Goal in sight: Football Sachems can lock up winning record this week

By Dom Nicastro

Nine games into the season, the Saugus High School football team has a winning record. If that’s not evidence enough of this program’s ascension, what will be?

The Sachems beat Pentucket, 20-8, in a consolation round game last week on the road. That improved the Sachems to 5-4 and marked their second victory in the last three contests. Saugus needed this momentum badly. After starting 3-0, they dropped three straight and ended up missing the postseason.

But it is not resting. The team has two more games – at home against Wilmington Thursday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. and on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23, on the road at Peabody (10 a.m.). A victory over Wilmington would secure a winning record for a team that won one game in the previous two seasons.

Tommy DeSimone had 178 yards on the ground on 38 carries for Saugus against Pentucket, including a two-yard touchdown run, while also tacking on a two-point conversion rush and an interception. He’s approaching 1,000 rushing yards on the year.

“Tommy looked fresh all night. It wasn’t like he needed a blow, and he’s playing both sides of the ball, too,” Saugus coach Steve Cummings said. “So it’s not like he’s getting a break. Tommy’s just worked himself into incredible shape. He’s really smart when he runs the ball. He doesn’t really give teams the opportunity to get a big hit on him. He’s doing a great job following his blockers, and he grinds out yards when he has to grind out yards. He’s having a great season for us this year.”

Senior Isaiah Rodriguez added four catches for 70 yards and two touchdown receptions from his brother and quarterback, sophomore Jordan.

Saugus trailed, 8-0, in the first quarter but controlled all the scoring from that point.

“It was a good hard-fought football game,” Cummings said. “Not a lot of errors. Not a lot of turnovers. We ran the ball at them really hard. Our offensive line [tackle Ethan Malcolm, guard Larry Barrows, center Dwayne Williams, guard Braden Faiella, tackle Koby Jette] was fantastic. Our guys up front did really well. Defensively we came with a big turnover at the end of the half [DeSimone interception] to kind of kill some of the momentum they had. In the second half our guys were able to execute, and we were able to pull off an onsides kick [by kicker Travis Goyetche, and DeSimone recovered it]. That flipped position of the field a lot. And we were able to put pressure on the quarterback, not letting him get comfortable and the kids executed. It was good to see.”

Braden Faiella was his usual standout self on defense, and Tommy Cameron came up big from the cornerback spot with an interception. Ameen Taboubi had some key hits at safety, and Dylan Clark was a standout on the defensive line.

Cummings credited Saugus defensive coordinator Greg Bluestein for coming up with a shift in defensive sets. Pentucket came out of the gate with some surprise looks, and Bluestein and his defense were able to adjust accordingly. “Coach Blue did a great job of coming up with an adjustment on the fly to get our guys back in the right position,” Cummings said. “After the first drive, we gave up some stuff here and there, but were really able to buckle down.”