THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – WEDnESDAy, nOVEmbEr 22, 2023 Page 13 Saugus High School Sachems Varsity Football Team The Saugus High School Sachems Varsity Football Team are, shown in no particular order: Tommy DeSimone (Capt.); Ameen Taboubi, Samy Chahid, Danny Shea (Capt.), Dylan Clark, Jordan Rodriguez, Connor Bloom, Cam Preston (Capt), Ryan Shea, Josh Sheehan, Isaiah Rodriguez (Capt), Travis Goyetche, Ryan Moreira, Pable DeJesus, Jeffrey Murphy, Anthony Clark, Chris Mazin, Brandon Beauge, Pharoh Brandenburg, Tommy Cameron, Cody Munafo, Nathan Santos, Danny Moreno, Naz Rodriguez, Dwayne Williams, Koby Jette, Laith Haddad, Braden Faiella, Huey Josama, Kiki Raymond, Ethan Malcolm, Jose Rodriguez, Wilderson LaFortune, Mike Cella, Jandiel Pena, Amar Prkos, Larry Barrows, and Paxton Ferraro Shown from left to right; Isaiah Rodriguez, Cam Preston, Head Coach, Tommy DeSimone and Braden Faiella. Missing from photo Danny Shea. Shown from left to right; Mark Poto, Edlyn Dos Santos, Steven Cummings, Shane Rhuda, Greg Bluestein TRADITION | FROM PAGE 6 not taking anything for granted despite the team’s great season. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, there are no records on Thanksgiving Day.” “In my junior year, we were 5-4 and Saugus was similar. We won the game 14-13 in the mud,” the coach recalled. “For me, the passion is still there. I’ve been going to games since I was six years old. I look forward to a very great game, a very competitive game,” he said. “Just remember, this is the last time that some of us will play football for the rest of our lives,” he said. When he got his chance to talk about the upcoming game, Cummings echoed Coach Bettencourt’s sentiments. “You can’t sign up for a men’s league when you get older and play football,” Cummings said. “When it’s over, you are going to miss every bit of it,” he said. Cummings said he has fond memories of his last High School Thanksgiving Day football game. Cummings was a tight end and inside linebacker on the Marshfield High School team in 1995 that won the state title in its division (3B). Marshfield beat Duxbury, 40-20, in a game hosted by Duxbury. “We took the opening kickoff to the house [for a touchdown],” he said. Marshfield went on to beat North Attleboro in the state title game, 26-8. The Seniors, shown kneeling, from left to right; Ameen Taboubi, Tommy DeSimone (Capt), Ethan Malcolm. Standing (from left to right) Isaiah Rodriguez (Capt), Dylan Clark, Jeffrey Murphy, Travis Goyetche, Tommy Cameron, Cam Preston (Capt), and Braden Faiella (Capt) Smolinsky said he still remembers his last Thanksgiving Day game when he played for Tewksbury High. “We played Wilmington in a mud bowl and it was a 0-0 tie,” Smolinsky recalled. “It was 50 years ago and I still remember it,” he said. Saugus School Superintendent Michael Hashem didn’t play High School football, but went to watch the games as most students did. “Take it all in. It’s going to happen quickly,” said Hashem, who has been an educator in his hometown for 32 years. “You’ll remember this game for the rest of your lives,” he said. Former New England Patriots star offensive lineman Peter Brock, this year’s guest speaker, urged the Peabody and Saugus seniors to “play every play like it’s the last play you’ll ever do.” Brock, a native of Beaverton, Oregon, told the young players that he “lived a dream” that he conceived in childhood to be a professional football player – an accomplishment that was also achieved by three of his four brothers. In his talk, Brock recalled how the Patriots as a “Wild Card” team won three road playoff games – including a 31-14 win over the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship game (Jan. 12, 1986). “We kicked the hell out of the Miami Dolphins,” Brock recalled, noting that the Patriots went into the game having lost its last 18 games at Miami. “We held the ball for 42 minutes in a 60-minute game and we rushed for 256 yards that day,” he said. Brock, who played for 13 years with Patriots, also entertained the Peabody and Saugus players with a story about how he actually gave 110 percent effort in a game. It was a Nov. 13, 1983, game in Foxboro against the Miami Dolphins. Brock had suffered a serious knee injury. But his teammate – and then-future Hall of Fame offensive guard John Hannah – kept asking him “Can you go one more play?” Hannah kept repeating the question, motivating Brock to overcome adversity. “We played 76 plays from scrimmage, and I didn’t miss a snap,” Brock said.
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