By Matt Lechuga
For The Signal
Saugus struggled to keep the Camarillo offense off the field and out of the end zone Friday night, leading to a 56-24 loss to the host Scorpions.
Saugus’ offense struggled to sustain any long drives, leaving the defense on the field to eventually wear down and surrender a season-high 56 points. The Scorpions’ offense seemed to take whatever it wanted on the ground and through the air, finishing with over 300 yards passing and 225 rushing.
“It’s 100% on us as coaches,” said Centurion head coach Jason Bornn. “We have to do a better job of preparing our kids and putting them in position to be successful. They’re only doing what we ask them to do, so it all falls on us coaches.”
After falling behind 14-0 early in the first quarter thanks to a 40-yard pass from Brendan Widerburg to Drew Reyes and a 4-yard touchdown rush by Shane Feller, the Centurions rallied back to tie it on an 80-yard pass from Jake Nuttall to Landon Lattimore and a 13-yard pass from Nuttall to Johnathon Sabatucci.
Things changed heading into the second quarter, however, as Camarillo’s defense tightened and kept the Saugus offense off the field.
“We moved the ball solid on offense, we just have to go back to the basics,” said Nuttall. “No false starts, no pre-snap penalties; we can’t beat ourselves. We’ll go back to the drawing board, back to practice on Monday. We did some good things tonight, it just didn’t result in a win.”
The Scorpions took the lead for good early in the second quarter when Feller rushed in from two yards out, making the score 21-14. Feller finished the game with 99 yards on 20 carries and three touchdowns.
Saugus’ next drive stalled at the 8-yard line, and they settled for a 25-yard field goal. Three plays later, thanks in large part to a 71-yard pass from Widerburg to Brayden Smith, Camarillo and Feller found the end zone again from 2 yards out to make it 28-17.
Camarillo extended its lead to 35-17 before the half on a 4-yard rush by Timothy Gulley.
The Scorpions opened the second half right where they left off, extending their lead to 49-17 with Widerburg hitting Blake Bryce and Emmett Sullivan for touchdown passes of 43 and 5 yards, respectively.
Saugus’ last points came on a 6-yard pass from Nuttall to Joshua Bond, before Camarillo’s Ernie Arzola scored from 17 yards out to make the final score 56-24.
Nuttall finished the game with 228 yards passing and three touchdowns, leaning heavily on his favorite target, Lattimore, who finished with 164 yards and a touchdown on six receptions.
Saugus will host Simi Valley next Friday in its last tune-up game before starting league play. Bornn is looking to use Friday’s game as a learning experience.
“We’re going to be playing a tough, well-disciplined team in Simi Valley,” he said. “We’ll take the lessons of tonight and apply them to next week.”