Scott Comes Through in Nick of Time

Battered and limping, eyeing a clock that showed just 44 seconds remaining, Burroughs High quarterback J.K. Scott had one thingin mind.

“I gotta get a touchdown.”

The senior did just that, scrambling to his right and throwing 54 yards to wide receiver Glenn Adriatico for a 32-28 victory over Saugus in a Foothill League opener Friday at Burroughs.

“They had a deep zone,” Adriatico said. “I just got by them.”

The score capped a wild finish that included three touchdowns in the final moments.

Scott, who completed 18 of 31 passes for 358 yards and four touchdowns, threw a 92-yard touchdown strike to Adriatico with slightly less than four minutes to play. Saugus answered with 1:03 remaining when quarterback Travis Ivey hit Gregg Johnson with a 16-yard scoring throw.

“I looked up and saw a minute,” said Robert dos Remedios, Burroughs coach. “I said ‘That’s a lot of time.’ ”

This was a big game for both teams, but for very different reasons. The Indians (5-1) were looking to prove that they belonged among the league’s top teams. Saugus (2-4) stumbled through its early games and was hoping for a fresh start.

The Centurions took their opening drive 71 yards for the game’s first score. To no one’s surprise, Mark Pecaro accounted for most of the offense, carrying seven times for 41 yards. The senior fullback scored from two yards.

Burroughs answered midway through the second quarter as Scott hit Kyle Cremarosa with a 21-yard touchdown pass. After the kick failed, Saugus held a 7-6 lead.

“You’re in this game,” dos Remedios screamed at his players, “whether you want to be or not.”

The Indians flirted with disaster for the rest of the half. Scott was sacked by Mark Copeland and, after sitting out a series, came back limping badly. Near halftime, Burroughs defensive star Danny Kang recovered a Pecaro fumble and was subsequently ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Then, with 30 seconds left in the half, Burroughs roughed the Saugus kicker on a field goal attempt. The Centurions, given a second shot at the end zone, scored on Ivey’s five-yard pass to Gregg Johnson to lead at the half, 14-6.

In the second half, Burroughs curbed its self-destructive tendencies. A relatively tame third quarter saw Pecaro, who carried 35 times for 149 yards, score his second touchdown on a one-yard plunge.

And Saugus seemed to have the game under control going into the fourth quarter with a 21-12 lead.

Then Scott threw seven yards to Cremarosa to pull Burroughs within 21-18. And the fireworks were just beginning.

After a flurry of touchdowns left Burroughs with the lead, Saugus still had one last gasp. Ivey completed one pass to Johnson but, on the next play, was intercepted by Kevin Posey.

“Our house,” the Burroughs players yelled.

And on this night it was.