Zirbel soothes Saugus’ nerves with great second-half performance
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It seems like everybody on Saugus admitted they were a little nervous at one point during Friday’s 18-14 victory over Canyon.
Down 14-0 late in the third quarter, things weren’t looking good for the Centurions. Or at least until Ryan Zirbel decided to kick it up a notch.
Both Saugus Coach Jason Bornn and QB Desi Rodriguez said the game took a definite turn in Saugus’ favor after Zirbel busted off a 59-yard kickoff return with just a couple minutes left in the third quarter. The return set up a 10-yard TD pass from Rodriguez to Mario Wright to put the Centurions on the scoreboard and, from there, they were unstoppable.
‘We have a system and they believe in that system,’ Bornn said. ‘At halftime the other coaches just said, ‘You know what, let’s just do what we do.’ We just kept on doing what we do and we wore them out.’
And cramming a good helping of Zirbel down Canyon’s defense is the kind of game plan that has Saugus in a position to claim its first league title since 1981. Zirbel rushed for 122 yards and two TDs in 20 carries, most of which came in the second half, as Saugus scored 18 unanswered points against a penalty-riddled Canyon squad.
‘I love these kids and I wanted them to succeed,’ Canyon Coach Chris Varner said, ‘but it doesn’t always go the way you want. You just got to come back and play again next week.’
-- Austin Knoblauch
