Football: Saugus captures first-ever Foothill League title

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Saugus High Coach Jason Bornn wasn’t ready to celebrate anything Friday.

His pant legs were soaked, the result of a postgame Gatorade bath following the Centurions’ 31-24 win over Valencia. And confetti -- and Saugus fans -- were all over the field, marking Saugus’ first-ever Foothill League title.

But with one game left on the schedule, Bornn was taking nothing for granted. ‘We haven’t won anything yet,’ he said.

But by beating Valencia, the only other unbeaten team in the league, haven’t you won the tiebreaker? And won’t you be the Foothill’s top seed in the Southern Section playoffs?

‘I really don’t know,’ Bornn said. ‘You’ll have to ask my athletic director.’

No need for that. You have. And you will. So lighten up a little bit, will you?

‘This is a team of destiny,’ Bornn said, even as a parent came up and hugged him, saying ‘thanks for the history.’ ‘We worked hard to get to where we’re at,’ Bornn said. ‘But to be honest with you, if we don’t beat Canyon it won’t mean a thing.’

Saugus (6-3, 4-0), which came within four points of the Foothill title last fall, raced to a 28-10 halftime lead on two long scoring runs by senior quarterback Desi Rodriguez and a pair of scores -- one rushing, one receiving -- by senior running back Ryan Zirbel.

But Valencia wouldn’t quit, scoring twice in the final period on rushing and passing touchdowns by senior quarterback Dominick Solley. The final score, an 8-yard pass to junior Daniel Johnson, came with 2:37 to play and brought the Vikings (7-2, 3-1) to within a score. But Saugus recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.

Rodriguez finished with 184 yards rushing -- 149 on 10 carries in the first half -- and threw for another 166 while Zirbel ran for 95 yards on 17 carries. Solley threw for 176 yards for Valencia.

-- Kevin Baxter