Winthrop comes up big in second half to defeat Sachems

SAUGUS ?The start wasn’t pretty for the Winthrop football team on Saturday at Stackpole Field but the finish would up being exactly what coach Sean Driscoll desired.After fumbling three times in its first four possessions, the Vikings settled down and broke open a close game at halftime with 27 second-half points en route to a 45-0 win over Saugus in the NEC South opener for both clubs.”We finally won a road game against an offense that has historically given us trouble,” Driscoll said.The Vikings (3-3, 1-0) held Saugus to 40 yards and two first downs for the game while putting up 403 yards and 23 first downs on offense. Fullback Frank Ambrosino was the ringleader, rushing for 142 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 carries.”Winthrop just beat us up and down the field,” Saugus coach Mike Broderick said. “We made mistakes and they capitalized on them.”This game was anything but pretty at the start as the Sachems twice fumbled on punt attempts on the game’s initial drive. They turned the first one into a first down, but failed to scoop up the second, giving Winthrop the ball at the 28.One play later, the Vikings gave the ball right back when Ambrosino was stripped while on his way to a touchdown run. The Sachems couldn’t convert on that chance or another later in the quarter when Nick McCarthy fumbled.Late in the first, a short Saugus punt gave the Vikings the ball at the Sachem 41. Ambrosino would carry on four of the next six plays as his five-yard run with 38 seconds left gave Winthrop a 6-0 lead after one.Saugus went three-and-out early in the second and the Vikings would strike quickly again. McCarthy had a touchdown run called back on a holding penalty. But that was only a momentary delay as Will Milano hit Mark Jenkins for a 27-yard touchdown one play later to make it 12-0 (Milano’s extra point was no good).”Those missed extra points are going to hurt us at some point,” Driscoll said. “Will is usually automatic on those. We’ve got to correct that.”Late in the half, the Vikings came up with a punt block and got the ball at the Saugus 22 with 40 seconds left. A 10-yard completion to McCarthy was followed by a seven-yard Ambrosino run that staked Winthrop to an 18-0 halftime lead.The momentum kept on going for Winthrop on the opening drive of the second half as Milano hit John Doherty for a 36 -yard gain right off the bat. Two plays later, Chris Strangie swept around right end for an eight yard score.The Winthrop defense also was going at full speed by now, not allowing the Sachems to gain a single first down in the second half. A 36-yard pass from Milano to McCarthy on the next series upped the lead to 31-0 and effectively ended the game.Ambrosino and Joe Clougherty would add touchdown runs later to close out the scoring.