Saugus Looks for Positives in 14-0 Loss

If anybody was looking for a positive spin on Saugus High’s 14-0 loss to Loyola on Saturday in a nonleague football game at Glendale High, it was Saugus Coach Jack Bowman.

“After the first quarter, we pretty much dominated,” Bowman said. “We made two mistakes on defense.”

Loyola, ranked 15th in the state by Cal-Hi Sports, out-gained Saugus, 176-170, while limiting the Centurions’ running game to minus-17 yards.

The bad news for Saugus? It was shut out for the second time in three games, its quarterbacks were sacked seven times and receiver Colin Butterfield broke his collarbone when the Cubs piled on him after a punt return in the second quarter.

Loyola, which was penalized 11 times for 120 yards, was assessed an unsportsmanlike penalty on the play.

Butterfield will be sidelined for at least four weeks.

“I think everybody saw it . . . boom,” Bowman said. “We lost our best football player.”

The Centurions reached the second round of the 1994 Southern Section Division II playoffs and returned 14 starters, but have allowed an average of 35.5 points in the first two games.

Quarterback Kevin Carrasco, sharing time with Chris Kobe, completed 11 of 28 passes for 137 yards with one interception. Kobe was five of 10 for 50 yards.

Gregg Johnson had six receptions for 69 yards. Jeremy Mushinski, with seven carries for 10 yards, was Saugus’ leading rusher.

The Centurions (1-2) limited the Cubs (3-0) to 132 yards in the first half. But Saugus, abandoning its wing-T ground game for a passing attack, managed only 56. Victimized by six quarterback sacks, Saugus rushed for minus 24 yards in the first two quarters.

Saugus assisted the Cubs on Loyola’s first drive, which produced a 7-0 lead, with two 15-yard penalties.

Loyola quarterback Ray Kasper (four of 11, 77 yards) threw a 24-yard pass to Mike Stoll for the touchdown.

Saugus, on its first possession, moved 53 yards in 12 plays, but stalled on the Loyola 19 after Carrasco was sacked by Joe Vito.

The Centurions helped the Cubs’ cause in the second quarter when, after getting the ball on their own 48, they promptly went 15 yards backward and punted.

After Brandon Alvarado’s punt went 14 yards, Loyola made it 14-0 when Kasper dumped a screen pass to Mike Vanis, who went 25 yards for a touchdown.

That was Vanis’ only reception, but he rushed 15 times for 80 yards.