Page 14 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, September 27, 2019 Sachems’ offense struggles in loss to Vikings By Greg Phipps T he Saugus Sachems couldn’t get much going in the way of offense last Friday night and ended up dropping a 23-6 decision to the Winthrop Vikings in a Northeastern Conference (NEC) clash at Winthrop. The Sachems were coming off a promising effort against Bedford the week before, when they battled back from a deficit but fell short in an exciting overtime contest. Against the Vikings, Saugus had difficulty handling Winthrop’s defensive front line. As a result, the Vikings pressured Sachems quarterback Mason Nickolas all day. That is until Nickolas was injured in the third quarter and had to leave the game via ambulance with a reported elbow injury. The game was actually scoreless through the majority of the first half, and the Sachems scored first. Running back Marven Jeans, held to just 31 yards rushing for the game, made it to the end zone on an eightyard touchdown run in the final minute to give Saugus a short-lived 6-0 edge. Winthrop immediately retaliated when the ensuing kickoff was returned for a TD. The hosts took the lead on a successful two-point conversion for an 8-6 halftime advantage. The Vikings produced all 15 second-half points. Meanwhile, Saugus’s offense was unable to muster any points. Losing starting QB Nickolas, possibly for the season, didn’t help matters. “Your heart breaks with something like that because it may be something that sidelines [Nickolas] all year,” Saugus head coach Steve Cummings told the press after the game. “It’s a tough loss for us because [Nickolas is] a big part of what we do. It means other people will have to step up. We’re going to have to figure it out.” Christian Correia took over at quarterback in place of Nickolas, but the offense had trouble getting anything to work. Cummings said his team missed out on some early chances, and he also credited the Vikings for their effort. “Early on we had great field position and we fumbled away three points. That could have made a big difference,” he said. “But Winthrop had a great game plan. They executed really well and my hat’s off to them.” Falling to 0-2 after the loss, Saugus faces a huge challenge when it takes on perennial NEC powerhouse Marblehead, which is 2-0 and routed Gloucester, 49-0, last week. The game has a scheduled 11 a.m. start on Saturday at Stackpole Field.
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