Page 4 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – WEDnESDAy, nOVEmbEr 23, 2022 A Saugus High Inspiration Sachems senior Justin belluscio played with heart during a football season overshadowed by the death of his dad to cancer By Mark E. Vogler S augus High School football coaches and players call Justin Belluscio an inspiration to his teammates. Gerry D’Ambrosio Attorney-at-Law Is Your Estate in Order? Do you have an update Will, Health Care Proxy or Power of Attorney? If Not, Please Call for a Free Consultation. 14 Proctor Avenue, Revere (781) 284-5657 The season began on an emotionally draining and sad note for Justin, who had to cope with his dad being diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer and later losing his gallant battle to the dreaded disease. “We found out this summer that his dad was sick,” Sachems’ Head Coach Steve Cummings said in an interview last week. “It was just eight weeks from the time of his dad’s diagnosis until he passed away. Justin, who was a twoway starter for this year’s Sachems football team – a slot receiver on offense and a safety on defense – missed a few practices. But he never missed a game – including one just days after his dad died. “The day before the game – which was two days after he found out that his father passed away, he was just standing in the locker room and looked right at me and said, ‘Coach, I’m playing. I’m playing tomorrow,’” CumDan 1972 A wise old owl says we must be doing something right. 50 years of selling quality cigars R.Y.O. TOBACCO ---------TUBES CIGAR SMOKER’S DELIGHT! 15 Handmade Cigars - Long Leaf Filler - Four Year Old Tobacco Wrapped including a Cohiba $43.95 * MANY MAJOR CIGAR BRANDS * SPECIAL PERDOMO BOX SALE PLUS A FREE GIFT CIGAR LIGHTER & CUTTER - RETAIL VALUE $100 - FREE! * NEW SHIPMENT OF HUMIDORS STARTING AT $99.95 COMPLETE! A.B.C. CIGAR 170 REVERE ST., REVERE (781) 289-4959 STORE HOURS: Monday - Saturday: 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM Sunday & Holidays: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM We Sell Cigars & Accessories Boxes * Tins Competitive Prices! OPEN * Bundles Singles Thanksgiving Day 8AM-2PM Chris 2022 Collecting the hardware: Justin Belluscio got to hold up two coveted trophies on Wednesday night (Nov. 16) – one of them that he took home as this year’s recipient of the Saugus Lions Club “Heisman Award.” His name will also be engraved on the giant “Heisman Trophy” that will be put on display at Saugus High to honor all past recipients. mings told a gathering at the 50th Annual Saugus and Peabody Lions Clubs’ Annual Football Meeting and Dinner last week at Prince Pizzeria. “He wanted to be there with his guys. It was normal to him. This was how he wanted to grieve. To watch our guys take him and walk him through that difficult scenario …. To watch your young men be there and do that kind of thing for another human being is why we do this job,” the coach said. Justin received this year’s Saugus Lions Club Heisman Award – an honor bestowed annually to an unsung hero or the player who best represents himself as the heart and soul of the Sachems football team. “This young man has shown an incredible amount of character and an incredible amount of strength – more than you ask for any 17- or 18-yearold kid,” Coach Cummings told the audience in Giggles Comedy Club, where the senior players for Saugus High School and the Peabody Tanners football teams dined together a week before their Thanksgiving Day showdown. “So when we were asked to give an award at this banquet, there was really no doubt as to who we were going to give it to: the guy on our team who basically made this season everything he wanted it to be because of everything he was forced to go through this year,” Coach Cummings said. A tragic start to the season Justin’s dad – Joseph A. Belluscio, Jr., 61 – had just retired from Massport after 40 years of work when he learned he had Stage 4 Lung Cancer. About two months later, he succumbed to Lung Cancer. “I’ve been going through a hard time and all of these kids helped me through it,” Justin said in a recent interview. “They helped me a lot. My teammates were part of the healing process for me,” he said. Brenton Sullivan, a defensive lineman, said he and his teammates rallied around their grieving teammate. “It INSPIRATION | SEE PAGE 6
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