Item Football 2009: Saugus thin on experience, but ready to rumble

Back-to-back 7-3 seasons have restored the glory to a once proud Saugus High football program under head coach Mike Broderick. But now the Sachems face life without a senior class that made up the nucleus of those teams that put the program back on the map.And when the Sachems take the field tomorrow (7) against Bishop Fenwick at Donaldson Field, they will have a boatload of new faces in new places hoping to make it three consecutive winning seasons in Saugus.”We are going to be a little inexperienced,” Broderick said. “But the kids are working hard in practice and are picking up the concepts we have.”The Sachems graduated 19 players from last year’s team, almost all of whom saw the bulk of the playing time. The exodus leaves Saugus with only three starters – Cam Maguire, Andrew White and John Moore – back on offense and defense.White and Maguire will help anchor the offensive and defensive lines while Moore will return to his cornerback slot and will take the reins from Agganis All-Star quarterback Bret Reid.”Johnny played in every game last year and has been biding his time,” Broderick said. “But he’s ready to take the reins and go.”Saugus will have to replace the bulk of its offensive and defensive lines as Anthony Barrasso, Pat Finnegan and Mike Gray are gone. And will look to fill the shoes of running backs Mike Dean and Shamir Guillaume, who helped form a deadly running trio with Reid.Junior Vinny Talutto and sophomore A.J. Guthro will get the charge of handling the bulk of the carries in Saugus’ option attack. Wide receivers Jimmy Hyde and Steve Elmquist will also look to help the Sachems attack, which scored over 30 points four times last season.”Vinny has done a nice job so far and has worked very hard and A.J. has a lot of speed we hope to use,” Broderick said.Defensively, Saugus will look to Maguire and White to anchor the defensive line and Ryan Kennedy to lead the linebackers.”Obviously we’ve got a lot of holes to fill. But its time for the seniors and other guys who are here to step up,” Broderick said. “They saw what it was like the last couple of years and its up to them to keep it up.”Saugus’ schedule will do them no favors either.After opening at Fenwick tomorrow, the Sachems have eight days to prepare for Manchester-Essex and its spread offense when the Hornets christen their newly built field in town. Coach Mike Athanas’ team was a Super Bowl participant a season ago and will pack a huge test for Saugus.The Sachems also have a non-conference game with Salem before jumping into the Northeastern Conference South portion of the schedule. But the biggest game of the year will come on Thanksgiving as Peabody returns to the schedule after a two-year absence.”We are very excited about having Peabody back on the schedule,” Broderick said. “It a big rivalry for us. And it’s at our field which is even nicer.”