Football Shut Out at Watertown; Home Opener This Week

History was made once again by the Woodland Hawks football team in Watertown--and not in a good way. The Hawks were shut out by the Indians, 20-0, to drop their first-ever decision to Watertown and begin the season 0-2 for the first time in the 7-year history of Woodland varsity football.

            It was another sloppy performance by the Hawks, committing four turnovers and only racking up 143 yards of total offense. Once again, injuries took a toll on Woodland, as leading rusher Jon Murren was unable to play with his gimpy ankle and leading tackler Kile Coty was also sidelined with an undisclosed injury.

            Woodland Head Coach Tim Shea decided to go with a new strategy of offense in which junior quarterbacks Brandon Fowler and Steve Petracca split time as the signal-caller. It appeared to be a solid strategy at the outset, as the Hawks were able to move downfield in their first two drives, including into Watertown territory on the second series, but they were forced to punt on each.

            The first quarter was a defensive struggle which ended in a scoreless tie. But right out of the gate in the second period, Indians’ running back Chris Corbo busted out an impressive 60-yard touchdown run down the left sideline, breaking nearly a half-dozen Woodland tackles, to register the game’s first points with 10:43 left in the first half.

            On the Hawks’ ensuing possession, Fowler was heavily pressured on a short dropback, resulting in an interception near midfield. Luckily for the Hawks, the Indians fumbled the ball right back at the Woodland 19-yard line midway through the quarter. It looked like the possession would be a failure as the Hawks punted away, but the kick was muffed by Chris Masayda and recovered by Woodland senior Josh Fitzpatrick at Watertown’s 33-yard line with 3:19 remaining in the half.

            But once again, nobody seemed to want to keep the ball. On the third play of a drive that carried the potential to tie the game, Fowler botched the snap from junior center Mike Usakiewicz and it was recovered by the Indians, taking all the momentum from Woodland. “Turnovers obviously really hurt us,” said Fowler. “We need to cut down on those.” However, no further damage would be done, as Watertown kicker Paul Chowaniec could not connect on a 32-yard field goal attempt, ending the half with the Hawks facing a 7-0 deficit.

            Things did not get any better for Woodland in the second half. Their first drive resulted in yet another punt, and their second was cut short due to another botched snap lost by Fowler. The defense understandably began to break down, as they were forced to stay on the field for much of the night. Corbo led the Indians into the end zone on the final play of the third quarter, this time on another strong 17-yard scamper in which he showed some solid power in breaking more Woodland tackles. It put the capitulation on an impressive night for Corbo, rushing for 164 yards and the two scores.

            The Hawk offense could never get going, as the line had a difficult time supplying ample protection for the quarterback duo. Petracca committed Woodland’s fourth and final turnover of the night on another pressured interception at his own 28-yard line with 9:48 to go. Watertown’s final score came on a 7-yard run by Anton Galaganov, making it 20-0. “Our line didn’t do a good enough job of pass protection or run blocking tonight,” said senior lineman Casey Taylor. “Everybody needs to step up their game next week.”

            Things will not get any easier for the Hawks as they look for their first win of the season. They play host to the young Sacred Heart Hearts on Friday night, who have played well in losses to two of the league’s best, Ansonia and Seymour, in the first two weeks. “We are absolutely going to have to limit our turnovers on Friday,” said Fowler. “If we keep turning the ball over, it’s going to be hard to win.” It will also be tough to win without Murren and Coty again. Their statuses are currently unknown for Friday.

Take note that the game time for Friday's game against Sacred Heart has been changed from 7:00 pm to 4:00 pm.