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Page 10 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, OCTObEr 6, 2023 Nightmarish scenario unfolds in Saugus football’s first loss By Dom Nicastro J ust call it Nightmare on Pearce Memorial Drive, and it’s only an eight-minute movie. That’s pretty much what happened to the Saugus High School football team in last Friday night’s 35-0 loss to Swampscott at home. One eight-minute stretch in the second quarter was all it took for things to unravel, and the Big Blue had all their 35 points. Three touchdown passes – a fumble return for a touchdown – an interception return for a touchdown. Saugus blinked, and it was a seemingly insurmountable lead that led to its first loss of the season in four games. The Sachems fell to 3-1 and were kept off the scoreboard for the first time this season. Saugus had averaged 30.6 points in its first three games. “Take out eight minutes of the second quarter, and that’s a 0-0 football game,” Saugus football coach Steve Cummings said. “They scored all five touchdowns in an eight-minute stretch in the second quarter. So we had a bad eight minutes. That’s what we had. It is what it is. We learned from it as football team, and we will grow, and we will get better. Hopefully we can get some of our guys back.” Cam Preston, the team’s quarterback, missed the game and is out for the year. Kinda like the nightmare already started. Preston had been lighting it up as the team’s signal-caller, throwing multiple touchdown passes and moving one of the North Shore’s most efficient offenses forward in the first three weeks of this 2023 football season. He’ll be having knee surgery. “He had been playing with a brace on his knee and has some damage in there,” Cummings said. “And it’s just gotten to the point where Wednesday in practice we got the bad news that we got – he’ll be lost for the year.” Braden Faiella, center and middle linebacker, is battling a knee injury, and he didn’t he’s going to learn from mistakes. Hats off to Swampscott. They’re a fantastic football team.” Salem is coming off wins of 51-24 over Arlington, 15-7 over Danvers, 28-0 over Greater Lawrence Tech and 40-6 PICK SIX: Members of the Saugus High football team celebrated following an interception for a touchdown against Lynn English last week. (Advocate file photo) play Friday night. Cody Munafo, fullback and middle linebacker, is also battling a knee injury and missed the Swampscott game. They are each day-to-day for Saugus’ next game – at Salem Friday, Oct. 6 at 6:30 p.m. Salem is unbeaten, and this will be Saugus’ first of four games in the Northeastern Conference Lynch Division. They are hoping to get everything back on track like it was in the first three games. Saugus’ Jordan Rodriguez stepped in as quarterback with 48 hours’ notice for the Swampscott game. “I thought he came in and did some really nice things,” Cummings said. “He’s a sophomore, and he’s just gonna get better and better and better and better. Jordan is going to be a fantastic football player for this program and kind of got thrown into the mix Friday night. He did some really good things and he did some things where over Gloucester. “There are no easy outs in this league,” Cummings said. “Everybody’s good. Everyone can play. Coach [Matt] Bouchard talked about where that program was four or five years ago. And Coach Bouchard has done an incredible job.” Box Score Swampscott 35, Saugus 0 Liam Keaney 11-yard pass from Jack Spear (Joey Marino kick) Jack Hazell 50-yard pass from Jack Spear (Joey Marino kick) Jay Domelowicz 10-yard fumble return (Joey Marino kick) Jack Hazell 77-yard pass from Jack Spear (Joey Marino kick) Jack Hazell 64-yard interception return (Joey Marino kick) Representative Wong supports comprehensive $1.02 billion tax relief package reforms estate tax, expands Senior Circuit breaker and rental deduction B OSTON – State Representative Donald H. Wong (R-Saugus) has joined with his colleagues to approve a comprehensive tax package that will provide significant financial relief to Massachusetts residents and businesses. House Bill 4104, An Act to improve the Commonwealth’s competitiveness, affordability, and equity, offers a phased-in approach to a series of tax reforms that is expected to produce $561 million in savings for taxpayers this fiscal year and an estimated $1.02 billion in savings once the changes are fully implemented in 2026. The bill, which represents a compromise negotiated over the last three months by a six-member conference committee, received preliminary approval by the House of Representatives on a vote of 155-1 on September 27. Representative Wong noted that the final tax package provides for increases in the child and dependent tax credit, the rental deduction cap, and the Earned Income Tax Credit. It also doubles the Senior Circuit Breaker tax credit while raising the estate tax threshold from $1 million to $2 million and increasing the amount seniors can deduct from their property taxes when participating in the Senior Property Tax Volunteer Program. House Bill 4104 also authorizes a reduction in the short-term capital gains tax rate and implements a single sales factor for companies beginning January 1, 2025 to encourage economic growth and help maintain Massachusetts-based businesses. In addition, the bill triples the maximum allowable Title V tax credit for homeowners repairing or replacing their septic tanks, while also expanding the lead paint abatement and taking steps to promote more housing development across the state. According to Representative Wong, House Bill 4104: • .Combines the child and dependent tax credits into one while eliminating the existing cap and increasing the credit from $180 to $310 in FY23 and to $440 in FY24, which will benefit over 565,000 families; • .Increases the rental deduction cap from $3,000 to $4,000, which will assist approximately 800,000 renters; • .Raises the Earned Income Tax Credit from 30% to 40% of the federal credit, which will benefit approximately 400,000 taxpayers earning less than $60,000; • .Doubles the maximum Senior Circuit Breaker tax credit from $1,200 to $2,400, indexed to inflation, to assist nearly 100,000 seniors with their housing costs; • .Eliminates the estate tax for all estates valued under $2 million and allows for a uniform credit of $99,600, effective January 1, 2023; • .Allows municipalities to provide up to $2,000 in property tax reductions for older residents participating in the senior work-off program, which is currently capped at $1,500; • .Reduces the tax on shortterm capital gains from 12% to 8.5%; • .Replaces the current three-prong sales tax apportionment for Massachusetts-headquartered businesses that incorporates property, payroll and sales with a new system that only factors in sales; • .Increases the maximum tax credit for septic tank repairs or replacement under Title V from $6,000 to $18,000 and also increases the amount that can be claimed to $4,000 per year; • .Doubles the lead paint abatement to $1,000 for partial abatement and $3,000 for full abatement; • .Raises the statewide cap on the Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP) from $10 million to $57 million for one year before setting the annual cap at $30 million moving forward; • .Raises the annual authorization for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit from $40 million to $60 million; • .Allows cities and town to adopt a local property tax exemption for renters whose income falls below a certain level set by the community; • .Increases the statewide cap on the Dairy Tax Credit from $6 million to $8 million to assist local farmers impacted by reductions in milk prices; • .Makes public transit fares and certain other expenses eligible for the commuter expenses tax deduction; • .Expands the number of occupations eligible for the workforce development tax credit; • .Exempts employer student loan payments from being counted as taxable income by the state; and • .Increases the maximum amount of alcohol that hard ciders and still wines may contain from 6% of alcohol by weight to 8.5%, which will allow more of these locally produced products to be taxed at a lower rate. House Bill 4104 must still be approved by the Senate and enacted in both branches before reaching Governor Maura Healey’s desk for her review and signature.

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