Swampscott slips past Saugus

SAUGUS – Behind 200 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns (three rushing) from Desmond Wilhelmsen, the Swampscott football team edged host Saugus 28-21 on Saturday afternoon at Stackpole Field.The Big Blue?s senior running back racked up 147 rushing yards as well as catching four passes from Brendan McDonald, including a five-yard touchdown grab.?He?s been a great addition to our football team,” said Swampscott coach Steve Dembowski of Wilhelmsen, who transferred to Swampscott this season from English. “He?s got to be close to 1,000 yards for the season and was big again today.”The Sachems offense was smooth and effective in the opening half; scoring on its first two drives. Marcus Atkins capped off a 10-play drive with a nine-yard scamper with 6:34 to play in the first quarter.It took Swampscott just five plays to respond as Wilhelmsen took a short pass 31 yards to the Sachems? five before scoring a play later on a four-yard rush to knot the score at six. Saugus retook the lead with 1:07 to play in the period on a four-yard run by Brandon Rolli.The second quarter was one of beauty for the Sachems offense after it got an interception from Dan Cacciola on the first play from scrimmage. Saugus? ensuing drive ate up over eight minutes and concluded with an 11-yard score from Rolli.?We ran our offense the way we like to in the early going and saw some positive results,” explained Saugus coach Mike Broderick of the Sachems? early success. “We controlled the clock well for the most part.”Swampscott again answered right back with McDonald completing three passes to three different receivers before Wilhelmsen busted loose for a 40-yard run to pay dirt with 1:24 to play.The Big Blue grabbed their first lead of the game on the opening drive of the second half as McDonald again found Wilhelmsen, this time on a five-yard pass. Wilhelmsen finished off the scoring with a 55-yard score with 2:22 remaining in regulation.?We got to see him last week against Ipswich, so we knew he would be a tough test for our defense,” said Broderick of Wilhelmsen. “He?s a very strong runner and we had lots of trouble with slowing him down.”Both teams now await their annual Thanksgiving Day matchups and will have a week and a half to prepare. Swampscott (4-6) will travel to Marblehead, which is coming off a loss to Tewksbury in the Division 3 Northeast Final. Saugus (2-8) will host Peabody.