Winthrop holds off late Saugus rally

WINTHROP – It looked like the Winthrop football team was on its way to an easy win over Saugus in the team’s NEC South opener, leading the unbeaten Sachems 35-14 early in the fourth quarter.But the Sachems rallied, scoring twice in the final seven minutes to cut the gap to a touchdown before falling 35-28 to leave the NEC with no unbeaten teams.Click here for a photo gallery from the game.”We made way too many mistakes in the first half,” Saugus coach Mike Broderick said. “We gave up too many easy touchdowns. But the guys never quit. Winthrop just made more plays than we did.”The Vikings (3-3, 1-0 NEC South) made their fans sweat down the stretch, but held on to get their second straight win and make their coach smile a bit.”We came out really good in the first half and were physical and moved the ball,” Vikings coach Sean Driscoll said. “But give Saugus credit, they didn’t quit. They have some tremendous players.”Winthrop led 21-0 in the second quarter but saw that gap trimmed to 28-14 entering the fourth quarter before quarterback Will Milano threw his third touchdown pass of the game, an eight-yarder to Kenny Quist at the right pylon, to give his team a commanding 21-point lead with 9:54 to go.”Will really stepped up and had a great game,” Driscoll said. “We know that teams are going to key on Chris (Beranger), so that gave everyone else a chance to make plays.”But the Sachems (4-1, 0-1 NEC South) showed some resolve and made things interesting on their next drive.Quarterback Bret Reid and fullback Mike Dean (18 carries, 135 yards) showed that the Sachems had the ability to throw as the two hooked up on a 38-yard bomb to the Winthrop 15. Two plays later, the duo combined again for a 10-yard strike that cut the lead to 35-21 with 6:45 left.”We know that Bret can throw like that,” Broderick said.Saugus’ Brendan Flaherty then increased the tension level on the Winthrop front when he recovered an onside kick at the Viking 48.Dean blasted off 18 yards on the next snap before Shamir Guillaume helped move the ball to the Winthrop eight.On first and goal, the Sachems were called for a false start. Those five yards proved costly as Guillaume was stopped at the two on fourth-and-goal from the four with 2:55 left.”That fourth and four play was the biggest of the game,” Driscoll said.Winthrop picked up one first down and was on the way to another which would allow it to run out the clock when Milano fumbled and Saugus recovered at the Viking 20 with 1:06 left.The Reid-to-Dean combo then hooked up again for a beautiful catch along the back line of the end zone that made it 35-28 with 59.1 seconds to go.But any hopes of a dramatic end fizzled when the Vikings recovered Saugus’ second onside kick attempt.”That’s a good team over there and they’ll win their share of games,” Broderick said. “We just made a couple of mistakes that put us in a bind.”The finish was as entertaining as the start. Beranger took a handoff on the second play of the game and raced 57 yards to give Winthrop a 6-0 lead at the one-minute mark.Following a Saugus fumble on its first possession, Milano and the Winthrop pass attack took the stage when he found Quist for a 14-yard touchdown on a fourth-down play and a 14-0 lead following a conversion pass.It stayed 14-0 into the second quarter, when the Vikings tried to deliver a knockout blow. Milano threw to Dan Ramos for a 26-yard gain to the Saugus 42 and followed that with a 28-yard pass to the senior on third-and-26 when the ball tipped off Reid’s hand.A 16-yard pass to Beranger on third-and-12 moved the ball to the Saugus 16. Two plays later, Beranger went around left end and scored from 14 yards out for a 21-0 lead.Saugus gained some momentum back late in the half, putting together a 62-yard march in five plays, capped by a one-yard Reid plunge that made it 21-7 at the break.The Sachems cut further into the lead on their initial drive of the second half as Reid engineered a nine-play, 80-yard march that he capped wi