THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – WEDnESDAy, nOVEmbEr 26, 2025 Page 9 AWARD | FROM PAGE 8 ry game,” he said. Peabody Tanners Head Coach Mark Bettencourt told the audience at Gametime sports that he’s a longtime participant in the Lions Club football banquets honoring Saugus and Peabody seniors. He’s attended the banquet for 14 years as the coach. “It’s nostalgic to think I once sat here. I was the senior. I had to do ‘The Lions’ Roar,’ just like these guys had to do…The tradition of this banquet is really what New England football is all about: the tradition of playing Thanksgiving morning,” Bettencourt said. “I like to make sure that all the seniors on both teams understand something. Like Coach Cummings says, he remembers his game when he played down on the South Shore. “I remember my game. I remember my game my senior year when Saugus was 8-1 and Peabody was 9-0. The winner of that game went to the Super Bowl. All the cards were on the table. All the money was pushed in for that Thanksgiving game. They said there were close to 20,000 people at that game. One of the biggest games as far as the Peabody-Saugus rivalry of what was on the line in that game. I remember it like it was yesterday. Yes. Of course, we won. We went to the Super Bowl,” he said. But the most memorable Thanksgiving game Bettencourt said he played was probably the one in his junior year. Both teams had .500 records and were scheduled to play at the old Stackpole Field in Saugus. “That year there was a blizzard the night before Thanksgiving. We had to push that game to Friday. We played the game on Friday that year. For all intents and purposes, it was a meaningless game. There was no Super Bowl on the line like there was my senior year. It was just a traditional rivalry game. Their quarterback was a kid named Mark Fauci, a phenomenal athlete that went on to play quarterback at Boston University,” Bettencourt said. “They had some really good players on their team. We had some reJoining their “fantastic teammate” and this year’s “Heisman Trophy” winner Josh Sheehan were coaches and senior members of the Saugus High School Sachems football team at last week’s 53rd Annual Saugus and Peabody Lions Club Football Meeting and Dinner. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) ally good players on our team, but the records didn’t reflect anything. And we fought. We fought in the mud at Stackpole Field. Once that snow melted, the entire field turned to mud. You couldn’t read the numbers on our jerseys. I had mud stuck in my ear for a week after that game. We won 14-13. We stopped Mark Fauci on the one-yard line as he went for a two-point conversion to win that game with no time left on the clock.” Botta’s big stage: Saugus’ all-time scoring leader sparks historic run at Saint Anselm By Dom Nicastro F or four years, Saugus High School girls soccer fans watched Madison Botta break scoring records, help change the reputation of the program and redefine what was possible for a Sachem on the pitch. What no one knew at the time—not even Botta— was how seamlessly she’d carry that momentum into the college game. Now a freshman at Division 2 Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH, Botta is a key contributor on a historic Hawks team that won its first Northeast-10 Conference title in 34 years this month, earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA East Region and is hosting NCAA tournament matches on campus for the first time in program history. The tourney began earlier this week. And she’s doing it the way Saugus fans remember, creating chances, setting up teammates and elevating everyone around her. And scoring in the clutch: she had the team’s lone regulation goal in the Northeast-10 championship win on penalty kicks over Franklin Pierce University. “Stepping into this program as a freshman during such a historic moment has been very exciting,” Botta said. “Our team is accomplishing so much, and I’m so glad to be a part of it with such a great group of players and coaches.” Her impact? Immediate. Her maturity? Noticeable. Her coach’s confidence? Unmistakable. BOTTA | SEE PAGE 13 Be prepared before the next power outage. Receive a free 5-year warranty with qualifying purchase* - valued at $535. Call 866-852-0221 to schedule your free quote!
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