WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) - The Watertown Red & Black are hard at work getting ready for the 2025 Northeastern Football Alliance season.
With the season opener less than two weeks away, the team is beginning to focus on the finer details in preparation for their game with the Charlotte Colonials on May 31 at George Ashcraft Field in Watertown.
The team once again this year will boast a solid group of players on the defensive side of the football with a number of veterans returning at the skill positions.
It’s a talented core that has added depth and is looking forward to the upcoming season.
”Right now it’s a lot of veterans on the defensive side. On the defensive line you got a couple of linebackers. we got Josh Lear, Jeremy Machia, myself, Johnathan Fisher,” said Jerrell Roberts, Red & Black defensive end.
”I think I like these guys. They have a lot of good energy, good vibes and they all want to learn. That’s the biggest thing about this team,” said Joshua Lear, Red & Black defensive lineman.
“We have a lot of new faces but they’re all willing to learn and they’re willing to put in the work to be successful this year. I feel like this team is very talented and as long as we continue to show up to practice and put in the work, we’re gonna accomplish a lot of goals this season.”>
In other sports news:
This season, New York State has been experimenting with a shot clock in both boys and girls’ lacrosse to speed up play.
For the girls, a 90 second shot clock starts when the team has possession of the ball; for the boys a 60 second shot clock begins when the ball is in the offensive goal box area.
For some coaches the new rule has changed their strategy, while others say the shot clock hasn’t affected the way they approach the game on the offensive end.
”Yes, definitely. There’s two or three defenses that I don’t even put in anymore because we don’t have to pressure out. The clock is our friend in that aspect,” said Victoria Fusco, coach of Indian River girls lacrosse.
”No. I’ve kind of ignored it anyway because let’s be honest...they’re high school students. They want to shoot as fast as they can anyway,” said Nate Jobson, coach of IHC’s boys team.
“I do feel like maybe if they make a change next year that they just make it similar to college where it’s just a straight number and it makes it easier to manage for people that don’t understand how a shot clock work,” Jobson said.
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