The Moore the merrier as Saugus edges Fenwick

PEABODY – This week, John Moore can call himself the toast of Saugus.The Sachems senior quarterback ran for two touchdowns in his team’s 19-12 season-opening victory over Bishop Fenwick at Donaldson Field on Friday.”John did a great job,” Saugus coach Mike Broderick said. “We have a lot of new kids and first-year football players trying to get accustomed to the system. In the second half, John matured. He made some nice reads and delivered at the end.”Did he ever. With his team staring at a 12-6 deficit, Moore engineered two touchdown drives to help Saugus put a ‘W’ under the first game in its schedule.Fenwick went up by a touchdown with 8:25 left in regulation when senior Alex Crecco, a transfer from Ipswich, electrified the Crusader fans with a 56-yard touchdown run. Even though quarterback Chris Renzulli couldn’t run the ball in for a conversion, the Crusaders had the lead and time ticking away.Trouble was, Moore, as his coach said, came into his own. With his team on its 41, he ran for 14 yards and a first down. Then, he called his own number again and scrambl ed for nine more. (Ironically, the player who tackled him, Tyler Thomann, is from Saugus.) Still not satisfied, on second and 1 from the Fenwick 36, Moore ran 16 more yards to the 20 and the Sachem fans were ecstatic. And one play later, on second and 8, Moore pitched to Stephen Almquist for an 18-yard score with 5:03 left. Andrew White gave Saugus its first lead all game, 13-12, with a PAT.If the Sachem offense got the lead, the defense helped Moore & Co. solidify it. Saugus contributed gems on defense all game, and one of them came at a crucial moment – Cameron Maguire recovering a Fenwick fumble with 2:16 left, putting the Sachems on the Crusaders’ 32-yard line. One play later, Moore capped a memorable evening with a 32-yard touchdown jaunt at 1:59. Fenwick blocked the PAT, but the Sachems were now up 19-12.”John made senior decisions and nice moves in the open field,” Broderick said. “They took the lead and it was a good test.”Saugus emerged with an A on this test, and there were plenty of stars besides Moore, who ran 10 times for 104 yards. (One of the rare blemishes on the QB’s line was an interception by Ryan Lipka.) Anthony Guthro ran well, although he left with a knee injury. Maguire, White and Ryan Kennedy all played well on defense. White sacked Renzulli twice, Maguire once. Maguire also tackled Renzulli shy of the end z one, while Kennedy recovered a fumble.One vexing aspect of the game for both teams were the flags that became as common as the umbrellas in the stands. Fenwick committed seven penalties for 42 yards, Saugus six for 30.”I thought it was pretty evenly matched,” Fenwick coach David Woods said. “Both (teams) fought hard. We made a lot of mistakes, way too many – offsides, dropped balls, offensive breakdowns, fumbles. We’ll watch the film.”The teams traded touchdowns in the first quarter and went into halftime tied 6-6. Renzulli opened the scoring with a 23-yard touchdown run at 5:17 of the first quarter; the rush failed.”Obviously, he’s a game-changer,” Woods said. “He’s our quarterback, our leader.”Moore tied it on a 21-yarder with 2:11 left in the quarter; the PAT failed.And so the Sachems come away with a win ? and the three players from Saugus on the Fenwick roster (junior Joe Conroy, junior Thomann, and junior Anthony Faria) have a little bit of revenge on their plate in 2010.”I’m sure it left a bad taste in their mouth,” Woods said. “They’re all underclassmen. They’ll have another chance next year.”