Tyler Wainfeld for The Signal
The Saugus offense came to life, the defense stood strong, and the Centurions football team came back on Friday to move to 3-0 for the first time since 2021.
Trailing by four with the clock winding down in the fourth quarter, senior quarterback Jake Nuttall hit junior receiver Landon Lattimore for a 25-yard touchdown to put the Centurions on top of the Camarillo Scorpions with 3:38 to play.
The Scorpions had the ball at midfield on a fourth and one on the ensuing drive, but senior Kory Bystrom stuffed Camarillo senior Shane Feller at the line of scrimmage with the hardest hit of the night, and the Centurions walked away from College of the Canyons’ Cougar Stadium with a comeback 30-27 victory.
“I think it just a testament to the resiliency of these kids and their belief in themselves, their belief in each other,” said Saugus head coach Jason Bornn, “and the fact that, you know, as long as there’s air in your lungs, you’re in the fight until the end.”
Feller had been nearly unstoppable for Camarillo (1-2) all game before that final drive. He finished with 179 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. Bornn credited a couple of backups for stepping up at inside linebacker on the final drive after the starters went down.
“That kid was big, and he kept pounding on us, and it wasn’t a mystery, they ain’t gonna throw the ball,” Bornn said. “It’s fourth and one, give the ball to the guy that’s been getting 10 yards a crack. So, our kids, they stepped up and made the play.”
It was truly a tale of two halves on Friday as the Centurions (3-0) clawed back from what was a 13-point deficit late in the second quarter. A 33-yard field goal from senior Noah Miller cut the Camarillo lead to 20-10 going into the break.
Saugus drove down the field to start the second half only to come up short in the red zone. But up stepped junior Mono Ortega to bring the Centurions back into the game with a 40-yard pick six to cut the deficit to three.
“Sometimes in football, you need a play like that to turn everything around,” Nuttall said.
Saugus junior Brayden Bartl gave the Centurions their first lead since the midway point of the second quarter on a 2-yard rushing touchdown at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Camarillo stormed down the field to take the lead back before the Centurions put together the game-winning drive.
“I think our kids, they knew that some of the issues that happened in the first half were a direct result of us not making plays and not finishing some stuff,” Bornn said. “And we just talked to them about, ‘Hey, at halftime, look, you know, you guys are still in this, you’re still in the fight. Just got to clean up, make tackles, get off blocks, do your assignments, and the score will take care of itself.”
Nuttall hit Lattimore for two touchdowns in the game. They’ve now connected on six scores through the first three games.
“We’ve been playing together for a very long time,” Nuttall said. “He’s a special athlete. Honestly, when you have a kid like that, you got to use them. They tried to play one-on-one with him all night. That’s just not gonna work out.”
Lattimore finished with six catches for 66 yards. Nuttall was 15-of-22 for 148 yards.
Senior Ty Hall added 134 yards on 25 carries, and while he didn’t reach the end zone, Nuttall praised his backfield mate.
“He takes a lot of pressure off me, makes my job a lot easier,” Nuttall said.
Camarillo had two plays of 40-plus yards in the first half, including an 87-yard bomb on third down to set up the first lead for the Scorpions.
Saugus started off on the right note, taking a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter. Nuttall hit Lattimore from 9 yards out.
Camarillo struck back just before the first frame ended. Sophomore quarterback Dylan Nicholson found senior receiver Noah Fernandez for a 44-yard touchdown, the first big sting from the Scorpions. But the Centurions kept a one-point advantage after senior Teddy Knott blocked the PAT.
The second sting came midway through the second quarter when it looked like the Centurions had the Scorpions pinned back on third and long deep in their own territory. Senior Matthew Meyer stepped up to put Camarillo in scoring position, reeling in Nicholson’s pass and taking it 87 yards to the 1-yard line. Feller finished off the drive with a short run.
Camarillo added a third first-half touchdown when Nicholson ran it in from 13 yards out, and Feller capped it off with a 2-point conversion.
Saugus is 3-0 for the first time since 2021, which was also the last year that Saugus captured the Foothill League title.
The Centurions have just one non-league game, a road test at Hueneme next Friday, before the start of the Foothill League campaign. Bornn said he isn’t looking at anything in the future just yet as he wants his team to appreciate Friday’s win first.
“Tomorrow, we’ll get back to work, look at our film, make the corrections that we need to do, and then it’s on to Hueneme,” Bornn said.
Camarillo is set to travel to Ventura next week.
