CARTHAGE — The Watertown Revolution didn’t play its best game, but the semipro football team gained the one thing it’s been chasing all season — a victory.

Lamont Lane threw a pair of touchdowns, and the Revolution held off the Cortland Bulldogs for a 12-8 win Saturday night at Carthage High School.

The Revolution improved to 1-4, and is now a game out of fourth place in the Northeastern Football Alliance’s East Division.

“It feels like a weight lifted off our shoulders,” Watertown receiver Ben Henry said. “We’ve been working hard, putting it in there every week, so this feels great.”

Watertown scored on its first possession when Lane found Chris Furr for a 23-yard touchdown pass. Lane and Henry hooked up for a 52-yard completion on the drive, which saw the Revolution gain more than 80 yards on three plays.

From that point on, Watertown’s offense struggled. It gained just 43 yards on its next five possessions to end the first half. Four of those drives ended with a turnover on downs, and the other resulted in a punt.

The struggles continued to open the second half, as Watertown turned the ball over on its first two possessions.

Lane found Henry with a 20-yard strike in the end zone on the next drive to put the Revolution up 12-0 with just over six minutes left in the third quarter. Henry, who goes by the nickname “No Fear,” leaped to make the catch while surrounded by defenders, taking a hard shot to the chest in mid-air. He was able to come down with the ball.

“(We’re) steady and improving,” said Lane, who completed 9 of 20 passes for 138 yards. “Every win is a good win, but you know you have stuff to build on. Tonight we stuck together, we prevailed. We would’ve liked to score more points, of course, but we’ll go back to the drawing board, back to practice, working hard.”

Watertown owner Tom Shultz played in his second game of the season, after suiting up last week at Oneonta City. He played a majority of the snaps on the defensive line, and recovered a third-quarter fumble.

Cortland (0-4), which was held to under 30 yards of total offense in the first half, showed signs of life late in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Brad Brooks threw a 14-yard touchdown to Jacob Gesford with just under four minutes remaining to cut Watertown’s lead to 12-8. The Bulldogs didn’t get another chance, as Watertown ran out the clock.

On its previous possession, Cortland had a 4th-and-goal from the Watertown eight-yard line, but Brooks’ pass to Jesse Boring fell incomplete.

Both teams wore red jerseys with white numbers. Cortland sported black pants and helmets, while the Revolution wore navy blue pants and helmets.

Lane dismissed the notion that the similar-looking uniforms had any impact.

“As a quarterback, I know all my players and numbers,” Lane said. “If I don’t know that, then I shouldn’t be a quarterback.”

Earlson Newell made two interceptions for the Revolution, which will next play the Troy Fighting Irish at 6:30 p.m. July 14 at Carthage High School.

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