Saugus Runs Out of Time, Luck, 28-26

What a difference a second would have made.

If Saugus High had just one more second, kicker T.J. Weise might have had a chance to kick a 33-yard field goal to beat Foothill League rival Canyon.

Instead the clock ran out on Saugus (5-3, 1-2 in league play), preserving a 28-26 win for the Cowboys on Saturday night at College of the Canyons.

Canyon (6-2, 3-0) built a 28-7 lead in the third quarter, led by the running of Fred Polito (131 yards in 17 carries and a touchdown), but the Centurions mounted a furious comeback in the final minutes.

After Chris Johnson scored on a three-yard run late in the third quarter, Canyon ran the football for much of the final quarter, before Saugus came on.

Saugus quarterback Greg Marquez (14 of 22 for 245 yards and two touchdowns) connected with Jeff Laren on a 15-yard touchdown pass with 2:37 left. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the score 28-19.

Phil Waterman recovered an onside kick for Saugus and Marquez struck again, this time on a 15-yard pass to Todd Brethour with 1:35 left.

After Canyon lost the ball on downs, Marquez connected with Woody Kabroob on a 35-yard pass play to the 15-yard line with four seconds left. The Centurions, out of timeouts, couldn’t get the kick off.

“I’m just shocked right now,” Marquez said. “All we needed to do is kick the ball and we just couldn’t get it off in time.”

Canyon built its lead on the momentum of one big defensive play. Saugus was moving down the field in the second quarter when defensive back Peter Gregory ripped the ball away from Weise after a short reception and raced 72 yards down the sideline to give the Cowboys the lead for good.

Saugus took the opening kickoff and drove 74 yards in 14 plays. Johnson was the workhorse, with 10 carries for 54 yards on the drive.

On fourth and goal, the Centurions snapped the ball directly to Johnson, who dived in from the one. Canyon responded by marching down the field in six plays, with Ed Williams scoring on a two-yard run to make the score 7-7.