Hart football wins shootout over Saugus

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By Matt Lechuga 

For The Signal 

There wasn’t much defense in Friday night’s Foothill League finale between the Hart Hawks and the Saugus Centurions, with the Hawks squeezing out a 54-40 win to secure their second-place spot in the standings. 

All the usual names were there for Hart, with quarterback Jacob Paisano returning from injury, throwing for 312 yards, five touchdowns, and even catching a touchdown pass from his No. 1 target, Parker Maxwell, who had 10 catches for 196 yards and three touchdowns. Zach Rogozik did his work on the ground with 149 yards and two touchdowns. He also added one catch, a 40-yard touchdown reception. 

“I was excited to see how Jacob played tonight,” said Hart head coach Jake Goossen-Brown. “He’s back in action and we’re a different team with him at the helm. He’s a great player and has a good connection with the receivers.” 

Hart (8-2, 5-1) jumped out to an early 21-0 lead, scoring on its first drive with a 41-yard run by Rogozik. They struck again after intercepting a Jake Nuttall pass when Paisano and Maxwell flipped places in their normal connection. Paisano threw a backward pass to Maxwell, who threw it back across the field to Paisano with his offensive line leading the way for a 62-yard touchdown. After forcing another turnover, a fumble recovery on the Saugus kick return, Paisano hit Rogozik for a 40-yard score. 

Saugus shook off its rough start with a kick return touchdown by Johnathon Sabatucci, cutting the Hart lead to 21-7. Each team would score twice more, a 14-yard pass from Paisano to Maxwell and a 7-yard run from Rogozik, and a 28-yard pass from Nuttall to Landon Lattimore and a 1-yard rush by Matt Long to make the score 35-20 at the half. 

“We have a lot of weapons,” said Goossen-Brown. “It makes it easy for me. Defensively we as coaches have to do a better job of making sure our guys know where to go and what to do, so that’s on us to get them more prepared.” 

The second half was more of the same with each team racking up yards and points. Saugus opened with an 11-yard scoring rush from Long that Hart countered on a 9-yard scoring pass from Paisano to Maxwell.  

The Hawks added a little distance on their next possession after a missed Saugus field goal when Paisano hit Maxwell again, this time from 58 yards. 

Saugus then scored on a 53-yard rush from Long, but Hart slammed the door on any chance of a comeback on the next possession when Paisano hit Matix Frithsmith for a 60-yard touchdown to make the score 54-33. 

Saugus kept battling and scored on a 10-yard pass from Abe Rivera to Lattimore to make the final score 54-30. 

Saugus’ Nuttall was huge, throwing for 280 yards and the score while Lattimore finished with 141 yards and two touchdowns. 

With a playoff spot secured, Hart now looks to start its “real season,” according to Goossen-Brown. 

“It’s nice. We have a fresh start with everyone,” he said. “It’s nice to see our offense with Jacob back and see what it’s capable of.” 

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