Saugus has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will venture away from home to square off against the West Ranch Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. West Ranch took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Saugus, who comes in off a win.
Saugus will head into Friday's matchup on the come-up: they were handed a 41-point defeat in their previous outing, but they didn't let that bad energy affect their game against Canyon on Friday. Saugus sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 27-24 victory over Canyon. The win was a breath of fresh air for the Centurions as it put an end to their four-game losing streak.
Matt Long had an outrageously good game as he rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns on only ten carries. He also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, making eight total tackles and defending a pass. Another player making a difference was Obinna Okere, who rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Saugus was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 206 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted was before the start of last season.
Meanwhile, West Ranch came up short against Hart on Friday, falling 48-27. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 318th, while the Hawks are ranked 141st).
Despite the loss, West Ranch got top-tier performance from Luke Deperno, who rushed for 198 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.3 yards per carry, and also picked up 80 receiving yards and a touchdown. The bulk of those receiving yards came from one huge play: a catch that gained an incredible 75 yards.
Saugus' victory ended an eight-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 2-4. As for West Ranch, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 2-3.
Saugus took a serious blow against West Ranch in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, falling 28-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Deperno, who rushed for 161 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.5 yards per carry. Now that Saugus knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
