Saugus football drops tough one to Pentucket

SAUGUS – Within a span of three minutes, a tightly contested game turned into bitter defeat in the Battle of the Sachems, as Pentucket topped Saugus 27-14 at Stackpole Field on Saturday.Heading into the fourth quarter, the score was tied at 14 as both teams exhibited good execution on offense and added just the right amount of defensive plays to prevent their opponent from getting an advantage.At the start of the fourth quarter, Pentucket (4-4) took control of the ball at its own 30-yard line following a Saugus (1-7) punt. As was the case for the majority of the game, Pentucket featured Nolan Dragon out of the backfield, occasionally spelled by Sean Brennan and Nick D’Agostino. In 11 plays, eating up about five and a half minutes of game clock, the Sachems moved methodically down field, snapping up four first downs and converting on third down twice and once on fourth. The drive culminated in Dragon finding the end zone on a three-yard plunge. After a missed extra point attempt, Pentucket held the lead at 20-14.On the ensuing possession, Saugus played with a sense of urgency. After moving the ball to their own 33 behind a few C.J. Randolph misdirection runs, the Sachems called for a passing play on first down. Quarterback Randolph pitched the ball to running back Ryan Henehan. Henehan took the ball to the right, paused, and found Nick Taylor streaking down the hash marks dogged by two Pentucket defenders. Taylor spun away from the defenders, made the reception, and then rumbled to the Pentucket 15-yard line.Whistle. Yellow flag.Much to the distaste of the home crowd, the 48-yard gain to set up Saugus for the potential tying or go-ahead score was negated by offensive pass interference.Instead of sitting on first down at the Pentucket 15, Saugus was facing a first and 25 from its own 19-yard line. Three minutes had elapsed from the game clock.”You don’t see offensive pass interference called too often in high school football,” said Saugus coach Mike Broderick. “But that was the call and we just have to play and execute better.”Despite a strong effort by Randolph and captains Nick Benoit and Anthony Guthro, the Sachems were unable to get the ball past midfield.Pentucket regained possession on the Saugus 34 and moved downfield in four plays to score again and seal the win. Dragon dashed the hopes of a comeback by finding the end zone on 4th-and-one from the 25-yard line. Dragon finished the day with 150 yards rushing and three touchdowns.For Saugus, Randolph rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown while Guthro added a grinding 101 yards rushing to the Sachem effort. Benoit scored Saugus’ first touchdown in the first quarter to cap a nine-play, 75-yard drive.”We had some good drives and moved the ball,” said Broderick. “We also still have a tendency to shoot ourselves in the foot with penalties and mistakes. We have to work on that to get better.”