Early chances elude Saugus in defeat to North Reading

NO. READING – At this point in its development, the young Saugus High football team can ill afford to misfire on opportunities such as those that presented themselves in the first half of Friday night’s season-opening 20-0 non-league loss to CAL/NEC Tier 4 foe North Reading at Arthur J. Kenney Athletic Field.The Sachems’ first and third of three first-half possessions produced methodical, clock-eating drives that fizzled in the red zone as the host Hornets twice held on fourth down.On the first, North Reading linebacker Mike Moscaritolo sniffed out a halfback option on 4th-and-5 from the 14, dropping Ryan Henehan for a 10-yard loss. The second chance went by the boards on fourth-and-4 with 1:37 left in the first half when a botched shotgun snap at the 20 resulted in a 13-yard loss.”That’s the game, right there. We made mistakes. If we score on those two opportunities, maybe it’s a different game. We certainly had our chances in the first half,” said Saugus coach Mike Broderick.On the flip side, the Saugus defense had problems with the Hornets’ Single Wing in general and the churning style of junior halfback Carl Lipani in particular. The 5-10, 180-pounder powered his way to 147 yards and touchdown runs of three, nine and seven yards on 24 carries.”The Single Wing is something we’re familiar with,” said Broderick, noting that Thanksgiving Day rival Peabody has run it. “North Reading just executed very well. Their backs ran hard, they did a good job of down blocking and we didn’t tackle anyone.”The Sachems’ game-opening eight-play, 68-yard advance was triggered by Henehan’s 56-yard dash to the Hornets’ 19. After Moscaritolo blew up the halfback option on fourth down, the energized Hornets countered with an eight-play, 76-yard scoring drive that, except for one snap, was all Lipani. His 36-yard scamper put the Hornets at the Saugus 17 and he punched in from the three four plays later. Eric Valenti’s PAT made it 7-0 with 4:30 remaining in the first period.The Sachems consumed 7:13 of the second period on a 14-play drive on which they converted two fourth downs and seemed poised to tie it when they moved to the 20. However, consecutive penalties left them with 1st-and-19 from which they couldn’t recover.North Reading ripped off a 12-play, 52-yard scoring drive to open the second half, capped by Lipani’s nine-yard run. Valenti’s kick made it 14-0 and the Hornets found themselves back in business at the Saugus 20 on the second play following the ensuing kickoff when Jason Vella recovered a fumble. Lipani sliced through the Sachems’ defense from seven yards out on the final play of the period, stretching the lead to 20-0.Henehan accounted for the bulk of the Sachems’ modest output of 129 yards (only 24 in the second half) with 72 yards of total offense. Saugus hosts CAL/NEC Tier 4 opponent Manchester-Essex in its home opener next Friday (Stackpole, 7 p.m.).