English beats Saugus in crazy game

SAUGUS – It was a scene right out of old time football late in the fourth quarter on Friday at Stackpole Field as English and Saugus put on an electric game for the fans who were in attendance.View Photo GalleryWith darkness settling in late in the fourth, the Sachems scored on Justin Winn’s fifth rushing touchdown of the day with 1:04 left to cut an English lead to 35-33. The two point conversion attempt failed but Saugus recovered the ensuing onside kick only to fumble on the next snap.The Bulldogs then put a Hollywood ending on the surreal scene as Lucas Harris ran into the night on the game’s final play to cap a day that saw him hit 13-of-18 passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 120 yards and a fourth to lead English to a 41-33 victory.”Saugus is a really good team so it’s a good win for us,” English coach Peter Holey said. “This is something that we can build off of. We made some mental mistakes and you saw what happened when you do that against them. It costs you points.”The crazy finish was almost fitting with the way the game was from the start as the first half took over an hour to play and ended with English holding a 21-14 lead. With the sun already beginning to set behind the Bulldogs bench when the third quarter began, the big question among the crowd was if the game would be finished before darkness.The Sachems (2-2) came out with a statement drive to begin the third as Dan Cacciola (34-176), Seth Roy and Winn (16-145) shouldered the load on a 10-play, 72 yard march that ended with Winn’s one yard keeper to tie the game with 5:16 left in the third.English’s response was immediate as they needed only three plays to retake the lead when C.J. Hernandez turned a flanker screen into a 57-yard dash to the endzone. Saugus was on the precipice of tying the game again late in the third but Cacciola fumbled and English recovered at its 24.It was still 28-21 at the beginning of the fourth when Saugus went on another ground-pounding drive. Cacciola did most of the leg work on a nine play drive that covered 54 yards and ended on Winn’s third score of the day but the PAT was no good to keep it a one point Bulldog lead.By this point, darkness was beginning to become a concern for both side but it did nothing to slow down the red-hot English offense. Stevie Collins (17-63) went 60 yards for a touchdown that was called back because of a holding penalty.It was only a momentary speed bump, though, as Harris turned in a beautiful piece of cutback running on first and 15 for a 33 yard touchdown and a 35-27 lead with 4:25 to go.The Sachems weren’t done scoring yet though as Winn’s 34 yard hook up to Adam DiChiara got Saugus fans thinking a dramatic finish was on the way. And they were right as Saugus’ brutal run game systematically moved towards the Bulldog endzone.And with just over a minute to go, Winn kept on an option play and scored from the five to make it 35-33 with 64 seconds left in regulation. The Sachems went for the tie but Winn was stopped in the backfield.AN onside kick was called for and Saugus executed it to perfection as Cacciola recovered the high hopper at the English 44. But the Bulldog defense came up with the biggest play of the day as Winn fumbled and English recovered with :59 left.Two plays later, Harris kept on third-and-three at the 43 and raced into the darkness to put the capper on a frantic second half.”We really needed a win like this,” Holey said. “It gives us something to build on for Swampscott next week.”