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Cents defense stops Scorpions at the 25 in final minute

Saugus High quarterback Nathan Eldridge owned the night with his arm, but the Centurions defense had to make one final stop to fend off a championship-pedigree Camarillo High team.

Saugus’ Luc Borrelli pressured Scorpion quarterback Jake Moss into an incompletion on fourth-and-1 at the Saugus 25 with seconds remaining, and the Centurions held on for a 28-25 win at College of the Canyons on Friday night.

“I was nervous,” Eldridge said of standing on the sidelines for the last drive. “But I was confident in our defense. They’ve been stellar.”

Eldridge finished the night 20-for-27 for 297 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.

His receivers seemingly made one circus catch after another, whether it was Gary Bojorquez tipping a pass and then snatching the deflection off a defender — or Jared Pane diving full extension for a 37-yard catch in the third quarter.

“Oh man, I was jumping up and down in the sky,” Eldridge said of the grabs. “I was so happy. When they make those catches, you just get such a rush.”

Saugus tight end Daniel Gilmartin made four catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns. He’s been a nearly unstoppable force across the middle in Saugus’ first two games.

Eldridge’s interception, though, was one of a handful of plays that kept Camarillo (1-1) close after Saugus surged to an early 14-0 lead.

The Scorpions drove 34 yards after the pick in the second quarter to get within 14-6 of Saugus.

Kolby Dowling’s 53-yard kickoff return to open the second half set up a short scoring drive, cutting Saugus’ lead to 14-12.

And Camarillo used a 46-yard double pass near the start of the fourth quarter to set up the first of two Moss scoring passes to Jonah Cottrell — the second of which made it 28-25 Saugus with 5:25 to play.

A poor Saugus punt set the Scorpions up at the Centurions’ 45 yard line with 1:59 on the scoreboard.

But Coleman Vanderhorst’s pass breakup, followed by Borrelli’s pressure helped get Saugus to 2-0.

Saugus won its opener last season before dropping three straight preleague games by a combined margin of 67-23.

Eldridge credited Saugus’ defense as a big reason that trend didn’t carry into 2016.

“They’ve been doing a great job,” Eldridge said. “Last week they held a team to seven points. I was confident they were going to be able to get that (final) stop.”

Saugus plays on the road Friday against Buena High of Ventura. The Centurions lost to the Bulldogs, 21-9, last season.

Camarillo plays Pacifica of Oxnard next week at home.

The Scorpions won the CIF-Southern Section Northern Division championship last season, going 15-1 in the process. However, they graduated a loaded senior class.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]