Winless teams usually make mistakes, and winning teams usually take advantage of them.
That was pretty much the case in the Watertown High football team's 42-20 triumph over Stoneham Friday night at Victory Field.
Costly penalties and turnovers were committed by the winless Spartans throughout the contest, and the Raiders, who went to 6-2 and clinched their first winning season since 1995, did not let any opportunities pass them by.
``We have been shooting ourselves in the foot all year long,'' said second-year Spartan coach Dave Wilcox, whose team dropped to 0-8. ``It's been the story of our season. We are a young team, and we have to learn how to handle frustration.''
Watertown, which did not commit any turnovers and had only two penalties, scored four touchdowns on its first four possessions to jump out to a 28-0 lead.
It appeared the Raiders would go three-and-out on their first drive, but a fake punt on fourth-and-2 at their 41 set the tone for the game. The ball was snapped to the up-man, Bliss Payne, and the junior back rushed 13 yards to keep the drive alive. Quarterback C.J. Logan, who had another monster game with four touchdowns and 165 yards rushing, got into the end zone from two yards on a fourth-and-1, and the Raiders were on their way.
``That fake punt was a great call by our coach,'' Logan said of Watertown coach John Cacace's decision to gamble early in the game. ``We are pretty used to driving the ball downfield on our first possession, and to go three-and-out there and give the ball up might have gotten the team a little down.''
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Box score
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Stoneham 0 8 0 12 - 20 Watertown 14 14 7 7 - 42 WA-C.J. Logan 2 yard run (Steve Jewers kick) WA-Nick Mahjoubi 1 yard run (Jewers kick) WA-Logan 14 yard run (Jewers kick) WA-Logan 7 yard run (Jewers kick) ST-Jon Thain 42 yard pass from Tom Barry (Barry pass to Thain) WA-Logan 15 yard run (Jewers kick) ST-Thain 5 yard pass from Barry (pass failed) WA-Luke McElroy 73 yard kickoff return (Jewers kick) ST-Douglas Cormier 5 yard run (rush failed) |
On the next play after the opening touchdown, Stoneham committed the first of its four turnovers when senior Guy Fodera fumbled the ball at his own 41. The Raiders took advantage with a touchdown when senior co-captain and running back Nick Mahjoubi took it in from a yard out with under a minute left in the first quarter.
That drive was also helped by a 13-yard pass from Logan to junior receiver Tyler Romanelli (2 catches, 40 yards) and was kept alive when a personal foul at the Stoneham 15 turned a third-and-12 into a first-and-goal.
``That was the play that really hurt us,'' Wilcox said of his team's penalty in the red zone. ``You can't give an offense like that, and especially a quarterback like Logan, second and third chances.''
After Stoneham went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, Watertown went up three scores when it capped a seven-play, 55-yard drive with a nifty 14-yard scamper by Logan. In what may have been his best run of the season, Logan lost his balance as he spun through tacklers, yet somehow kept his feet and found his way into the end zone.
``Stoneham's defense read the play perfectly,'' said Logan, who also completed nine passes on the night. ``So I was forced to try to cut back right, and luckily I was able to spin around a couple of tacklers.''
But Wilcox didn't think it had anything to do with luck.
``He's just a great player,'' the Spartan coach said. ``We knew that coming in. He really is amazing when he has the ball.''
On the next possession, Stoneham finally got a first down, but turned the ball over on the same play. Senior running back Mike Lebrun, after exploding for 13 yards up the middle, coughed up the ball at midfield, where Watertown's Brendan Wojtowicz fell on the loose ball.
The Raiders again took advantage of the Stoneham miscue. Logan finished the drive, helped out by a 29-yard pass to senior receiver Rich Brennan, with a 7-yard touchdown run with just 2:44 left in the half.
Stoneham went into halftime with a little momentum, however, when quarterback Tom Barry hit senior receiver Jon Thain from 42 yards out for a score. With the two-point conversion, it cut the lead to 28-8.
Any thoughts of a miracle comeback were squashed in the third quarter. After Barry was picked off by Wojtowicz on their first possession, the Raiders responded with another touchdown drive. Logan capped a drive with a 15-yard run for his fourth touchdown of the game to make it 35-8.
The Raiders got their first special teams touchdown of the season when Luke McElroy got the crowd on its feet again with a 73-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter. Stoneham added a final score on a second Barry-Thain touchdown combination.
``We did a good job moving the ball, because the offensive line was outstanding,'' Logan said. ``We came to play, and I personally believe that when we are at 100 percent, we can compete with almost anyone in the league.''
Watertown will try to prove that again when they travel to Melrose on Friday night.
