THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, SEpTEmbEr 15, 2023 Page 13 Football Sachems Trounce Chelsea, 40-6, in Home Opener By Dom Nicastro C am Preston threw four touchdown passes to three different players, and Tommy DeSimone, Danny Shea and Isaiah Rodriguez each had two touchdowns in Saugus’ 40-6 opening-night victory over Chelsea at home Friday, Sept. 8. Any more good news? The defense was stifling, the home crowd was intense and Saugus won its opener for the first time since a 41-20 win over Bishop Fenwick in 2010. Oh, and the offensive line – left tackle Ethan Malcolm, left guard Larry Barrows, center Braden Faiella, right guard Dwayne Williams and right tackle Koby Jette – was tremendous. “The biggest thing for us was we were able to get guys like Tommy DeSimone, Danny Shea and Isaiah Rodriguez the space to do stuff,” Saugus coach Steve Cummings said. “We were able to execute early, build a lot of momentum and just kind of keep it going through pretty much midway through the third quarter when we started getting some guys out.” Saugus’ defense was super tough, forcing multiple threeand-outs and giving the Sachems’ offense great field position. Preston at QB was able to take advantage. He took what the defense was giving him all night and ended the night with a super-efficient 11-for-12. “I mean, you can’t really ask for more efficiency than that,” Cummings said. “He’s making great reads and just putting the ball on people. The biggest thing for us is we have some guys that can make people miss. If we’re able to get our guys the ball and give them some room to go, it’s going to be really, really good for us on offense.” Saugus did a solid job all night. It spread the ball around. It finished plays. It had tremendous downfield blocking. “It’s kind of like everybody’s helping each other out,” Cummings said. “Whenever we can play like that, we could be dangerous. I told the guys this is a collection of what we can do, and I think they’re starting to believe it. They know that we can be that good. We’ve got another big test coming up this Friday, and it’s going be nice if we can repeat the performance.” Saugus hosts Northeast Metro Tech on Friday, Sept. 15, at 6:30 p.m. Northeast is coming off a 62-35 thrashing of Lowell Catholic. And it put up a lot of gaudy offensive numbers. “ They played Saturday morning against Lowell Catholic, and they ran for over 500 yards,” Cummings said. “Chris Zullo, their senior tailback, ran for 320 yards on the ground. So, we know what they want to do. They just kind of smash the ball down the field, and defensively, we’re going to have to be ready for that. We’re going to have to put them behind the sticks at some point Saugus running back Tommy DeSimone headed downfield against Newburyport in last year’s action. because that’s the kind of offense where they just want to get four yards and four yards and just weigh you down. Northeast Voke has a lot of Saugus kids on their team. So, there’s a lot of familiarity there. ~ SHS Sachems Sports round-Up ~ SAUGUS VOLLEYBALL DROPS OPENER, REBOUNDS Saugus fell to Marblehead on the volleyball court to open the season, 3-0, but came back to top Salem, 3-0. The Sachems came out slow but picked it up in the final two sets against Marblehead. The final breakdown was 25-9, 25-23, 25-19. “The first one was a little rough for us,” Saugus coach Mikayla Niles said. “First-game jitters but the second and third ones were really good. The girls really came out and it was back-and-forth, back-and-forth both the second and third set.” Libero Ana Silva really stood out for Saugus. She was loud, talking and communicating and getting the girls hyped – staying in every play and doing everything she needed to do as a captain and role mode and leader, according to the coach. Middle hitter Gia Saunders really stood as well. “She definitely broke through her shell this year,” Niles said, “and she was a powerhouse in the front for us. Everyone else played unbelievable, with everyone involved in every play constantly hitting their spots. The servers were really good. We only had a couple missed serves. Everything just really well came together. I’m very excited to see what the future has to hold for us.” Against Salem, the Sachems won: 25-18, 25-23 and 28-26. Aly Mabee had a great game and was “all over the place hustling to every ball, and her setting was beautiful and her serves were awesome, too,” Niles said. “She was everywhere.” SAUGUS FIELD HOCKEY FALLS IN FIRST FEW Saugus dropped its first few games. Masconomet beat Saugus, 11-0, and Gloucester topped Saugus, 8-0, while Saugus also fell to Beverly, 5-0. It was a tough start against two state-level teams from last year. “Although the score sounds bad, the girls played well,” Saugus coach Barbara Guarente said of the Masco game. Grace Fiore, a senior captain, was player of the game. She played center halfback. Players of the game against Gloucester were Jessica Bremberg, senior captain, and senior Sam Murray. “Jess played all over the field,” Guarente said. “She was on our defensive and offensive corners. Senior Sam Murray also was player of the game. She had a great day on defense.” The field hockey team lost to Beverly in what its coach called the best game of the season. “They came together as a family and played beautifully together,” Guarente said. “The communication between them was shown by the way they moved the ball down the field. It was the first game where we had four corners against the other team. Their push passes, cutting to the ball, sticks down on defense kept the game to 3-0 at half. In the third quarter no one scored. Not bad for a young team with only one sub. The game award goes to the entire team for a job well done.” Saugus is a very young team. It has four eighth-graders playing on the varsity squad: Teaghan Arsenault, Angelina Dow, Julia Strout and Mia Shaudee. It also has two freshmen: Jordyn Ripley-Deminski and Sydney Ferreira. Sophomores are Cadence Coburn, Audrey Comeau and Anna Enwright. Sami Sarnacchiaro is the lone junior, and Jessica Bremberg, Grace Fiore, Samantha Murray and Bella Natalucci are the seniors. The following players make up the junior varsity team: Jaelese Bellard, Ava Caron, Caden Diozzi, Jhessyca Dos Santos, Adila Dzindo, Meri Mogauro, Alanna Soto and Lilah Sullivan. SAUGUS BOYS SOCCER EVENS UP WITH WINTHROP Saugus tied its opener with Winthrop, 1-1. Carlos Miranda scored the only goal in the first half. Brian Pineda sent the ball over the defense, and Miranda made a run on the right side. He cut to the left and the keeper came at him. Miranda volleyed the ball past him and put it in on the lower left corner. SAUGUS GIRLS SOCCER POWERS PAST WINTHROP Saugus girls soccer opened the season with an 8-1 win against Winthrop. Natalie Justice opened the season with the first goal three minutes in. Captain Madison Botta and captain Medi Femino both notched a hat trick. Juliana Powers also scored. The defense was led by Layla Manderson and captain Violet Hawley. Midfield was dominated by Veronica Ortega and Liliana Hernandez. Box Score: Saugus 40, Chelsea 6 1st Quarter S - Tommy DeSimone TD run (Connor Bloom PAT); 7-0 S - Danny Shea TD reception from Cam Preston (Bloom kick); 14-0 S - Cody Munafo TD reception from Preston (Bloom kick); 21-0 2nd Quarter S - Isaiah Rodriguez TD reception from Preston (kick failed); 27-0 S - Danny Shea TD reception from Preston (kick failed); 33-0 3rd Quarter S - Isaiah Rodriguez TD run (Bloom Kick); 40-0 4th Quarter C - Alex Pinto TD run; 40-6 So, it’s a great matchup for us. We’re both Division 5 teams and have pretty good week one wins. So, we’re expecting a battle.”
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