Saugus set the tone early in win over Tanners

PEABODY – Standing on their opponent’s field, a group of sweaty, mud-caked, and jubilant Saugus seniors reflected on their Thanksgiving Day win over Peabody 43-0. Naturally, all they could think of on America’s feast day was: E.A.T.Effort. Attitude. Technique.Nick Benoit was the picture of effort all morning for Saugus. The senior captain’s hard- nose running style was on full display during the game. Benoit scored the first two of Saugus’ touchdowns, his first score coming on a 43-yard run where he broke several tackles coming through the line of scrimmage. Benoit finished the day with 124 yards rushing on 19 carries, his last rush coming just after the start of the fourth quarter and executed with the same intensity as his first. The yardage on the day gave Benoit over 1,000 rushing yards on the season.”This is the best feeling,” said Benoit of the Thanksgiving Day win. “We have worked hard for four years, all of us. This feels great and I am going to have a hell of Thanksgiving today.”Senior captain and defensive stalwart Tom Trainor set the attitude early in the game. Trainor, a middle linebacker who is seemingly in on every tackle, established early the kind of day it was going to be for the Peabody running game. Early in the first quarter, a Peabody pitch to the right turned into an early meal for Trainor. His body square to the play as it developed, he read how the run was shaping up and immediately rushed in for a jarring hit. The defense was energized by the play.”Our goal was to set the tone early,” said Trainor. “Our coaches preached tone all week, our captains preached tone all week. I knew on that play I had a chance to set tone, and that is what I did on that play.”CJ Randolph, as quarterback, is asked by his offense to read how a defense is deciding to play the formation the Sachems have coming out of the huddle. On Thanksgiving Randolph showed poise and executed well in coordinating the running game and sprinkling in the occasional pass. His technique could not have been any better when he properly read Peabody cheating up in the box and rolled out to his right to find Ryan Henehan down field for an 80-yard score.”I saw the safety creeping up on the play,” said Randolph. “After I threw the ball, I thought (Henehan) was going to drop it. Thankfully he didn’t.””These guys, Benoit, Trainor, Randolph, they are the heartbeat of our team,” said Saugus coach Mike Broderick. “They have played well and made the right decisions for us all year.”It was about a perfect of a game that a team could hope play. Saugus’s 43 points on offense represented more than the total number of yards their defense surrendered (27).”We worked hard all season. Our coaches all season said we had the effort and the attitude,” said Trainor. “Today we were able to bring the technique and it feels good to look up at that scoreboard.”