Dan Watson/The Signal

In its season opener, the Saugus High football team went up against a talented running back.

In the second game, Saugus is going up against a lot of offensive talent, period.

The Centurions will travel to face Muir High of Pasadena at 7 p.m. today, and Muir boasts wide receiver/defensive back Kevon Seymour, running back Tairen Owens and an offense that scored 37 unanswered points to rout San Gabriel 44-20 last week.

Owens has committed to Washington, while Seymour is one of the top recruits in the nation and has offers from most of the Pac-12 schools as well as Florida and Nebraska. They backed up the hype against San Gabriel, when Owens had 112 all-purpose yards and Seymour scored on a 52-yard touchdown reception and a 59-yard punt return.

Moreover, Muir quarterback Josh Washington threw for 232 yards and four touchdowns. 

Saugus head coach Jason Bornn knows Muir (1-0) will be tough to stop, but he’s not letting his team get wrapped up in the statistics.

“They’re for the media,” said Bornn, who spent five years coaching at Muir High early in his career. “We don’t really care. At the end of the night, if they have 500 yards and we have 120 but we won, that’s all that really matters.”

That approach worked out for the Centurions last week, when they gave up 278 yards rushing to Zander Anding but outplayed Burroughs High of Burbank in the fourth quarter to win.

Still, a night like that might have Owens and Muir head coach Ken Howard licking their chops. But Howard expects a tougher defensive effort from Saugus, and he said his offense will rely on whoever’s having a big night.

“We’re going to find that guy,” Howard said. “Wherever we can strike them at, we’re going to go that route.”

Muir’s biggest goal, according to Howard, is cleaning up its mistakes. The Mustangs committed 17 penalties last week and had an 18th that was declined as the clock expired.

“It was the first game for us and the kids and the officials,” Howard said. “A lot of it was miscues. Going into games, we have to play our game, and we can’t worry about how the game’s being called. If we do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll limit those mistakes.”

Saugus (1-0) limited its mistakes in the fourth quarter against Burroughs and forced a big turnover late, when defensive back Scott Hamilton stripped Anding and linebacker Denley Rodriguez recovered.

Quarterback Jared Carbajal also came alive in the second half and finished with 188 rushing yards on 23 carries.

Bornn credited Saugus’ conditioning for grinding out the win.

“We’re not going to be the biggest, strongest or fastest team,” he said. “We’re not. But I can guarantee you there’s not going to be a team in better shape than us. When you see what these kids have done since January until now, the amount of work they’ve put in is tremendous.”

It’s gotten the Centurions off to a 1-0 start, and they’ll try to improve to 2-0 today.

By Joey Gulino
Signal Assistant Sports Editor

Saugus High head football coach Jason Bornn could be heard loud and clear.

All the Centurions’ offense had to do was gain 6 yards. If it did, then it would score points as part of a drill the team was doing during training camp.

But the defense wouldn’t let it happen.

“That’s 21-10!” Bornn shouted, referring to the defense’s lead in the drill.

It was even more impressive considering the losses on defense and the attrition that’s taken place in the Centurions’ junior class.

Some of the kids decided not to play football this season. Some others moved. Still others are ineligible.

All of it has affected Saugus’ depth on defense. Therefore, building depth has become a huge focus in training camp.

“I think any successful program is going to have to develop their No. 2s and No. 3s,” Bornn said. “That’s what we’re working on.”

While Saugus’ flashy offense has gotten a lot of headlines in recent years, the defense has been just as important to the Centurions’ success. Last season, the defense gave up 20.5 points per game, and it got even better during league play, yielding just 16.4 points per game.

The Centurions held Canyon’s potent offense to just 21 points, and they did a better job than any other league team at containing star Valencia tailback Steven Manfro, despite losing the game 14-3.

“It’s a very emphasized aspect of our program,” Bornn said. “There are different philosophies and different takes on how you build your team, and we feel that we build our team around our defense.”

If Saugus is going to be effective on defense again, it will need to replace seven of the top eight tacklers from a year ago. A couple key parts of the defense are returning, but newcomers from the younger ranks and upperclassmen with limited experience are being counted on to add some depth.

So are players filling new positions.

“I think we’re a hard-nosed defense,” said senior running back Tyler Watt, who’s also playing middle linebacker for the first time this season. “We’re a brotherhood. We feed off each other.”

Some other key contributors on defense include freshman safety Chris Hamilton, senior outside linebacker Cody Taylor, senior defensive lineman Wyatt Whitham, and senior defensive backs Michael Visser, Curtis Kahovec, P.J. McKillop and Colton Jackson.

Regardless of who lines up where, Jackson said the players need to be focused on their jobs.

“We’ve just got to take it as it is,” he said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen during the season. Guys need to step up. I feel we’ll have enough depth this year.”

Some of the newer players can already see the difference.

“Myself, I’ve come along a lot,” Taylor said. “Last year, I was nowhere near as good as I am this year.”

Saugus will likely be mixing and matching its lineups on defense throughout the season. Finding the right combination could make the difference in the league title chase.

“The bottom line is, if you can hold people, you can win a game 3-0,” Bornn said. “If you score 80 points but the other team scores 81, that’s not doing you a whole lot of good.”

It was a big success with 24 varsity and 16 JV teams from all over Southern California. There were teams from as far south as Long Beach and as far north as Santa Maria. On the opening day Saugus Varsity went 2-1 losing to Long Beach Poly while winning over Agoura and Sierra Canyon. This solid record put Saugus into the winner’s bracket on Saturday where they lost to Canyon and Valencia. The Saugus JV team won decisively over Crescenta Valley while losing 2 close games to Golden Valley and Oaks Christian. Golden Valley was the surprise team of the foothill league going 3-0 on day 1 while Canyon went the furthest of the Foothill League teams on Saturday’s playoffs, losing a close game to Thousand Oaks to end their bid at the championship. The finals found a rematch of last year, with Long Beach Poly facing Westlake, however the outcome was reversed with Long Beach Poly getting their sweet revenge.

This year Saugus added a Lineman challenge to the tournament giving the big guys a chance to compete. This brought a lot of excitement and sportsmanship to the tournament.  Saugus had 2 Varsity and 2 JV lineman teams competing. While Saugus didn’t win there were some exciting moments for them. The Varsity “A” team pulled off a 3^rd place finish in the Medicine Ball throw, while the Saugus “B” team was involved in one of the most exciting moments of the day competing head to head against power house Alemany in the Tire Flip relay.  They were able to edge them out by just inches when Dylan Petrovich blazed through the final leg of the race. You could have heard the noise from 2 blocks away as Saugus was not only cheered on by their own teammates but by other teams as well. It was a great display of sportsmanship. The Saugus JV “A” team finished 2^nd in the 40 yard dash and the shuttle, while the JV “B” team took a 2^nd in the Farmers Walk.

Some individual performances worth noting were the fast sled pull times of Dylan Petrovich and Wyatt Whittam, the long medicine ball throws of Adam Edwards, Wyatt Whittam, and Denley Rodriguez, the great farmer’s walk of Wyatt Whitman, and the fast 40 yard dash of Trevor Anthony. On the JV side Chad Deshamps blazed through the 40 and the Shuttle in great time while Jacob Montoya launched the medicine ball as far as some varsity lineman. The finals had Canyon out-pulling Valencia in a Tug O War on the Varsity side while Valencia out-pulled Canyon on the JV side. Judging by the buzz around the park from players, parents and coaches, I’m sure this event is around to stay.

There were well over 100 volunteers working extremely hard to make this event a success. The Saugus Gridiron Board would like to thank all the volunteers and sponsors. We couldn’t do it without everyone’s support.

Wayne Edwards

Passing Tournament Chairman

Signal Staff Writer

The formula has worked so far for Saugus football, so head coach Jason Bornn doesn’t plan on changing it.

That formula consists of running the ball, and it has helped Saugus get off to a 2-0 start this season.

Today, the Centurions face Buena of Ventura with a 7 p.m. kickoff at Buena High School.

With the help of running backs Aaron Kellogg and Michael Visser, Saugus has compiled 522 rushing yards in two games, but just 99 yards through the air.

“We’re just doing what the defenses dictate,” Bornn said. “If the defense is allowing you to run the ball, you run the ball. If they’re letting you pass, you pass.”

Though less active in the passing game, Saugus quarterback Jared Carbajal is the team’s leading rusher with 242 yards on 42 carries. He’s thrown for one touchdown and ran for three. His play, along with Kellogg and Visser, provides a three-back system which helps take the place of injured running back Tyler Watt.

“That’s just part of our scheme,” Bornn said. “We try to spread the ball out so they can’t focus on one guy in particular.”

Watt, who sprained his knee in preseason, is still day-to-day, Bornn said.

Buena (0-2) lost both of its games by just one score, but will pose a challenge for Saugus’ defense.

Kendrick Mathis will be the main threat for the Bulldogs, as he leads the team in rushing and passing yards.

He’s 23-for-47 with 316 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions on the season.

“He’s as good as anyone we’ve seen throwing and running, so our focus is going to be on containing him,” Bornn said.

Mathis is one of many new starters for the Bulldogs on both sides of the ball.

In all, Buena returns eight starters, with four on each side.

The Centurions will have to stop Mathis and company with the help of defensive lineman Tyler Hartman, who leads the team in tackles and sacks

“He’s just doing everything we’re asking him to do,” Bornn said. “He’s just a force on the defensive line and he has a real knack for getting to the quarterback.”

In Saugus’ first road game of the season, Bornn said the team will have a difficult task on its hands.

“They’re just very good, solid, disciplined kids,” he said.