Two quarterbacks, no problem.
All season long, head coach Jason Bornn has opted to use a two-quarterback system with junior Brayden Connelly and freshman Zach Barnes alternating series.
While that method isn’t traditional, it’s certainly successful as the Centurions snagged their sixth win of the season over West Ranch, 42-12, with near-perfect play from both signal-callers.
“We’re happy that we won the game tonight, but there’s just so many areas that we’ve just got to improve, and we’ve got to get better out,” Bornn said after the game. “We made some silly mistakes tonight and cost us some situations, but these are opportunities for growth.”
Connelly, who’s a lefty, tossed for 130 yards through the air and completed 10 of his 11 pass attempts along with a touchdown.
As for Barnes, the freshman completed 16 of 21 passes for 180 yards through the air and two touchdowns.
Both quarterbacks offer their own unique skillsets, according to Bornn. Both share the same mindset to deliver wins on Friday nights. But a quarterback is only good as their offensive line, which Bornn credited.
“No. 1, it’s the play of our offensive line,” he said. “Whoever’s in it, the quarterback, there’s certain things that we like with one, and there’s certain things that we like with the other, and they just execute at a very high level.”
Offensively, the Centurions have scored 94 points in the last two weeks. And in Friday’s win, recorded 495 offensive yards.
Defensively, the Centurions improved over their win against Canyon and held the Wildcats to 12 points.
In the end, the Wildcats were held to 157 passing yards with Nate Striplin playing a majority of snaps in the loss. Striplin ended the night tossing 123 yards through the air on five for 13 pass attempts along with two interceptions.
With the win, the Centurions are 3-2 in Foothill League and hold the third spot in the standings. With a top three finish, the Centurions would finish the season with an automatic playoff berth.
Next week, the Centurions will be on their bye but will return for their final game of the season on Oct. 30 against the Castaic Coyotes.
Should the Centurions win against Castaic, Saugus would punch their ticket to the playoffs for the second-consecutive season.
With two weeks to prepare for the team’s final game of the regular season, Bornn is looking forward to utilizing his team’s late-season momentum for a playoff push.
The postseason is not guaranteed. We still have to go out and compete against Castaic, and they’re going to be well coached and prepared,” Bornn said. “But in terms of the next two weeks, I mean, it’s all about getting healthy, refining the things that we need to refine, and just try to improve.”
As for West Ranch, the Wildcats fell to 1-7 in the season and their third Foothill League loss of the year.
With a 1-3 record in Foothill League play, the Wildcats sit fifth in the standings and outside looking in for a guaranteed playoff berth.
The Wildcats will look to turn their season around with a bounce-back win next week at College of the Canyons against the Castaic Coyotes at 7 p.m.
