Raiders Roll Over Belmont in Thanksgiving Football Game

Belmont kept the annual Thanksgiving Day football game close, but in the end Watertown could not be stopped, and the Raiders won 54-35. 

Playing in an icy wind, Watertown went away from its usually pass heavy offense and did most of its damage on the ground.

"It was a tough day weatherwise. The wind made throwing difficult," said Watertown football coach John Cacace.

Rather than throwing the ball, junior quarterback Nick Giordano ran the ball several times for long gains. He scored two touchdowns - one in the first quarter to give the Raiders a 14-0 lead, and a 54-yard run in the third quarter the play after Belmont fumbled away the ball. 

Giordano did have one throwing touchdown, when he scrambled to his left, then to the right and found junior running back Austin Farry for a 50-yard score.

Senior Matt Donnell ran wild on the Marauders, too, cashing in three times: a 13-yard run and a 25-yard run in the second quarter, and a 51-yard reverse in the third quarter.

"They expected us to pass a lot, but we ran it on them all day," Donnell said. "We had great blocking."

Watertown junior running back Austin Farry got the scoring started early in the first, and scored a key touchdown to lengthen the Raiders lead to 33-22 on the last play of the first half.

While Belmont struggled to keep pace, the Marauders kept the game interesting in the first half. A 20-yard touchdown throw by freshman quarterback Cal Christofori brought Belmont within five points with about a minute left in the second quarter. Christofori had a total of four touchdown tosses. 

Senior running back Joey Niles also scored a touchdown for Belmont.

"We let them in the game, but like we have all year we kept fighting," Cacace said.

The win means Watertown finishes with a winning season (6-5) and Belmont completed a winless 2013 campaign (0-11).

By scoring 54 points, Watertown put up the most ever in the 91-year-old rivalry, and the 89 combined points was also the most ever.