The Super Bowl is practically a national holiday. Halloween comes pretty close. Come 5 p.m., you’re either getting ready at home for the doorbell to ring with trick-or-treaters, you’re putting on the final touches of a costume for yourself for a party or for your trick-or-treating children – or, you are turning off the lights and going to dinner. It’s a crazy and hectic end of almost two months of candy sales, Halloween programming on TV and outrageous front yard decorations. One thing you don’t expect to have happen on Halloween is a high school football game. But, the calendar says Happy Halloween on Friday night once every seven years, and Friday Night Football is a pretty special thing as well. So, Watertown football kept its game on Friday night rather than moving it up a day as some communities did, and it was an important game to boot.
The Raiders began the season with three non-league games, and they won two of them. Then they went on the road for three weeks to start their league schedule. They lost at Stoneham and Wakefield, and then lost their QB Coleman Keuchkarian-McKeen for the season to a knee injury in the first quarter of a loss at Melrose. They returned home last week and played admirably against undefeated Burlington, with Jayden Pineda taking most of the snaps at QB, running it himself or handing the ball off. Lucas Bray took some snaps at QB, and showed a bit more in terms of throwing the ball. The Raiders came up short though to make it four losses in a row. Despite the losing streak, a win at home last night versus Wilmington (2-2, 5-2 heading into the game ) would have given Watertown three wins and made them playoff-eligible.
Apologies in advance for the Halloween puns – it will be nice to put this holiday to rest and move onto Turkey and stuffing. Last night was unfortunately a game of trick or treat. For Watertown, the first half was entirely a treat. Despite not being able to capitalize on Wilmington’s offer of yummy treats, in the form of muffing the kickoff and Watertown recovering the ball on the Wilmington 25 yard line, Watertown played an excellent first half. They ran 25 plays to Wilmington’s 13. Watertown’s defense allowed Wilmington just one drive, of seven plays, that resulted in a touchdown. In-between that drive, Watertown stuffed their treat bag with those huge Hershey Bars after a remarkable completion of 18 yards from Bray to Garey, and then one play later a whole plate of candied apples after Jayden Pineda took a hand-off from Bray, ran off tackle to the left, hit a hole and juked his way to open field. With the end zone in sight, he put on the jets and avoided ghosts (and tackles) for a 45-yard touchdown run.
Speaking of Bray, he was QB one (and only) the entire first half. Two weeks into life without Keuchkarian, the Raiders seemed comfortable operating with Bray taking the shotgun snaps, Pineda as the lone back, and multiple wide-out sets and motion. The score tied at 7 and Watertown with the ball and about six minutes left in the half, Watertown put together a drive that would win best costume at a Halloween party. Runs by Pineda and Bray littered the play sheet, gaining chunks of yards starting at their own 17 yard line. Bray connected with Joe Wilson on an 11-yard down and out. On a huge fourth and three from the Wilmington 36, Bray cadenced perfectly and got Wilmington to jump offside – first down Raiders! As the clock ran down and timeouts were used, Watertown found themselves with first and goal at the three yard line. But, the Raiders just couldn’t find the right play to punch it in and settled for a 21-yard field goal from Joe Wilson as the clock expired. A great drive though, 13 plays in all.
Ahead at the half 10-7 and knowing that they would receive the ball to start the second half, the Raiders seemingly were in a good place. One more half of treats and playoff eligibility would make this a Halloween to remember. Maybe the Raiders ate too many treats. Maybe the ghosts and goblins found their way into the Raiders locker-room at halftime, maybe a witch put a spell in their water cooler. Who knows. But, this much we do know – Watertown’s second half was one big trick, a nightmare on Orchard Street, a devilish display of football that left the Raiders and their fans sick from too much candy. Watertown received the second half kickoff, a wicked squibbler, and the Raiders performed as though their brains had been scrambled. They never touched or grabbed the ball as it rolled past multiple red shirts, and when the ball was finally in control, it was in the arms of the blue shirts of Wilmington. Essentially a 30 yard onside kick.
Well, this was a serious momentum-killer for the Raiders. Wilmington wasted no time running the ball at the Raiders, and did so till a fourth down and eleven pass play from the Watertown 12 yard line that resulted in a 12-yard TD pass. PAT missed. 13-10 Wilmington and of course, still a game, but what was the collective mind and spirit of the Raiders after such a difficult start to the half? Hard to say. To complicate matters, the Raiders chose to start Jayden Pineda at QB in the second half. As far as we know, Bray wasn’t hurt. Runs by Pineda, Patrick McHugh and Gabriel Oliveira made it seem as though things were perhaps alright, but on third and three from the Wilmington 47, Pineda rolled out and tried to throw an awkward-looking jump pass of sorts to try and gain the three yards and a first down, but it was tipped and intercepted. Watertown showed their mettle and and stopped Wilmington. Three and out and the ball back after the punt, the Raiders still only trailed 13-10.
But then, another interception to start the fourth quarter on a third and long from their own 22 gave Wilmington the ball at the Watertown 11. One play, a run for a touchdown, untouched, made it 20-10. Still not an insurmountable lead, but somehow the Raiders had to break the halftime spell. Instead, they threw threw their third interception of the half, and three plays later it was another Wilmington touchdown that made for the final score, Wilmington 26 and Watertown 10.
This game article isn’t about second-guessing. Not nearly close to being privy to the decisions made by the Raiders coaching staff, it would be wrong to do so. In the first half it certainly seemed as though Lucas Bray had settled in nicely as QB, and Jayden Pineda was a horse once again running the ball as the primary back. Wilmington seemed all-to-ready for Watertown ran in the second half though, once Pineda was taking the snaps at QB. But again, this is just one set of eyes watching the game, and so, who knows.
What is known is that the Raiders, as always, gave it their all. But in the end, as often is the case, they seemed to run out of gas a bit. Some of that could have been the demoralizing turn that the second half took, a drastic one at that. And, as they fell behind they certainly realized their chance to become playoff-eligible was lost. But, their season is far from over, as they will play one or two non-league games against other schools that didn’t qualify for the playoffs. And, of course, they will continue to prepare for a date with Belmont when the Raiders and Marauders meet at Victory Field on Thanksgiving morning, Thursday November 27, at 10 A.M. The Raiders will be looking to make it two in a row against Belmont and revenge a blow-out loss at home on Thanksgiving Day two years ago.
——————————-
1 2 3 4 F
Wilmington 7 0 6 13 26
Watertown 7 3 0 0 10
———————————-
1st Quarter
Watertown 7 Wilmington 0…….. Jayden Pineda, 45 yard TD RUN, PAT KICK Good, Joseph Wilson
Watertown 7 Wilmington 7…….. 21 Yard TD RUN, PAT KICK Good
2nd Quarter
Watertown 10 Wilmington 7…….. Joseph Wilson, 21 Field Goal
3rd Quarter
Watertown 10 Wilmington 13…….. 12 Yard TD PASS, PAT KICK No Good
4th Quarter
Watertown 10 Wilmington 20…….. 11 Yard TD RUN, PAT KICK Good
Watertown 10 Wilmington 26……. 12 Yard TD RUN, PAT KICK No Good