Page 10 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, FEbrUAry 16, 2024 Sachems leaders: Faiella, Rodriguez own captain labels in multiple sports By Dom Nicastro C aptains in football; captains in basketball; leaders and standouts with a bright future. It’s a succinct way to describe Saugus High School student-athletes Braden Faiella and Isaiah Rodriguez. The duo helped lead Saugus football to one of its best seasons in recent memory. They were in playoff contention right up until the end of the regular season. And now they’ve captained the basketball team that is heading down the stretch looking to finish strong. Although the postseason won’t be in the cards for the Sachems on the hardwood, Rodriguez and Faiella have made impacts as captains. We caught up with them for a Q&A with the Saugus Advocate. Advocate: What is your role on the team this year? Faiella: My role this year was to get the guys fired up for games and practices, and I was a big rebounder and setting-picks guy. Sadly, my season was cut short due to a minor injury so after that I would help get the guys in the game waters and start chants from the bench. Rodriguez: My role for this year was to be a leader to my teammates. I’ve been growing up with most of them my whole life. It’s nice to be on the court with them one more time. Advocate: When the team is playing well what is going on out there? Faiella: When things are going well there’s a ton of energy and all of the guys are fired up playing their game. Rodriguez: For us the team plays really well when we are all talking and moving fast around the court. We are a very fast-paced team. When ~ SHS Sachems Sports roundup ~ SAUGUS-PEABODY WRESTLERS QUALIFY FOR STATES The Saugus-Peabody wrestlers qualified two for the Division 1 state meet this coming weekend. Saugus’ Sam Lorusso placed third with a 3-1 mark at last week’s Division 1 North sectionals. He got his 100th win and qualifies for states this weekend at Newton South. Saugus’ Elias Diaz placed fifth at 3-2. He avenged a first-round loss to Jayden Muir and a previous loss to Ryan Ofilios of St. John’s Prep in order to qualify as an alternate for states this weekend at Newton South. Saugus’ Max Lorusso placed sixth with a 2-3. He wrestled a great tournament, according to coach Wayne Moda. Peabody ’s Jackson Deleidi placed sixth at 2-3. He avenged two previous losses from this season to Ben Schumaker of St. John’s Prep. Saugus-Peabody had great success this year finishing 17-7-1. It was the best record in either school’s wrestling history, according to Moda. “I was really proud of our young team that consists of only two seniors, two varsity juniors and the rest all sophomores and freshmen,” Moda said. “Though we had a great dual meet team, we have a long way to go to compete in Division 1 North at the tournament level, which is the strongest section/region in New England. Powerhouses like St. John’s Prep, Haverhill and Shawsheen Tech have 40-60 on their roster. They are deep and can weather the storm when it comes to injury. In order for us to be competitive, we need more athletes which has been an issue at both schools. It truly is the toughest sport. Not many kids make it to the end of the season. We started off with 31 on the team and ended with 21 by season end. We need more of the 21.” that converts to shots starting to fall, we are set. Advocate: What are some areas the team can show growth and how so? Faiella: I would say we could be better with our shots. A lot of the time we are so close to knocking shots down, and we barely miss, but with hard work that’ll be all good. LEADERS | SEE PAGE 11 NEC CONFERENCE CHAMPS: Bottom row, shown from left to right: Juliana Powers, 2, Ella Castle, Madison Botta, Ashleen Escobar, Ana Silva, and Taylor Deleidi. Front row, shown from left to right: Assistant Coach Brablc, Assistant Coach Norma Waggett, Ashleigh Moore, Jessica Bremberg, Amelia Pappagallo, Devany Millerick, Madi Femino, Peyton DiBiasio, and Head Coach Joseph Lowe. PEABODY-SAUGUS HOCKEY NETS BIG WIN OVER BEVERLY Peabody-Saugus dropped Beverly, 4-2, in Northeastern Conference play, Peabody-Saugus’ second win in its last three. That win at McVann/O’Keefe Rink in Peabody gave the Tanners a 4-9-1 mark heading into its final four games of the season. That started with Swampscott on the road on Valentine’s Day and finishes with Winthrop (Feb. 17, 3 p.m., Larsen Arena), St. Bernard’s (Feb. 20, 1:30 p.m., Wallace Civic Center in Fitchburg) and Bedford (Feb. 21, 1 p.m., Edge Sports Center in Bedford). Peabody sophomore Brandon Berone, Saugus senior Dom Chianca, Saugus senior Ryan Jones and Peabody junior Zach Harnett had the goals in the win over the Panthers. Saugus freshman Artie O’Leary, Chianca, Jones and Harnett added assists. “It was a huge win for us,” Peabody-Saugus coach Jason Marshall said. “It was a very close game throughout. Peabody sophomore goalie Evan Tybinkowski had 45 saves in net and stood on his head again.” SAUGUS GIRLS HOOPS CLINCHES NEC TITLE OUTRIGHT The Saugus girls basketball team won its second straight Northeastern Conference Lynch Division championship with a 50-40 win over Danvers on the road. “We had a huge game by Peyton Dibiasio with 22 points,” Saugus coach Joe Lowe said. “We had huge stops on defense once again by Madi Femino. Ella Castle had eight points.” Saugus before that fell to Ipswich, 54-42. “Down the four-game stretch (to end the regular season) we are looking to round into form in terms of playing well defensively and executing as well as practicing hard this time of the year rather than wins and losses,” Lowe said. “Wakefield on the 20th is measuring stick game for us as they beat us by 40 early on in the year, and we want to use that game to see where we stand against one of the better teams in the state and how far we’ve come since then.” SAUGUS BOYS FALL ON SENIOR NIGHT The Sachems boys basketball team put up a great effort on Senior Night but lost, 75-62, to Danvers. The Sachems are now 4-13. The team was scheduled to travel to Peabody on Feb. 14. Danny Shea had 18 points against Danvers. Huey Josama added 15 points. Senior Isaiah Rodriguez dropped 10 points, and senior Travis Goyetche added eight.
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