Page 12 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2021 Sachems fall to Winthrop on Senior Night By Greg Phipps O n a ceremonial evening when the school’s new football stadium was officially named, the Saugus Sachems could not carry the same uplifting vibe onto the field and ended up losing 22-0 to the visiting Winthrop Vikings in a Northeastern Conference battle last Friday night. The contest featured a halftime celebration in which the stadium was formally dedicated in honor of Christie Serino, Jr., whose son, Matthew Serino, is Winthrop’s athletic director. This year’s senior players were also recognized before the game. On the field, the Sachems once again struggled to mount any consistent offensive attack. The team’s opening drive was promising, as Saugus produced an 11-play march into Winthrop territory. But it eventually stalled and resulted in no points. Winthrop responded by scoring on a long pass play followed by a two-point conversion to forge ahead 8-0 after one period. The Sachems defense played well overall and stopped the Vikings deep in their Saugus territory late in the second quarter. That stand kept it close at 8-0 into the half. Winthrop drew blood again in the third quarter with a touchdown and extra-point kick to go up 15-0. The Vikings would tack on one more touchdown Saugus Head Coach Steve Cummings the most part. We just couldn’t get any breaks to go our way.” Quarterback Sean O’Rourke Senior quarterback Sean O’Rourke completed seven passes in last Friday’s Senior Night loss to Winthrop. (Advocate Photos by Greg Phipps) and extra point to close out the scoring. Sachems Head Coach Steve Cummings said the tone of the contest was set early. “When you move the ball down the field and don’t score, and then The COVID-19 Update Town reports 46 newly confirmed cases over the past week, according to town manager By Mark E. Vogler T he number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases reported yesterday (Nov. 4) by the town over the last seven days was 46 – an increase of one over the previous week, according to Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree. The recently confirmed COVID cases raised the number of total cases to 5,079 since March of last year, Crabtree said in a press release yesterday. There have been 636 new cases over the past 10 weeks – an average of 63.6 per week. Meanwhile, there were no COVID-related deaths in Saugus over the past seven days, leaving the death toll linked to the killer virus at 79. “Our hearts and prayers go out to those families affected by this health pandemic,” Crabtree said. The newly elected Saugus Board of Selectmen hopes to continue the projects they began during 201921. Pictured from left to right, getting sworn in on Wednesday by Town Clerk Ellen Schena, are Selectmen Debra C. Panetta, Anthony W. Cogliano, Sr., Jeffrey V. Cicolini, Corinne R. Riley and Michael J. Serino. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) you give up a big pass play right at the beginning of the game, it’s tough to come back from that,” he told the press afterward. “I’m proud of the way our guys fought, and I thought we played some good defense for did complete seven passes for 71 yards, but the Sachems’ offense was pretty much kept in check – outside of the opening drive. Winthrop controlled the ball and ran off a lot of clock in the second half. Saugus fell to 0-8 on the season with a game at 1-7 Greater Lawrence Tech that was played Thursday night (after press deadline). The Sachems were hoping they could land in the win column for the first time in fall 2021. Saugus honored its 10 senior players prior to last Friday’s opening kickoff: They were Mekhi Coburn, O’Rourke, Ryan Mabee, Drew Gardiner, Mark MacEachern, Chris Porcaro, Tre Sanders, Kyle Hogan, Jake Camuso and Alejandro Ortiz. Cummings praised his senior contingent after the Winthrop game. “This wasn’t the year we wanted to have for them, but there’s no question that any success we have in the future will be because of how they handled this season and how they helped the young guys on the team.” Looking Ahead
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