CANYON COUNTRY — Saugus pulled away from Canyon on Friday night after Degan Grant’s interception late in the second quarter set up a 60-yard drive capped by Jake Nuttall’s touchdown pass to Cole Ramirez.
The Centurions turned a 17-13 lead into a 48-20 victory by scoring 31 unanswered points.
“The quarterback was scrambling around, and I just made sure to stay in coverage. He just lobbed it up, and I was just in the perfect place and just made a good catch,” Grant said about his interception postgame, leading to a Foothill League win after losing their first two league games.
Grant said it’s about him and his teammates focusing on things on a game-by-game basis.
“We’re just trying to go 1-0 every week,” he said. “Every week is a playoff game and we just gotta focus on our opponent in front of us, not down the road.”
With the win, Saugus improved to 5-2 overall and 1-2 in league play, moving up to fourth place in league, where the top three teams get automatic playoff berths.
Touchdowns from Keyshawn Wooten and Semaj Richardson gave Canyon a 13-10 lead early in the second quarter.
Saugus then got a 37-yard run from senior running back Ty Hall on a 4th-and-4 from Canyon’s 41-yard line to put them in a goal-to-go situation. Then, senior receiver Landon Lattimore ended the drive on 2nd and goal with a 3-yard rushing touchdown as Saugus retook the lead 17-13.
Grant’s interception, Saugus’ ensuing touchdown and a 49-yard field goal from Jacob Blinkhan gave Saugus a 27-13 lead at halftime.
The Centurions then scored another touchdown to take a 34-13 lead, coming from senior receiver/defensive back Matt Long. Long was lined up at quarterback in the wildcat formation and found the end zone from four yards out.
Long, a senior, had an interception on defense along with his touchdown. Saugus head coach Jason Bornn highlighted his versatility.
“Matt’s a tremendous athlete for us,” Bornn said. “I mean, he plays offense, defense, he contributes on special teams. He’s a great multi-sport athlete, I mean, he’s just a tremendous player on a team with a bunch of tremendous players, so he’s just an incredible player for us.”
Bornn said the goal remains steady growth.
“Just get better each and every day,” he said. “That’s all we ever try to do is just get better at the things that we need to get better at. Clean up the errors that we made, learn from the mistakes that we made, fine-tune the things that we need to fine-tune and just continue to get better just that much more.”
Saugus’ next game is at home against West Ranch next Friday, Oct. 10. Canyon will play at Valencia on the same day.