The Winthrop High school football team is hitting its stride at just the right time.
One week after handing Salem its first loss, the Vikings scored early and often in a thorough 38-8 victory over Saugus High Friday at the Christie Serino Jr. Memorial Athletic Complex.
Winthrop (5-3), the No. 9 seed, will begin its quest for a state championship against Fairhaven (7-1) the No. 8 seed, Friday at 6:30 p.m., on the Blue Devils’ home field. Fairhaven runs a triple option attack which will test the Vikings’ defense.
Coach Jon Cadigan’s surging contingent excelled in all phases of the game against the Sachems (4-4), who defeated Falmouth, 20-12, on the road in a driving rainstorm in their previous game.
But with quarterback Matthew Noonan at the helm, the Vikings offense scored five touchdowns in the first half while the defense kept the Sachems off the scoreboard.
Noonan provided one of the highlights with a 24-yard pass to Nick Cappuccio in the end zone for the fifth and final Winthrop touchdown.
Cappuccio was again all over the stat sheet with two rushing touchdowns (13 and 3 yards) along with 10 tackles at his safety position, a stellar performance that earned him Viking Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Demetri Koutsouflakis had a 61-yard touchdown run, displaying his speed and athleticism on the play. George Galuris again exhibited his versatility with a 44-yard run to set up the first touchdown, a quarterback sneak for a touchdown, a pair of 2-point conversions, and a PAT.
The Winthrop special teams recorded a safety when the Saugus punter tried to throw a pass from the end zone after an errant snap. Ryan Harris, arriving quickly on the scene in the end zone, was credited with the safety when the punter was flagged for intentional grounding.
Harris’ two-pointer completed a dominating half of football for the Vikings.
Cadigan wanted his team to get off to a quick start against the Sachems, who were looking knock off a top-tier opponent.
“You want to make sure that you don’t give them a chance, and in the first half, we took away any chance that it was going to be a close game,” said Cadigan.
Real Drama and Nearly a League Title on the Bus
Winthrop almost became an NEC football champion during the bus ride home (and later in the locker room) as the players followed the television broadcast of the Salem-Peabody game, with the Witches rallying from a 20-0 deficit to tie the game. Salem ultimately decided to go for two points and the victory, but fell short, 27-26, when Peabody’s Eli Batista made the key tackle at the half-yard line.
“Our guys were watching the game on their phones,” said Cadigan. “It was a pretty interesting experience overall. They watched the last play of the game in the locker room.”
A Salem victory would have given the Vikings a share of the NEC South championship.
Interestingly, all eight of Winthrop’s opponents this season to-date have .500 records or better and seven of those teams have qualified for the playoffs. Winthrop was 3-1 against divisional opponents.
“I’m very confident we’ve been battled tested,” concluded Cadigan.
Noonan Emerges at QB
Matthew Noonan’s continuing emergence at quarterback has been crucial to the Vikings’ success on offense and will give Fairhaven another potent weapon to consider in its defensive plan.
“Certainly, going forward, we’re going to need to be able to throw the football, and you can tell that Matthew is throwing the ball with more confidence,” said Cadigan. “Saugus started loading up the box, and the safety was creeping down a little further, and that’s when we called the pass to Nick running the post. Matt and Nick executed that play perfectly.”
Sacco, Daigneault Record Interceptions
Sophomore defensive backs Seth Sacco and Ace Daigneault each had interceptions in the game. Sacco made a diving interception of a tipped pass and played well on special teams.
“Seth made a great play to grab the ball and fall backward,” said Cadigan. “It was a pretty athletic play.”
Daigneault (5 tackles) stayed at home (“He was doing his job in our Cover-3,” said Cadigan) in excellent coverage and made an interception and a return for sizable yardage. Linebacker Phil Boncore deserves credit for blanketing the intended receiver on a slant pattern and forcing the quarterback to throw the ball high.
“Our two sophomores both had starting assignments for the first time and really made big plays,” said Cadigan.
In addition to Cappuccio winning the Black Shirt Award, Phil Boncore (9 tackles) and Alessio Marcoccio (5 tackles, 1 TFL) also led the way to a blanking of Saugus’ offense.
Daniel Thomai joined Ryan Harris and Alessio Marcoccio in the three-man defensive front.
“The last three or four weeks, Dan Thomai has really turned it on defensively for us, and that’s been a pleasant development,” said Cadigan.
Senior defensive back Robert Rich nearly had an interception and was very effective in his blocking assignments for the other running backs.
Mark Johnson and Evan Rockefeller are both expected to return to the field for the playoff opener.
Saugus Coach Impressed by the Vikings
Saugus head coach Steve Cummings was offering the praises of Winthrop coach Jon Cadigan and the Vikings after the game.
“The [Winthrop] offense, if you get caught looking the wrong way for a second, they have backs that can make you pay for it,” credited Cummings. “They have backs that are really good in space. You give them a little bit and they take a lot. Their offense is so fast, so crisp, and so precise. Coach Cadigan is one of the best coaches in the area for a reason. I wouldn’t put it past them to knock anyone off [in the playoffs].”