Saugus (3-2) fell behind early and was never able to recover after the St. Francis Golden Knights got out to a big lead in the first half and ultimately fell to the Knights 28-7 Friday night at Cougar Stadium.

It’s been said that football is a game of turnovers, and they certainly made the difference in the Centurions’ matchup with St. Francis.

“First thing you have to do is protect the football, this game is not complicated, it’s all about the ball,” said Saugus Head Coach Jason Bornn. “If you don’t protect the football, you’re going to make it really difficult for yourself to score and if you don’t get the ball back from them it makes it really difficult for us to do anything offensively.”

After trading possessions, the Knights got on the board first 7-0 in the first quarter with a 12 yard completion to tight end Tanner Tomko and the first turnover of the night followed shortly. 

On the ensuing drive, Saugus running back Julian Bornn fumbled, and three plays later St. Francis turned that turnover opportunity into a 14-0 lead with a 17 yard touchdown completion to Tomko with 2:05 to go in the first quarter.

Saugus was nearly able to answer back when they strung together a 65 yard drive featuring a 34 yard completion to Azariah Beaugard and a 26 yard completion to Cade Gallagher to reach the St. Francis six yard line. Saugus quarterback Colton Fitzgerald tried to throw the ball away as he rolled out of the pocket, but was intercepted in the corner of the endzone to end the scoring opportunity for the Centurions. 

St. Francis drove the ball deep into Saugus territory before committing their first turnover in the form of a fumble from running back Max Garrison at the Saugus 28 yard line.

The Centurions failed to execute on the turnover opportunity and gave the ball back on Fitzgerald’s second interception of the evening.

St. Francis took advantage on the ensuing play with a 78 yard touchdown run from running back Kevin Armstead to take a 21-0 lead with 1:20 remaining in the first half.

The two teams traded possessions several times to open the second half before St. Francis found the endzone once again to make it 28-0 with 10:17 to go.

Saugus prevented the shutout on the next possession with an 82 yard drive which featured a steady diet of carries for running back Julian Bornn and several big completions for Fitzgerald before Bornn was able to punch it in from the two yard line for the game’s final score to make it 28-7.

“We just have to go back to the drawing board and stress protecting the ball and getting the ball back for us,” Coach Bornn said.

After the game, Saugus quarterback Colton Fitzgerald shared how he plans to approach his preparation for Foothill League play coming off the loss.

“Everything starts in the classroom and weight room. When I go in there I’m going to be positive, talk to my guys and get them up,” Fitzgerald said. “If we stay positive through these next two weeks then we will do well.”

Saugus (3-2) goes into a bye week this week before they open up their Foothill League season against Hart (2-2) on Friday, October 4.

Check all out his week’s Foothill League scores here.

KHTS Sports is your place for the 2019 Santa Clarita high school football season and your Santa Clarita Dodgers coverage. Find all the latest news and updates on your hometown schools here as they compete in the Foothill League, Heritage League, Western State Conference and GSAC.