Final say on Saugus-Canyon
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Canyon‘s defense showed why it must be respected, but all it took was a little more than 14 minutes for Saugus to score three unanswered TDs to post an 18-14 victory over the Cowboys, cementing its legitimacy as a Foothill League title-contender. Here’s my final thoughts on Saugus-Canyon:
Plays of the night:
- Saugus -- A 59-yard kickoff return to the Canyon 40 by Ryan Zirbel after the Cowboys’ second TD late in the third quarter lifted the spirits on the Saugus sidelines and in the visiting bleachers. From there, the Centurions were marching to victory.
- Canyon -- A couple of interceptions by Stephen Wirthlin and Sean Crane were big, but Jordan Ferguson‘s 49-yard run in the third set up an eight-yard TD run by QB Sean Gavin two plays later to give the Cowboys a 14-0 lead.
Green with frustration: For most of the game, Gavin was efficient and up to the challenge, but he ran into some trouble thanks to Saugus LB Nick Green. After Green sacked him for a 12-yard loss in the first quarter, Gavin spiked the ball in frustration and was hit with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty. Later, a botched backward pass by Gavin resulted in a fumble recovery by Green. Zirbel then weaved his way to a 24-yard TD on the next play. Green has an incredible 16 sacks on the season.
Weird plays: Both teams put up a couple of head scratchers with the game on the line. After Saugus’ second TD, the Centurions decided to go for two points in an effort to tie the score, 14-14. However, a lobbing drop pass from Desi Rodriguez to WR Mario Wright wasn’t the right thing to do. He was double covered and I don’t think even Terrell Owens, with his hands covered in Stickum, could have come down with that jump ball.
Canyon also made a bizarre decision to have talented kicker Garrett Hernandez run for it on fourth and long on a fake punt. He got nowhere near a first down. I understand it was a desperate, late-game move, but it was a poorly executed attempt at keeping a drive alive.
Quote of the night: ‘Everybody that we’ve played has come up with the same game plan -- stop [number] two and [number] five. Well, you may do it for awhile, but, like I said, it’s a 15-round heavyweight fight. You may get us in the first couple rounds, but, eventually, we’re going to come out on top.’ -- Saugus Coach Jason Bornn.
Final say: Saugus is the real deal and Hart better watch out if it wants to win its first league title since 2003 next Friday. No one has been able to crack the Rodriguez-Zirbel code, so far.
-- Austin Knoblauch
