Page 10 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022 Saugus boys passed over for playoff spot H By Greg Phipps aving legitimate hopes of receiving a Div. 3 postseason tournament bid last week, the Saugus High School boys’ basketball team was disappointed when it did not make the fi eld of 48 in this year’s state bracket. Therefore, the Sachems’ 2021-22 campaign came to a close with an overall 8-12 fi nish. It was basically a story of two seasons for the Sachems. They opened by going 6-2 before struggling over their last 12 games, winning just two of those contests. The season was also interrupted by a COVID-19 surge in late December which forced a layoff of about three weeks. A few close defeats were essentially the difference between Saugus making the tourney and ending up, as it did, on the outside looking in. A heartbreaking 55-53 late-game loss at Masconomet was the most recent example of a game that could have been a win. Masco drilled a three-pointer in the fi - nal seconds to steal that victory. Saugus will lose four seniors to graduation, and they were all key fi gures on this year’s squad. Co-captain Tyrone Manderson was the team’s top off ensive weapon with a run of strong scoring eff orts over the final few weeks. Guard and Co-captain Ryan Mabee combined solid play on both sides of the ball while Mark MacEachern and Ryan Anderson proved to be important contributors as well. Moving forward, Saugus should be bolstered by the return of junior starting guard Ben Tapia-Gately and junior forwards Max Anajjar and Jeury Barbosa. Head Coach Joe Bertrand took over the position after his father, Mark, passed away in 2020. The team went 4-9 in the pandemic-altered 2020-21 season. A 1,000-point scorer during his playing days at Saugus High School, Bertrand said before this season that the atSachems receive Div. 4 postseason nod By Greg Phipps he Saugus High School hockey team got its wish and was awarded a postseason playoff spot. The Sachems played Assabet Valley on Thursday (after press deadline) in the fi rst round of the Div. 4 tournament. Having finished with a 7-12-1 overall regular-season record, the Sachems actually received a relatively T high 24th seed in the tourney. There were 45 teams in the playoff bracket. Assabet Valley (12-5) is seeded ninth with a Div. 4 state ranking the same. The Sachems are the 24th ranked team ahead of 30 other squads among the 54 Div. 4 hockey squads. If Saugus can pull off a win on Thursday, it will go on to play either Ashland or Amesbury in the semifi nal round. It appears Saugus would be on the road either way. Senior Mark MacEachern was a key contributor to this year’s Saugus squad. mosphere around the team was going to be positive with a strong work ethic being part of that. The Sachems came within two games of assuring themselves a postseason nod and were ranked 36th among the list of 69 Div. 3 teams. Several teams that were ranked below Saugus got in the tourney based on having better records. The Sachems did play some very tough opponents, including 20-2 Beverly (twice), Salem, Peabody (twice) and 16-4 Swampscott to close out the regular season. Senior Tyrone Manderson was a top off ensive weapon for the Sachems this winter. Joe Bertrand led the Sachem boys to eight victories in his fi rst full season as head coach. Senior guard Ryan Mabee was a solid off ensive and defensive player for the Sachems this season. Saugus girls awarded 20th seed in Div. 2 tourney By Greg Phipps The 12-8 Sachems are the T he Saugus High School girls’ basketball team has known it would be bound for the playoff s for a couple of weeks now. The Sachems played at Bishop Stang out of North Dartmouth on Thursday (after press deadline) in the opening round of the Div. 3 tournament. No. 20 seed while Bishop Stang, despite its 10-10 record, is the 13th seed. Strength of schedule and other factors are seemingly playing a larger role than actual season records in the state rankings. For Head Coach Mark Schruender and his Saugus squad, the season turned around nicely after a threeweek layoff due to the COVID-19 surge in late December. At the time of the COVID surge, the Sachems were 1-3. Upon returning to action in January, Saugus went 11-5 the rest of the season. A few close losses (games that could have been victories), prevented the Sachems from perhaps opening the playoffs at home. Saugus goalie Matt Smith and senior defenseman Ryan Ragucci, shown here in action against Winthrop earlier this season, hoped to score an upset win against Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School on Thursday in the opening round of the Div. 4 playoff tourney. Freshman Ella Castle has been a key contributor for the Sachems this season. Saugus opened the postseason on Thursday. Senior co-captain April Aldred was hoping to help the Sachems to a playoff win at Bishop Stang High School on Thursday.
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