyageurs will head to Bleecker Stadium to take on the Metro Mallers while the Elmira Evolution travels to Plattsburgh to face off against the North Stars. In the week’s final matchup the Amsterdam Zephyrs will try to get back on track against the Red & Black at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds. Syracuse earns a forfeit victory over Vermont in Week 9 and Glens Falls is enjoying a bye week. The two teams have decided to play a non-league game during their off week, the result will not count in the standings.
Albany is looking to get a half game closer to league leader Syracuse Saturday night when they host Elmira. The Metro Mallers are coming off an impressive 46-8 victory over Amsterdam in Week 8 to move to 6-1 on the season. The Albany running attack led the charge against the Zephyrs, piling up 209 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, 102 yard and two TD’s coming from Sylvester Cooperwood. Do-it-all back CJ Tarver was also explosive in the run game, scoring two touchdowns himself. Gabe Young and Alex Brace each forced a turnover for Albany, with Young recording one interception and Brace tallying a fumble recovery. Montreal was off in Week 8, but most recently fell to Watertown 21-6 in Week 7. The Voyageurs are 3-4 on the year are looking to make a final push for the playoffs. Montreal is currently in a tie for fourth place with Watertown and a win over Albany could prove crucial at the end of the season.
Plattsburgh, whose only two losses have come at the hands of the league’s top two teams, are looking to recover from a tough 27-21 loss to Syracuse in Week 8. The North Stars, 6-2, sit alone in third place but know they could just as easily be sitting in first. A tremendous game by linebacker Harry Roscoe, who returned an interception 81 yards for a touchdown against the Shock, kept Plattsburgh’s hopes alive. Running back Zach Blocker scored twice on the ground, but the North Stars were unable to hold off the Syracuse attack as quarterback Ken Stay threw two costly interceptions. Elmira will look to regroup in Plattsburgh after a 68-6 loss at Watertown in Week 8. The Evolution are 1-6 on the season, but continue to play hard in each game.
In the week’s final official matchup Watertown will look to add to their two game win streak against Amsterdam. After disposing of Montreal and Elmira in weeks seven and eight, the Red & Black hope their success will continue Saturday night against the Zephyrs. Watertown, a team that scored six total touchdowns in five games, got three touchdowns on the ground and two through the air against Elmira in Week 8. The offensive outburst was led by veterans Joe Brennan and Brian Williams. Williams threw two touchdowns and ran one in for the Red & Black. Brennan along with Anthony Noel, Earnie Wash and Dustin Demeritt all scored for Watertown versus Elmira. The Red & Black also scored twice on defense forcing four turnovers, two fumbles and two interceptions. Amsterdam will look to get back in the playoff race with a win at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds. Currently at 2-5 and on the outside looking in, the Zephyrs hope the week off did the team some good after a 46-8 loss to Albany in Week 8.
With three weeks of EFL action left before the playoffs begin, every team is positioning themselves for the second season. Syracuse, Albany and Plattsburgh are all battling for the top three spots, as a loss by any team could shake up the standings. The Week 9 action could prove pivotal when the season wraps up in late September.
For live streaming video of the Watertown/Amsterdam game please visit http://steveweedproductions.com/live.html
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