Semipro football: Upstate Predators end Red and Black's season with shutout win in playoffs
Aug. 12—ROCHESTER — The Watertown Red and Black's bid for a third straight championship ended Saturday in its first shutout loss in 12 years.
The Upstate Predators blanked the Red and Black 28-0 in a Gridiron Developmental Football League first-round playoff game at Franklin High School. Watertown (5-4) had won back-to-back championships while playing in the Empire Football League in 2021 and 2022. This was the club's first season in the GDFL.
"We just didn't have any spark. We were lacking a little bit of a spark," said Red and Black offensive coordinator Jerry Levine.
The Red and Black, more accustomed to shutting out opponents in recent history, failed to score for the first time since a 55-0 loss to the Syracuse Shock on Aug. 6, 2011 at home.
Upstate won its second straight game against Watertown as the two had played in the regular-season finale, a 22-19 win by the Predators in Watertown. But after a bye week, the Red and Black's offense struggled even more Saturday, managing just 88 total yards of offense.
Watertown quarterback Shawn Johnson went 8-for-18 for 70 yards. Under fire from the Upstate defense again, Johnson was sacked five times and threw three interceptions.
The Red and Black failed to generate a running game again as Johnson led the ground game with 12 yards on three carries.
"We didn't play very well offensively again," Levine said. "The defense kept us in the game. They had a great year."
The Predators scored on a one-yard run in the first quarter but didn't convert the point-after and didn't score again until the fourth quarter.
Upstate converted passes of 27, 15 and 10 yards into touchdowns in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
Chris Furr led Watertown's receivers with three catches for 54 yards. Keegan Queior caught two passes for 33 yards.
Semaj James and John Williams each recorded an interception for the Red and Black. Connor Brown recovered a fumble. Jaylon Dugan recorded nine tackles, followed by Cory Smith and Eric Washington with seven each and Eric Mason with six.
"Cory Smith really stood out, the whole year," Levine said.
The Red and Black opened its first season in the GDFL winning five of its first seven games but then couldn't find a way past Upstate.
"The last two games hurt us and we've had too many weeks off," Levine said. "We were off for two weeks and play a game (and then) we're off for a week. We had four or five byes the last half. We played very good in the beginning and just sort of went flat near the end."
Watertown finished a season without a title for the first time since 2019, when Johnson, then a member of Mohawk Valley, led the team over the Red and Black in an EFL semifinal.
"We'll work at it and see what we can come back with for next year," Levine said. "It was a good learning experience being in this league and we'll work to get better."
