Daily Item 2018 Thanksgiving Football Preview

10 ESSEX MEDIA GROUP THANKSGIVING FOOTBALL 2018
Saugus rallies around its senior class
Dan Kane
ITEM STAFF
Saugus football coach Mike Mabee
knows firsthand just how important
the Sachems’ (4-6) yearly matchup
against Peabody is to his players and
how his team will be tested in the
game.
“It’s a game I’m really familiar
with,” Mabee said. “I went to Saugus
High School and we played Peabody
all four years. It’s a game where you
can pretty much throw both the records
out the window. Even though
we both have similar records it
means nothing.”
Mabee has looked for his players to
rally around the senior class in the final
weeks of the season and that will
be no different when Saugus travels
to Peabody on Thanksgiving (10).
SAUGUS (4-6)
9/7................. Saugus 12, Amesbury 30
9/14............... Saugus 18, Northeast 26
9/22............... Saugus 14, Salem 0
9/29............... Saugus 35, English 42
10/5............... Saugus 15, Gloucester 61
10/12/............ Saugus 20, Winthrop 14
10/19............. Saugus 0, Swampscott 42
10/26............. Saugus 27, Weston 6
11/2................ Saugus 0, Amesbury 20
11/10.............. Saugus 21, Pentucket 7
11/22.............. at Peabody (10)
“It’s a big game that our seniors are
looking forward to,” Mabee said. “We
are looking for younger players to
play for the seniors. We have a really
tight-knit group and they’re all close
so that shouldn’t be a problem.
“This group is really loose,” Mabee
added. “So there hasn’t really been a
shift at practice this last week. But
as Thanksgiving gets closer and the
end is approaching I expect to see a
change in the atmosphere.”
The Sachems will look to linebacker
Dante McGrane and defensive
lineman Jake Morgante to help combat
the Tanners offense.
“We look for Dante and Jake to sort
of lead our defense and players feed
off them defensively,” Mabee said.
“Everything they do for us helps free
up a lot of other players. Jake is a
great defensive lineman and a lot of
the focus on him allows other players
to get chances to make plays.”
On offense, junior running back
Marvens Jean has been the primary
threat for much of the season, including
a 266-yard performance against
Weston in the Division 5 North
quarterfinal game. Jean cracked the
1,000-yard mark for the season in a
win over Pentucket.
Junior offensive lineman Zach Kesbia
has also been a huge help this
season.
“He has been our biggest leader on
the line,” Mabee said of Kesbia. “Zach
has been great for us all year. I think
of him as the brains of the offensive
line. All year I’ve looked to him to
help his teammates understand the
blocking schemes. He always knows
what everyone’s job is.”
Along with the running game, the
Sachems have also been able to expand
their offensive attack with
quarterback Mason Nickolas stepping
up late in the season.
“In last Saturday’s game Mason
ITEM FILE PHOTOS
Marvens Jean went over the 1,000-yard mark in Saugus’ win over
Pentucket.
threw a touchdown pass and probably
had over 100 passing yards,”
Mabee said. “Some games we just
haven’t been able to run as well. He
has really stepped up if our running
game isn’t working. It’s good to have
that option on offense now.
“Overall I know it can be an an
emotional week,” Mabee added. “It
means a lot to our players and it’s a
great opportunity for the kids so we
are looking forward to it.”
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