Thanksgiving preview: Saugus has one eye on the future

The Saugus football team only started two seniors throughout the course of this season, so reading too much into their 2-8 record heading into Thanksgiving is a bit misleading. The young Sachems have certainly struggled at times, but a victory over Peabody on Turkey Day would go a long ways in setting the tone for 2014.View season’s photos from throughout the fall season on the North Shore?We learned at our annual, end of the year dinner with Peabody at the Lions Club of Saugus that our eight seniors actually have a chance to leave their mark on our programs history,” said Saugus head coach Mike Broderick.?This would be our first time beating Peabody on two consecutive Thanksgivings since the eighties, so hopefully we can send our seniors out with a bang.”For that to become a reality, the Sachems will need junior quarterback Justin Winn and co-captain, to build upon what has already been somewhat of a breakout year. Winn, in his first year behind center, has mastered the triple-option on the way to racking up over 900 rushing yards.Fellow third-year Dan Cacciola has been another key catalyst for the Sachems offense, rushing for over 500 yards this season. An injury that forced him to miss significant time may have cost the co-captain a chance at the 1,000 yard milestone.Broderick has leaned on a whole “talented collection” of young players to help in an attempt to establish a new identity.The Sachems are expecting big things from running back Marcus Atkins after a strong freshman season as well as sophomore Brandon Grocki (LB) who led the team in tackles while anchoring the defense along with junior co-captain Nick Vokey (DL).Broderick also pointed to the junior trio of Steve Whitehurst (OL/DL), Luke Surette (LB/K) and Gardy Pierre (OL/LB) as players he believes will step up and succeed in their roles as seniors.Much of the Sachems shortcomings this season could be attributed to simply a lack of experience. Broderick believes his young team, with another summer and offseason of hard work and preparation could turn things around next season.?We just need to hit the weight room which should help us improve our tackling,” Broderick explained. “This kind of thing happens a lot with young teams; we always seemed to struggle with bringing down the ball-carrier. If we can fix that we will be in good shape.”There have been some bright spots for the Sachems this season, none bigger than their first win of the season at North Reading. Surette?s 27-yard field goal with less than 10 seconds to play may very well stand out as the moment of the year, unless the Sachems can one-up it on the 28th.?We played a lot of mixed game this season,” explained Broderick. “Our victory over Arlington Catholic was very well played and we made a nice comeback against Masconomet.” Last week the Sachems played well against Swampscott but came up just short.?Peabody is in a very similar position heading into the holiday game,” explained Broderick. “Records tend not to matter on Thanksgiving, it?s a one game season and both team?s will come ready to play. This rivalry has a great history and is a great event.”Perhaps the most interesting storyline heading into the season finale revolves around Saugus senior OL/DL Alex Tillas whose father played for Peabody in his high school years.While the elder Tillas may (or may not) be torn between his loyalties, it is certain that his son, along with his fellow seniors, are hoping for one last victory that could very well send the Sachems into the future with high hopes.