Vikings steamroll Saugus, 47-6

Six different players scored touchdowns as the Winthrop High School football team rolled to a 47-6 victory over Saugus in a rare Thursday night game at Miller Field.

Nate Previte led the way with two touchdowns, one on a 57-yard run in which he just wouldn’t be denied near the goal line, and the other on a 32-yard pass from quarterback Charlie Ferrara. Dom Spinale, Desmond Cassidy, John Ferrara, and Michael Barron all rushed for touchdowns.

Ferrara also connected with Michael D’Ambrosio for 25-yard TD pass.

The Vikings dominated the proceedings against a winless Saugus team that has been beset by injuries to its key players.

“We were well aware going into the game that Saugus was struggling,” said Winthrop head coach Jon Cadigan. “The message all week was, ‘take care of what we need to take care of and worry about ourselves,’ and I think we obviously did that. We wanted to get back to the basics on offense and get a little confidence going.”

Saugus’ first-year head coach Greg Bluestein said, “Coach Cadigan has a fantastic program, and I wish them the best of luck moving forward. They’re always great hosts there. My team is young, and we’re learning. I’m really proud of their effort tonight. We have some young guys that are stepping up and showing some real toughness, and we’re finally getting that football edge that we really need to have.”

“Winthrop’s quarterback had a really good night throwing the ball, and their offensive line was excellent, getting down on our linebackers. I give their offensive line a lot of the credit,” concluded Bluestein.

A Saugus High School 2008 graduate, Bluestein was previously an assistant coach at Everett High School on John DiBiaso’s staff, helping the Crimson Tide win three Super Bowls.

Spinale, Previte earn the defensive honors

Dom Spinale and Nate Previte were the co-winners of the Black Shirt Defensive Player of the Game honors.

Spinale had six tackles and an interception that nearly became a Pick-6 as he returned the football to the 2-yard line.

“Dom’s been doing a great job for us,” credited Cadigan.

In addition to his super-efficient work on offense (three total touches for 101 yards and two touchdowns), Previte had four tackles (two for a loss) and a fumble recovery.

“Nate has shown the ability to be a big-play kid. He had a couple of big plays against Essex Tech, and he had a great performance against Saugus,” said Cadigan.

Linebacker Michael Barron led the team with nine tackles while Michael Ferrara had six tackles and a QB hurry that created Spinale’s interception. On the season, Winthrop’s leading tacklers are Michael D’Ambrosio (44), Michael Ferrara (40), Dom Spinale (37) and Desmond Cassidy (34). 

It was middle linebacker Michael Ferrara who set the tone with a thunderous tackle of a Saugus running back in the middle of the field.

“That was the physicality we were looking for, and it was a great play by Michael, a real tone-setter early in the game,” said Cadigan.