Winthrop Defeats Saugus, Hosts Playoff Game Friday

Chaves stars in regular season finale

Ask high school sports fans, and most will tell you there’s nothing more exciting than the state playoffs. And double that excitement when your team has earned the right to host a home playoff game.

Miller Field should be booming with hometown pride Friday night when Coach Jonathan Cadigan’s Winthrop Vikings host South Hadley High School in the opening round of the Division 6 playoffs.

Winthrop locked up the No. 5 seed and a home playoff date by repelling a challenge from a hungry Saugus High team on Senior Night, ultimately coming away from the newly dedicated Christie Serino Memorial Stadium with a hard-fought 22-0 victory over the stubborn Sachems.

Saugus (0-8) drove to the Vikings’ 8-yard line on its first possession, but senior lineman Pete Jurovich and the Winthrop defense stopped the Sachems on downs.

Quarterback Rob Noonan and wide receiver Mikey Chaves connected on a 62-yard pass play to break the 0-0 tie. Chaves beat his defender and Noonan delivered a strike, leading his teammate perfectly with the pass. Anthony Indresano rushed for the two-point and the Vikings had an 8-0 advantage.

The touchdown was the first of two major Mikey Chaves moments in the game. Moments later, Chaves intercepted a long pass and appeared to be on his way to a Pick-6, but the Sachems had the angle and tackled him at the 15-yard line. However, the Vikings were unable to turn Chaves’ INT into points.

The Vikings were able to take control of the game in the second half. Welvis Acosta rushed for a 7-yard touchdown, followed by Juan Sanchez’s PAT.

Noonan closed the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown, with Sanchez again connecting on the PAT.

Cadigan knew the 22-point margin of victory wasn’t indicative of the competitiveness offered by the Sachems.

“I don’t think the final score was indicative of how hard Saugus played and how close the game was,” said Cadigan. “They always come to play. It was a good wake-up call before the playoffs, and it’s always good to win when you don’t necessarily play your best.”

Cadigan and his staff have done a masterful job coaching this season, leading a new-look Vikings contingent to a playoff berth after having a group of experienced and versatile seniors graduate from last year’s NEC championship team. Cadigan also scheduled the right opponents (playoff teams Stoneham and Medway for example) to test his team and generate ratings points in the power rankings.

“It’s great to be back in the playoffs and obviously great to have a home game,” said Cadigan. “We’re excited to be in the tournament.”

Chaves receives defensive player of the game award

Mikey Chaves received the Black Shirt defensive player of the game award for his work at the cornerback position. The  interception was a demonstration of perfect timing by the senior.

“Mikey really is one of our better students of the game,” said Coach Cadigan. “You can tell that he watches game film, and that he’s aware of the tendencies of other teams. That was Saugus’ best passing play during the season, and Mike put himself in the right spot to make a play.”

Chaves’ reception – his fourth TD of the season – from Noonan seemed to catch Saugus in a penetrable defensive alignment.

“Coach [Mark] D’Ambrosio did a good job of setting up that play by running the complimentary power plays before, and running the play-action pass – and Mikey and Robert executed it just the way you draw it up,” said Coach Cadigan.

Martin is the leading rusher

Cam Martin was the Vikings’ leading rusher versus Saugus with 63 yards on 11 carries. Martin leads the Vikings for the season with 565 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

Welvis Acosta had eight carries for 45 yards and a touchdown. Freshman Nick Cappuccio had five carries for 24 yards, while Anthony Indrisano had six carries for 15 yards and one two-point conversion.

South Hadley is a tough opponent

South Hadley (4-4) has a potent rushing offense that has scored 40 points in each of its four victories. South Hadley is situated in western Massachusetts and is home to Mount Holyoke College.

“They’re about a two-hour drive away, so it’s a bit of hike for them,” said Jon Cadigan. “They did play Bishop Fenwick in the opening game of the season, and they lost, 35-14. That game was at Fenwick, so they’re no stranger to traveling to the North Shore.”

Tony Fucillo will be in attendance

Former Winthrop High head football coach Tony Fucillo knows all about the sheer excitement of hosting a post-season game at Miller Field. His Vikings played in back-to-back Super Bowls at Miller Field against Mansfield and Westford Academy in 1992 and 1993. There were tremendous crowds at both games.

The Hall of Fame coach is expected to be in attendance Friday night at Miller Field for the South Hadley-Winthrop playoff matchup.

The Vikings had three home playoff games following their undefeated regular season in 2014, with Dylan Driscoll at quarterback on a Winthrop team coached by his father, Sean Driscoll.