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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, DECEmbEr 1, 2023 Page 13 Despite Thanksgiving loss, Saugus football sees season of growth By Dom Nicastro T he Saugus High School football team didn’t end the season the way it wanted to – a 27-6 loss at the hands of Thanksgiving Day rival Peabody on the road. Peabody ended up with five interceptions and captured its ninth consecutive Turkey Day victory over the Sachems. Saugus finished the season 5-6, Peabody 10-1. On the surface, it appears to be a sour end to a losing season for Saugus. And that’s true. But digging deeper for the full context on the 2023 season for Saugus, you’d discover this was a foundational season of what can be good things to come. Remember, this is a program that won one game between the past two seasons and about a handful over the last five. Starting 3-0 and finishing with an almost .500 record and five total wins? That’s progress. Saugus exploded onto the scene this season by scoring 40, 28 and 27 points in three victories. The injury bug hit in big ways, sidelining leaders like quarterback Cam Preston and two-way standout Braden Faiella. The latter capBEACON HILL | FROM PAGE 12 of this bill would not apply to systems installed by the manufacturer of a motor vehicle, car rental businesses or insurance companies with the vehicle owner’s consent. “Motor vehicle tracking devices provide a useful tool for law enforcement, parents and legal guardians of children who are minors, and business owners tracking company vehicles, and those uses would continue to be allowed under this bill,” said Jones. “The real purpose of this bill is to promote public safety by preventing individuals from using these devices to engage in predatory activities such as stalking.” QUOTABLE QUOTES “Through the creation of readiness plans on college campuses, we are ensuring that tain would return but Preston was lost for the season. Sophomore quarterback Jordan Rodriguez performed admirably in a tough situation, taking the snaps the rest of the way after Game 3. And Saugus flirted with a berth in the postseason with a 4-4 regular season mark but just missed. As for the Peabody game on Thanksgiving, Saugus didn’t exactly lay down for the Tanners. Saugus’ Tommy DeSimone ran for 40 yards on 23 carries to finish his awesome 1,000-yard-plus season. But the Sachems couldn’t get much offense going on the morning. DeSimone had a 13yard touchdown run in the third to break up the shutout. “Taking advantage of turnovers – I felt during the season, we took advantage of teams’ mistakes and turned them into points,” DeSimone said. “We forced a couple turnovers Thursday; we just weren’t able to turn them into points.” Faiella said the team got strong pushes from the offensive line and, in general, the defensive line stepped up, shutting Peabody down in the second half. Saugus also stopped a Peabody drive near the end of the first half. more people will have safe and effective options for reproductive health care. Schools can and should use this toolkit to evaluate and improve their capacity to provide sexual and reproductive health services. Every student in Massachusetts deserves thoughtful and comprehensive support when making decisions about their own health.” ---Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll announcing the launch of the Medication Abortion Toolkit for Public Colleges and Universities. The toolkit is designed to assist Massachusetts’ public colleges and universities in preparing medication abortion readiness plans to provide, or make referrals for, medication abortion on college campuses in accordance with new Massachusetts law. “Work authorization is key to helping new arrivals get jobs that will help them support their families, move out of UP & OVER: Sachem co-captain Isaiah Rodriguez makes a nifty catch over a Tanner defender during Saugus’ Thanksgiving Day battle at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium in Peabody. (Advocate photo by Emily Harney) Saugus later recovered an onsides kick after it scored its touchdown but gave up the ball on the next possession. Faiella is playing basketball in the winter then doing track in the spring; “those two sports are a very good time, and I’m looking forward to them,” he said. DeSimone, another captain for the Sachems this year, is taking the winter off to train emergency shelter into more stable housing options, and fill critical workforce needs across our economy. We’re proud that the first week of this clinic has proven to be such a success, with more than 1,000 people served.” ---Gov. Maura Healey announcing that her administration assisted some 1,200 work-eligible migrants staying in emergency family shelters with obtaining work authorizations in the first week of its Work Authorization Legal Clinic in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “Quick Temp repeatedly denied their employees a prevailing wage and other benefits guaranteed to them by law. As we approach the holiday season, these issues of wage theft become even more pressing to resolve. My office will continue to hold accountable those who violate our wage and hour laws and lift weights. He will be running track in the spring and besides that will be in full training mode to prepare for his college football career. “Rest time is over,” DeSimone said when asked the message to returning players coming back to play Saugus football. “If you aren’t playing a winter sport you should live in the weight room and get on guys to get in there with and do so in partnership with our unions and trades.” ---Attorney General Andrea Campbell announcing a series of citations against Quick Temp., Inc., totaling $1,392,665, in restitution and civil fines for violations including failure to pay a prevailing wage, failure to pay minimum wage, failure to pay overtime, non-payment of wages and failure to accrue earned sick leave. “Gov. Healey and Statehouse politicians need to realize they cannot tax their way out of their spending problem. These high tax policies do nothing but make Massachusetts an unaffordable place to live, retire and do business in.” ---Paul Craney, spokesman for the Mass Fiscal Alliance commenting on the Tax Foundation’s new report that ranks Massachusetts as in fifth in the most state and local tax collections per capita in each state as of fiscal year fiscal year 2021, you. Do wrestling in the winter if you’re gonna play a sport and run track in the spring. The future is now.” For his part, Faiella said returning players need to make sure they’re lifting and also getting faster. “I believe those two things do a lot on the football field,” he said. ‘I would also tell them to enjoy every moment in football because it flies by.” the most recent year for which full state-by-state data are available. HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been filed. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sesBEACON HILL | SEE PAGE 17

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