The Calpreps prediction – 31-19 – was almost dead on with a final score of 31-21.  From my Hart perspective, it should have been a much bigger margin for Hart but with a terrific fourth quarter effort by the Cents, Hart was lucky the whole margin didn't just dissolve. It was 31-7 to start the fourth and quickly became 31-21 with 6:40 left and Saugus with the ball on the Hart 13. I think the Indians will just be happy with the win.

So here's the summary.

First, kudos to Hart' s Reyes, not only for his QB effort but also for the greatly improved kickoff and punting. He put the opening kick off into the endzone and Saugus started at the 20. First Saugus play: 27-yard pass out to the 47. Two plays later: a 55-yard pass to a wide open Padron across the middle who then simply ran by everyone. 7-0 at 10:35 in the first quarter. (Hart fans were wondering: this doesn't look like a team that could find an offense with twos hand the last couple of weeks.)

Hart: 3 and out with Reyes getting a very nice 41-yard punt down to the 10.

Saugus moved the ball fairly well on the next series which included a 35-yard pass, eventually getting to the Hart 44 where the drive stalled and Saugus turned the ball over on downs.

Hart started the next series with a SACK for -5 with a punt a few plays later but it was another good one by Reyes, 43 yards down to the Saugus 6.

At this point Hart's offense was looking ineffectual. Saugus was looking inconsistent but dangerous. Two plays later the "danger" game out in a different way – a fumble recovered by Hart at the Saugus 10. Hart scored on a 5-yard pass to Stephens to tie the game at 7-7 with 2:15 left in the first quarter.

After another touchback, Saugus started at the 20 and went 3 and out (there was a big momentum shift at this point). Hart went from it's 27 down to the Saugus 8 before the drive stalled on downs.

Saugus moved out to the 30 but then Hart's Hayden Scott intercepted and returned the ball to the 22. Hart scored on the first play on a pass to Borland. Hart 14-7 at 6:02 in the second quarter. The PAT was a 35-yarder because of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty assessed against Hart after the TD (another solid kick by Reyes).

The ensuing kickoff was returnable and Saugus made the most of it, returning it 67 yards to the Hart 25. The Saugus series ended on a four-and-out when Saugus threw an incomplete into the endzone.

Hart took over at the 19 and went nowhere but Reyes uncorked another big punt, 47 yards down to the Saugus 24. On the next play, Saugus fumbled again and Hart got the ball at the 19. Hart got down to the 3 and had two cracks at a field goal (the first missed but there was a penalty). The second attempt was good from 20 yards and it was 17-7 at half.

Hart started the second half at the 20 and got out to the 41 before punting. Reyes had a 41-yarder on that, down to the Saugus 19. Saugus managed to get to the Hart 47 but then Gathier was sacked for a big loss. The punt was short and Hart took over at the Hart 37: incomplete, incomplete, 59-yard pass to Borland and then a 3-yard run by Stephens for the TD. Hart 24-7 at 4:08 in the 3rd quarter.(Hart's only long drive of the game, albeit virtually all of it on one long play.)

Saugus, again at the 20, moved out to the 49 and then, inexplicably, went for it on fourth down and long. The QB was sacked and Hart took over at the Saugus 42 and scored 4 plays later on a 2 yard run by Stephens. Hart 31-7 at :14 left in the third.

Then things started coming together for Saugus. Starting on the 24, Saugus scored 5 plays later on a 37-yard pass to Padron. The 2-point conversion was good to make it 31-15 at 11:17 in the fourth quarter.

Hart went three and out but Reyes again had a big punt (actually low and flat with a lot of bounce), 57 yards to the Saugus 31. James Weiner then just lit it up with receptions of 19, 14 and then 22 for the TD. The PAT was no good. 31-21 at 7:31 in the fourth.

Saugus then executed an absolutely perfect pooch kick, over the heads of the front wall (expecting an onside kick) and just long enough so no one could quite chase it down from either direction. The Cents recovered at the Hart 32 and with a Gathier scramble got down to the Hart 13. There followed 3 incompletes and a field goal attempt was wide left at 6:40.

Hart started at the 20 and following a penalty was faced with 3rd and 8 from the 22. The QB let loose a long one down the middle that was a little off the mark and Saugus' Jon Acquire made a great dive to intercept it. Saugus had the ball at the Saugus 49 with 5:03 left and all three time outs remaining. (The Hart fans around me – on the Saugus side – were getting very nervous). Saugus moved down to the 22 on a 16-yard scramble by Gathier and a 13-yard catch by Jame Weiner 80 but 3 incompletes forced another field goal attempt from the 22 which was again wide left.

Hart took over with 4:20 left and got the first downs necessary to run out the clock.

Comments: Except for one big return, it was nice to see the kickoffs to the endzone. The punting game went very well for Hart (aided by really long rolls).

Both teams were really sloppy with a ton of penalties (at least 19) and both teams being forced to call timeout because of too few players on the field.

Both teams lacked consistency. When Reyes was on the money, the receivers had a couple of drops. Then there were some miscommunication withs (i.e., receiver breaks right, QB throws left) and some passes that weren't quite on the money. Much the same thing could be said about Gathier. He ran well. Hart's running game was only effective at the very end of the game.  Saugus actually had more total offense than Hart (399 v. 344) but the turnovers gave Hart the short field and the Indians took full advantage, scoring all three times.  Saugus created two short fields with a long kickoff return and an interception and did not score either time.

Woulda-coulda-shoulda been a Hart blowout. Would-coulda-shoulda been a last minute Saugus comeback.

The Stats:

Passing: Reyes was 17 of 31 for 261 yards, 2 TDs and 1 interception.

Rushing: Stephens had 68 yards on 21 carries.  He had two TDs.  Reyes had 20 yards on 13 carries.

Receiving: MacArthur 9 for 133 yards; Borland 5 catches for 107 yards and 1TD; Hairston had 1 reception for 4 yards; Stephens had 1 catch for 5 yards and 1 TD; Blumel had 1 catch for 14 yards.

Saugus' Gathier was 15 of 28 for 300 yards, 3 TDs and 1 interception.  He also was the leading rusher with 75 yards on 18 carries (total of 99 yards rushing for Saugus).  Padron had 4 catches for 110 yards and 2 TDs and Weiner had 7 catches for 141 and a TD.