By Matt Lechuga
For The Signal
Head coach Jason Bornn and the Saugus High coaching staff have never been afraid of a little hard work, and after Friday night’s 39-7 loss to Moorpark, the Centurions will need to keep their noses to the grindstone and their eyes on the tape to pull out of this 0-2 slump to start their season.
This is the first time the Centurions have suffered back-to-back losses since the 2019 season.
“It’s just a matter of execution,” said Bornn. “We the coaches have to do a better job of preparing the kids to execute our offense. That’s what it comes down to. It’s not the player’s fault, it’s our fault. We have to go back to the drawing board and figure out what we can do better to prepare our kids to compete and give them an opportunity to win a game.”
Saugus found itself in a 13-0 hole when, after a 3-yard touchdown rush from Musketeers senior running back Luke Cochran, Moorpark recovered a Centurion fumble and marched down the field on a 14-play, 73-yard drive capped by a 1-yard scoring run from Cochran.
Moorpark extended its lead in the second quarter to 19-0 thanks to a 13-yard strike up the seam from Elijah Hensley to Cooper Cronquist.
Saugus’ next two drives went for 11 and nine plays, respectively, but the Centurions couldn’t break into Moorpark territory before the half hit.
“The only thing we can do from here is go up,” said Saugus quarterback Trent Johnson. “We just have to learn and fight through adversity. Like coach Bornn said, some people are going to quit but I’m not one of those guys. We have to finish and we have to execute but we didn’t do that tonight.”
Moorpark scored three more times: a 7-yard run by Cochran, a 20-yard pass from Hensley to Jaden Buckles, and a 15-yard run from Noah Salgado to push its lead to 39-0.
With time running out in the fourth quarter, the Centurions were able to score their first touchdown of the season on a 30-yard pass from Jake Nuttal to Christian Lozano to make the final score 39-7.
“We have to evaluate the film from tonight but everything’s open for discussion: from the players, to different positions, to plays. Everything.” said Bornn. “Nothing’s going to be left unturned. We’re going to have to evaluate the film and make decisions to put ourselves in a position to win next week.”
Saugus will look to pick up its first win of the season next week when it hosts the Camarillo Scorpions.
