THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – WEDnESDAy, nOVEmbEr 22, 2023 Page 5 FOOTBALL | FROM PAGE 1 4. What does it mean to you to play in the Thanksgiving Day game, and what are your thoughts on what it will take to beat Peabody? Danny Shea 1. I feel like I had a decent season even though it was cut short sadly. 2. It was a huge turnaround this year winning, five games so far. 3. Being named captain means a lot and can’t wait to be back next year. 4. I won’t be able to play Thanksgiving, but it means a lot to me because it’s these seniors last game ever, and they’re going to carry us to get this win. Cam Preston 1. I feel like I had a good start for the first three games of the season going 3-0 but after that just being able to still help around with the team was an amazing feeling. 2. A huge turnaround this season started in the offseason, being able to get kids to workouts and 7v7s. Bringing in a huge addition to our coaching staff in defensive coach Greg Bluestein. 3. Being named a captain meant a lot to me. It was truly an honor. For next year’s captains all the advice I can give is to make sure the kids listen to you and actually take it seriously that you have a “C” on your jersey. 4. I won’t be able to personally contribute on Thanksgiving, but It will take discipline and drive to beat the Tanners on Thanksgiving Day. Braden Faiella 1. I feel like I had a good season. I wish I didn’t miss two games, but it happens. I reached over 400 total tackles and played both sides of the ball and special teams so I feel like playing all of those were great contributions. 2. The turnaround from the past years have been great, and it all started with summer workouts. Being able to get many guys working out was great and helped so much. Our coaches have all also been great, and they really believe in us with everything we do which is also very helpful to the turnaround we had. 3. Being a captain these last two years has been great, and I tried to make a great impact on these younger guys. And I hope that the next year’s captains can see what it really takes and be able to lead the future team to victory. 4. Playing in the Thanksgiving Day game is a great feeling, knowing you can get after it one last time with your brothers and go to war against Peabody. They are always a very good team, so it’s going to take a lot from all of us on offense, defense, special teams and even the sideline. We are all going to need to do what we do to get the job done. Isaiah Rodriguez 1. The season for me was great, starting off 3-0, and I had around 300 receiving yards in three games. Losing our starting quarterback (Cam Preston) hurt me a lot, but I still gave it my all when it came on the field and racked in some touchdowns and some big plays that helped my teammates to put us in the position to succeed. I started playing football my junior year, and it took a turn for the best for me, as it turned out it was really fun and gave me many opportunities to play at the next level. I couldn’t thank everyone enough that’s been there and helped each other up in the rough times we had in the past. 2. The change in expectations we set this year really did it for us. We had many kids on the team in the offseason put in lots of work on and off the field. When you have a team full of guys working, it gives us success in what we did this year. We stayed strong as we are all family. We all buy in together. 3. It means a lot to be a captain knowing I can lift others up and show them right from wrong. My coaches put the trust in me to help the team, and I feel I have done what they asked from me. I want Saugus to keep having the success that we are finally starting to get. The advice I could give them is to always work hard on and off the field. Classes aren’t hard to pass. Be a leader: everyone has their own ways of doing that. Have respect for your teammates, and they will have respect for you; it’s all a family. 4. It means a lot to me to play in the game. It’s one of the most packed-out games that we have all year. We just want to show to the people what we can do. A lot of people doubt us which should fire up the team to prove everyone wrong, as it fires me up to put on a show. We have gone through a lot of ups and downs this year with injuries and sudden changes in lineups, but I feel we can pull through if we give it our all on the field. It’s our last game. Tommy DeSimone 1. Personally, I felt like I’ve had a great season. Rushing for over 1,000 rushing yards 13 touchdowns and having two interceptions this season exceeded my expectations for myself this season, but it’s a team game. My accomplishments are a reflection of the everyone else and the coaching staff. I can walk away from high school football knowing I gave my all to help change this program forever. 2. The change of the team came from everyone buying in. We had 30-plus kids at workouts all summer long which has been the absolute most since I’ve played here. Our linemen call themselves “the brotherhood,” and they embrace working together as a team and as a family. Last year we didn’t have chemistry this year. We had more than chemistry. We played as a family. Especially this senior group as we wanted to change this program for the better. 3. Being a captain for two years has meant more than the world to me. Coach Steve Cummings put his trust in me to lead this team, and it has been truly an honor. I want these younger guys to remember me as a leader and a role model they can model themselves after for when they are a senior/captain themselves. My advice to them is to be your own person and be a natural leader. Don’t force yourself to be someone you’re not. Everyone can offer leadership in their own unique ways. 4. Playing in the Thanksgiving game has a lot of history in my family. My uncle Rodney Lavoie Jr. also played Peabody in Peabody his senior season. It was 2006, and it was the last time Saugus was going to play Peabody for a while. My uncle on a torn hamstring ran for over 200 yards and led Saugus to a 13-0 victory over Peabody to end his senior season and to bring the trophy back to Saugus. It’s my last high school game. Everyone wants to end off on a win. It’ll be history. Football is one of those sports where anything can happen. We know we are the underdogs in this game, and we’ve embraced being the underdogs all season. We hope they take us lightly so we can shock the entire conference and make this game a rivalry again. The trophy belongs in Saugus.
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