Saugus runs all over Marblehead

SAUGUS – For the first time in three decades, the Saugus football program will have back-to-back winning seasons.On Saturday at Stackpole Field, the Sachems sent a senior class that has helped rebuild the program out in style.Shamir Guillaume rushed for 157 yards and Mike Dean went for 148 as Saugus racked up 460 yards on the ground as a team en route to a 41-13 win over Northeastern Conference South leader Marblehead.”Our offensive line did a nice job and it started to wear them down,” Saugus coach Mike Broderick said. “And our fullbacks were able to bust things open.”The Magicians came into Saturday knowing they had a chance to clinch at least a share of the South title with a victory. But they also knew they would be without starting quarterback Hayes Richardson and placekicker Ian McKinley.The two were were not in uniform for the game, and afterward, Coach Doug Chernovetz acknowledged the pair had violated school rules by attending a party earlier in the week where alcohol was present.”That hurt definitely,” Marblehead coach Doug Chernovetz said. “When you don’t have your starting quarterback and placekicker. There were a couple of times when we wanted to get Ian on the field but he’s not here. And Hayes runs this offense real well.”McKinley’s stand in on Saturday, sophomore Matt Perlow, gave the Magicians a chance to take an early lead as he led a lengthy game-opening drive.A 33 yard screen pass to Taariq Allen got the Magicians into Saugus territory. A 16-yard completion from Perlow to Flynn McCormack on a slant pattern put Marblehead in the red zone.The ball eventually reached the four, where Marblehead had first-and-goal. But the Saugus defense stiffened and forced a turnover on downs with 4:18 left in the first quarter.”It really hurt us when we didn’t score on the opening drive,” Chernovetz said.Three plays later, the Sachems had turned that stand into a 7-0 lead when Guillaume raced 85 yards through the Marblehead defense. It would be the first in a series of huge plays that doomed the Magicians.”That was a big momentum shift right there,” Broderick said. “If they score right there, you don’t know what’s going to happen.”Following a Marblehead punt on its next possession, the Sachems got the ball back with 51 seconds left in the first and were some 91 yards from paydirt.Saugus reached its 30 early in the second quarter when quarterback Bret Reid performed a piece of improvisation that completely turned the momentum towards Saugus.The senior was about to be stopped for a loss by Ben Bryant when he flipped the ball to his left. Rodrigo Henriques caught the pitch inches off the ground and raced 70 yards down the left sideline to give Saigus a 13-0 lead.”That play was huge,” Broderick said. “Bret improvised there and flipped it out to Rodrigo. That was huge and also a bit lucky.”An even bigger moment came in the final minute of the half when Saugus was forced to punt. Brandon Lee fielded Reid’s kick at the Magician 42 and came up with a serpentine run through the defense for a touchdown that would have given Marblehead new life heading to halftime.But an illegal block back down field nullified the score, keeping it 13-0 at halftime.”That penalty call at the half absolutely took the wind out of our sails,” Chernovetz said.The Sachems got the ball to start the second half and looked to turn out the lights, driving to the Marblehead 15. But Reid fumbled on an option pitch and Marblehead recovered at the 22.Two snaps later, the Sachem defense came up with a big play of its own. Mike Dean cut in front of a Perlow pass for Connor Carey and returned the interception 20 yards for a touchdown that upped the lead to 20-0.But the Magicians didn’t go away as Perlow brought them back in the game on the next drive. He hit Carey for 16 and then threw a strike to Allen for a 23-yard gain to the Saugus 31.His 14 yard pass to Sam Perlow on fourth and one from the Saugus 22 got the Magicians in range to make things interesting. And Lee di