Surette’s field goal lifts Saugus to first win of season

NORTH READING – The Saugus football team won its first game of the season in thrilling fashion Friday, getting a game-winning field goal from Luke Surette with 8.6 seconds left, securing a 23-20 victory at Kenney Field.A week after committing 10 penalties in a 35-6 loss to Triton, the Sachems (1-4) pulled a 180, getting solid contributions on both sides of the ball while only being flagged once.”It was a complete turnaround from last week,” said Saugus coach Mike Broderick. “It was a great game for us, we focused on discipline and had a great week of practice and they came out and executed.”The Sachems scored on the opening drive of the game that saw an 8-play march capped off with a 3-yard touchdown run by quarterback Justin Winn. Surette’s point after attempt missed wide left. Saugus forced a three and out on the Hornets first drive.The visitors increased their lead to 14 on the ensuing drive with a Dan Cacciola 1-yard plunge. Fellow running back Brandon Rolli set up the score with a 28-yard scamper following a pitch from Winn.North Reading scored 14 unanswered points to tie the game with 1:37 to play in the opening half. C.J. McCarthy scored from 12 yards out at the 20.6 mark of the first quarter before Blake Tamlyn-Hayden knotted the score with a 30-yard run.Saugus answered right back before the half ended however, as Winn ran on three consecutive plays, the second of which went for 59 yards to the Hornets four. Winn finished off the drive himself, turning his body and backing into the end zone.After a scoreless third quarter, North Reading tied the game with exactly seven minutes to play in the game. Freshman Joe Merullo hauled in a five yard touchdown pass from Tamlyn-Hayden.Saugus’ final drive saw the Sachems grind out three first downs with the latter being the game’s biggest play. Faced with a fourth and two, North Reading was flagged for off sides, giving the visitors a first down at the Hornets 10 yard line.After Winn’s pass to end zone was knocked down, Saugus opted for a time out and then the 27-yard field goal attempt. “We had all the confidence in the world in him,” said Broderick of his decision to put the game on Surette’s foot. “That was a fantastic finish.”Broderick classified last week’s loss as a regression, but was pleased with his team’s ability to right the ship. “It was tremendous bounce back effort I thought. The guys could have folded but they came out strong tonight and got it done.”