SAUGUS — A relentless offensive attack by the English football team was too much to handle for Saugus in a 48-7 Bulldogs win at Stackpole Field Friday.
English went back-and-forth between quarterbacks Mathias Fowler (6-of-11, 118 yards, two touchdowns) and Jessie Maggs (5-for-6, 148 yards, one touchdown) and both had big nights. Fowler also added a touchdown catch, a touchdown run and an interception.
“I think the change of pace with both quarterbacks helped,” English coach Chris Carroll said. “It makes us a little difficult to defend. You get such a versatile weapon in Mathias, he can do it on the ground, he can throw and catch. Jessie stepped in and he’s a very good quarterback. He can make any throw on the football field.”
The Sachems entered the second quarter with a 7-6 lead but couldn’t keep up with English for 48 minutes.
“English’s speed is really hard to keep up with,” Saugus coach Steve Cummings said. “We talked about it in our coaches meeting, it’s like cartoon speed. They did a nice job of mixing in some short throws. We played off to not get beat deep and their quarterbacks did a nice job of hitting underneath stuff.”
English went right down the field on their opening drive. Sam Ofurie (65 rushing yards, one touchdown) ran for a 7-yard touchdown to put the Bulldogs ahead 6-0 (kick missed).
But Saugus answered right back. The Sachems drove down field and Christian Correia connected with Javier Martinez on a 25-yard touchdown pass to put the Sachems ahead 7-6 (Martinez kick).
Later in the second quarter a pair of big plays from Fowler put the Bulldogs back ahead. Fowler intercepted a Correia pass and caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Maggs on the next play to put the Bulldogs ahead 13-7 (Tyler Drinan PAT).
English added another score on a 7-yard run by Tahj Purter (124 receiving yards, two total touchdowns) to stretch the Bulldogs lead to 20-7 before the break.
English started to pile it on in the second half. Fowler ran in a 6-yard score to put the Bulldogs ahead 27-7 and Saugus couldn’t keep up from there.
“We went into the half down 20-7 and just couldn’t find that next gear in the second half,” Cummings said. “We had guys that were spent. We have to find a way to dispel that because it’s not getting easier here down the stretch.”
On English’s next two drives Fowler connected with Purter on a 45-yard touchdown pass and DJ Brathwaite on a 33-yard touchdown pass to stretch the Bulldogs lead to 41-7.
Later in the fourth quarter Traiquan Menter tacked on a 2-yard touchdown run to cap the 48-7 win.
“Credit to Saugus, they play hard,” Carroll said. “We saw it on film. They’re headed in the right direction for sure. But also credit to our kids for bouncing back after an emotional loss last week (32-30 overtime loss to Revere). We really played a good four quarters.”
The Bulldogs (4-2) host Winthrop Friday while the Sachems (1-5) are on the road at Classical.
