Semipro football: Red & Black takes down Greenjackets behind Furr, Williams

Dan Mount, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·4 min read

Aug. 14—WATERTOWN — Chris Furr did plenty of damage for the Watertown Red and Black with his three catches.

Furr caught three touchdown on three receptions for 126 yards as Watertown stayed unbeaten with a 35-7 Empire Football League victory over the Glens Falls Greenjackets Saturday night at George Ashcraft Field at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds.

Quarterback Jason Williams went 16-for-25 and threw for 301 yards and four touchdown passes as the Red and Black (7-0 overall, 6-0 EFL) swept the season series with the Greenjackets. Watertown beat Glens Falls, 19-14, on July 9 to start the season.

Furr made the most of his three catches as Watertown reeled off the first 35 points of the game, including a 28-0 lead at the half. The standout wide receiver has been a key cog in the Red and Black's aerial assault.

"He's an awesome athlete," Red and Black head coach George Ashcraft said of Furr. "He's been doing those type of things since he came on the team."

Williams had plenty of time to make plays and was efficient with his passes. He had to scramble a few times, but found his wideouts and picked apart the Glens Falls secondary.

"Everybody's was executing and they were getting into their zones making them (the receivers) easy targets to find," Williams said.

The Red and Black overcame an early mistake after John Hammond intercepted a Williams pass on the opening drive. Watertown forced a three-and-out before Williams hit Kalon Jeter with a 39-yard scoring pass. The rest of the Red and Black receiving group also made vital catches.

"I'll put our receiver corps against anybody's defense in the league," Furr said. "I have faith and trust in them."

Derek Chase scored on a five-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Mike Lewis, who replaced ineffective starter Tom Hammond after halftime for Glens Falls (3-3). Watertown entered focused on making life miserable for the mobile signal-caller.

Glens Falls couldn't get anything going in its second drive and only mustered a 12-yard punt. This set up Furr for the first of his TD catches from 26 yards out, and he added another from 27 yards out just after the start of the second quarter to give Watertown a 21-0 lead.

"We just kept hitting those routes and Glens Falls couldn't stop it," Furr said.

The Greenjackets had a chance to cut into the lead after taking advantage of good field position. Glens Falls had the ball on the Watertown 22-yard line, but defensive back Jonathan Williams made a critical interception after Hammond tried a fade route to the corner of the end zone.

"The coaches told me to watch out for that ball in the corner and that's what they did," Williams said.

The Red and Black took advantage of that momentum only three plays later when Furr made his third TD reception. He made the catch and fought off a Glens Falls tackler to complete a 73-yard scoring play that was one a highlight reel play.

"That was one of the best touchdowns I've seen in all the years I've coached him," Watertown offensive coordinator Jerry Levine said. "He caught the ball, went through a tackle and his speed made sure he was gone."

Eric Washington's 11-yard TD run 2:32 into the second half finished the scoring for Watertown, and the defense took over from there. Connor Brown recorded nine tackles, Jeremy Machia added eight and Gualberto Santiago provided seven. Jaylon Dugan also made an interception, and the Red and Black secondary was in position to make others.

"Our secondary just communicates and we're ready for anything," Johnathan Williams said.

Chase's touchdown for the Greenjackets broke the Red and Black's 14-plus-quarter league shutout streak. However, the team rotated some players into the lineup that normally don't get playing time.

"We gave up points and that happens, but we had to get in some of the other guys," Ashcraft said. "We just got to let people play."

Watertown hosts the Auburn Pride at 7 p.m. Saturday to complete its three-game homestand. The Red and Black blanked the Pride, 56-0, on July 16 at Auburn Junior High School.