Hawks Rout Watertown to Kick Off Season

30 seconds was all the Hawks needed to get on the board, and the offense never stopped for the home team, as Woodland routed the Indians of Watertown by the final score of 55-20.

On the third play of the game, QB Cody Kingsley connected with Will Volage on a 48-yard strike to set the tone for the rest of the game. On Woodland's next possession, with 8:56 left in the first quarter, Kingsley made his only mistake of the game, when his pass was intercepted by Kris Nearing at the Woodland 14 yard line. On the following play, the Indians scored their only first half points, as Frank Danay rushed for a touchdown, and the PAT gave Watertown the lead, 7-6.

The next possession for the Hawks began the offensive onslaught, as Woodland would score on each of its next 6 possessions, while holding the Indians scoreless. With 4:34 left in the first quarter, Volage ran for a 10 yard score, and Brandon Fowler added the extra point to make it 13-7. After forcing Watertown to punt, Jon Murren ran for a 9 yard touchdown to give the Hawks a 20-7 advantage. Woodland forced a turnover on downs on the ensuing Indian possession, followed by a 68 yard scamper by Volage, his second score of the game, giving the Hawks a 20-point cushion with 9 minutes to go in the second period.

The home team continued the assault, when after forcing a punt, Kingsley hooked up with Eric Alfiere for a 14-yard touchdown pass. After another Watertown punt, the Hawks scored their final touchdown of the first half, on a 12-yard Volage run. Fowler's fifth straight PAT gave Woodland a 41-7 halftime edge.

In the second half, the Hawks kept the pressure on the Indians. Stan Strusky recovered a fumble with 10:33 to go in the third quarter, which led to another Woodland touchdown, coming on Sidney Sumler's 10-yard rush. Fowler's sixth extra point made it 48-7 in favor of the home team.

The Hawks defense did not relent, as Volage recovered another Watertown fumble with 7 minutes to go in the third. However, Woodland was finally held out of the end zone as the starters began to rest, and were forced to punt.

The Indians finally got into double digit scoring in the fourth period, when backup quarterback Mike Lopes hit starting signal-caller Paul Chowaniec for a 25-yard touchdown. Chowaniec's PAT made it a 48-14 game. The Hawks, though, responded with their last score of the game, coming on Nate Hilton's 25-yard touchdown run. Fowler added his seventh and final extra point put Woodland over the 50-point plateau. Watertown registered the final points of the game with 1:04 to go, as Dominic Mango scrambled 19 yards for the touchdown. Woodland ran out the remaining minute on the clock to close out an impressive first victory of the season.

Kingsley had a very solid performance in his first game as full-time starter, passing for 173 yards and 2 TD and 1 INT. Jason Skibek and Steve Petracca also saw action in the second half. Volage led the Hawks with 73 receiving yards, including the 48-yard opening score. Alfiere chipped in 63 yards, while Jon Murren added 33.

The rushing game was a major strength of Woodland's offense, despite not having Sean Hansen due to injury. Volage, in addition to leading the team in receiving yards, also led the Hawks in rushing, with 149 yards and 3 TD on the ground. Sumler added 73 yards and a score, while Murren racked up 23 yards and a trip to the end zone. Scott Swanson rushed for 41 yards in the second half, and Hilton rushed for 21 yards and the Hawks' final touchdown.

Steve Gillette registered a sack for a loss of 10 yards in the second half to stall a Watertown drive. Woodland also racked up a very impressive 24 first downs, while controlling the time of possession (over 10 more minutes of possession).

The Hawks are back in action on Thursday, September 20th at Municipal Stadium in Waterbury. They travel to the newly turfed field to take on Sacred Heart, who dropped a 46-6 decision to Seymour on opening night.

Listen to the archived Woodland vs. Watertown game soon here on WRHSOnline.net.

Box Score:

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Watertown	7	0	0	13	20
Woodland	13	28	7	7	55

1st Quarter:
WOOD- (11:30) Kingsley 48 yard pass to Volage (kick failed)
WTWN- (8:56) Kingsley interception to Nearing
WTWN- (8:50) Danay 14 yard run (Chowaniec kick)
WOOD- (4:34) Volage 10 yard run (Fowler kick)
2nd Quarter:
WOOD- (10:45) Murren 9 yard run (Fowler kick)
WOOD- (9:00) Volage 68 yard run (Fowler kick)
WOOD- (3:50) Kingsley 14 yard pass to Alfiere (Fowler kick)
WOOD- (0:59) Volage 12 yard run (Fowler kick)
3rd Quarter:
WOOD- (10:33) Strusky fumble recovery
WOOD- (7:19) Sumler 10 yard run (Fowler kick)
WOOD- (7:00) Volage fumble recovery
4th Quarter:
WTWN- (10:52) Lopes 25 yard pass to Chowaniec (Chowaniec kick)
WOOD- (4:03) Hilton 25 yard run (Fowler kick)
WTWN- (1:04) Mango 19 yard run (conversion failed)

Photo by Stephanie Kooharian