9 minute read
Saugus
by Signal
SAUGUS BOYS
The Coach
2022 Schedule
Nov. 14-19 Paul Sutton Tip Off Classic TBA Nov. 29 Valencia* 6:30 p.m. Dec. 2 West Ranch* 6:30 p.m.
Head Coach Alfredo Manzano. PHOTOS BY DAN WATSON / THE SIGNAL
2022 Roster
# Name Year Position
Adrian Salazar 12 Jack Nicholson 12 Max Tengan 12 Ryan Sanchez 11 Burke Battistini 11 Matt Correa 11 Justin Perez 11 Christian Sickels 11 Lenox Lavalle 12 Alden Bagsik 11 Landen O’Brien 12 Peter Burton 11 Bryce Mejia 10 Dec. 6 at Hart* 6:30 p.m. Dec. 9 Golden Valley* 6:30 p.m. Dec. 19-23 Faith Baptist Tournament TBA Dec. 23 at Sierra Canyon TBA Dec. 26-30 The Classic at Damien TBA Jan. 6 at Castaic* 6:30 p.m. Jan. 10 Canyon* 6:30 p.m. Jan. 13 at Valencia* 6:30 p.m. Jan. 17 at West Ranch* 6:30 p.m. Jan. 20 Hart* 6:30 p.m. Jan. 24 at Golden Valley* 6:30 p.m. Jan. 31 Castaic* 6:30 p.m. Feb. 2 at Canyon* 6:30 p.m.
* Foothill League games
Editor’s note: Jersey numbers and positions unavailable as of press time.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
The Coach
Saugus Interim Coach Megan Reck.
2022 Roster
# Name Year Position
0 Cassady Freude 10 G/F 1 Samantha Cortez 9 G 2 Julie Phillips 11 G 3 Emily Kai 11 G 4 Nupur Prajapati 12 G/F 11 Shannen Wilson 11 G/F 13 EvaMarie Rios 9 G 21 Brianna Burroughs 9 F/C 22 Destiny Onovo 11 F/C 23 Kristen Kai 12 G 33 Natalie Weathers 9 F/C Bryanna Fennessy 12 C
Saugus Boys Squad Features Many New Faces
By Tyler Wainfeld
Signal Sports Writer
The Saugus boys’ basketball team had one of its best seasons in recent memory last year, winning its first playoff game in five years when the Centurions beat Cajon in the CIF-Southern Section Division 2AA first round and finishing second in the Foothill League.
Now, the Centurions can’t wait to get back there and show that even with a new group, great things are still possible for Saugus.
“We want to be the best, for sure,” Saugus senior Lenox Lavalle said. “We’re gonna try our hardest no matter what and there’s no doubt in our mind that we won’t win. It’s just up to how we play and how we execute.”
Lavalle, one of three returners from last year’s varsity squad, has been tasked by Saugus head coach Alfredo Manzano, entering his sixth season as the head of the program, to not just lead the Centurions on the court, but also off the court. Manzano saw five All-Foothill League selections graduate from last year’s team, with 13 players in total gone.
Manzano will also have junior Justin Perez and senior Adrian Salazar to help the new guys get up to speed.
“To be quite honest, the three returners, I’m leaning on not so much on-the-court experience, but just the level and what is required to be at this level with us, because none of them really got any minutes last year,” Manzano said. “But I am relying on them like, look, you’ve been here before, you’ve been in these practices, you know what is expected. And I expect you to start implementing that with all the new guys.”
While the returning list of Saugus players is somewhat thin, Manzano does have the benefit of three transfers from Santa Clarita Christian who are all expected to play on the varsity team in seniors Max Tengan and Landon O’Brien, and junior Peter Burton.
It’s a new experience for those three, and while Saugus is not the biggest team in the area – Lavalle is probably the tallest at 6 feet, 4 inches – Tengan has been impressed with how Manzano gets his players to buy into a system.
“At first sight, we’re not the biggest team,” Tengan said, “but once I started playing with them a few games, I found out that Manzano implements these core values into the team. So, we’re the scrappiest team out there, hardest-working team out there. So, I think that’s why a lot of people like will count us out because we’re so small, but I think we’re gonna surprise a lot of people this season.”
Those core values that Tengan talked about include many of the small details that can push a team over the top. Manzano likes his teams to play fast, play scrappy defense, fight for rebounds and loose balls and run out in transition.
Manzano preaches those things because, as per usual, his team lacks the height to power through teams. While Lavalle is the tallest of the bunch, his skillset, according to Manzano, makes him more of a guard.
“Looking at other teams that have more size than us, but, you know, at the end of the day, it’s kind of just like heart, and we got to come out and just be able to box out and just play as we’re the same height as them,” Lavalle said.
That doesn’t mean expectations are any lower.
“Manzano holds us to a high standard to win,” Tengan said. “Winning is the No. 1 priority. He always expects the same no matter who’s on his team or how young his team is.”
Saugus will be able to rely on 13-14 players, a good number of players for the high school level. But Manzano has yet to find his starting lineup, and he’s expecting that to continue to be the case for the foreseeable future.
“We could probably talk about two or three guys in the starting lineup that we feel really comfortable with,” Manzano said. “But besides that, I wouldn’t say we’re set, like the remaining guys on the starting line.”
Whoever gets in will have to fight their way in, quite literally based on what Manzano said. He wants his players to show that no matter who they’re up against, the Centurions won’t back down.
“We got to do all the things that nobody wants to do,” Manzano said. “And that’s what we’ve been preaching all summer and going
Saugus Becomes Wildcard After Coach Resigns
By Tyler Wainfeld
Signal Sports Writer
There will be a different look to Saugus girls’ basketball this season, as Megan Reck will take over as interim head coach following the resignation of former head coach Jason Conn, who had held the role for the past seven seasons.
Reck will have some help in six returning varsity players, and her message to her team, which includes multiple freshmen, is to just have fun with it.
“We’re just excited to move forward and have a great season,” Reck said. “That’s my priority right now, is just for the girls to have fun and keep moving in the right direction.”
That direction is up, Reck hopes. The Centurions went 15-11 in the regular season last year, including 6-4 in Foothill League play, good for third place, only to lose in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 3AA playoffs to Rolling Hills Prep.
One of those returners, junior Destiny Onovo, feels that the team has jelled fairly well despite the mix of upperclassmen and underclassmen.
“I think we all hit it off on a good spot,” Onovo said. “We’re all really good friends with each other. And so I think it’s helped build up a nice team bond.”
Onovo, a second-team All-Foothill League selection last year as a sophomore, is one of the girls that Reck will be counting on to lead the program along with senior Kristen Kai, a first-team selection last year as a junior.
“They know the program,” Reck said. “They know Saugus well, the style of basketball here on campus. So they very much have shown leadership qualities for our freshmen and the rest of the girls, and I believe they’re going to continue doing that.”
Kai and Onovo are two known commodities in the Foothill League, though Reck has high hopes for the freshman class.
“Our point guard Eva [Rios], she has outstanding fundamental skills,” Reck said. “So we’re looking forward to that, and she’s very good at leading the team and calling plays. We have some height, which is going to be good. Natalie [Weathers] and Shannon [Wilson], they bring some height, so we’re excited about that as well.”
Reck is expecting her players to play with a certain style. That style may not always be pretty, but if the Centurions go out on the court and show that they are hungry to compete, then Reck will be happy.
“I think we will always play
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into fall and now practice. And not too many guys want to do that. So, the guys that do are probably going to get most of the minutes.”
And once everyone knows their role, Lavalle thinks that the Centurions could find the right formula to success.
“Once we’re all on the same page, that skill will start to kick in,” Lavalle said. humbly, leave our hearts on the court,” Reck said. “We will always give it our all and that’s the style that I’m going for, is hard work and playing humbly.”
With so many younger players and only a few players returning, one could assume that this would be classified as a rebuilding year for the Centurions. And while Reck did acknowledge that possibility, she also noted that she has high expectations and wants her players to compete.
“I think it could be a combination of both,” Reck said. “We have high expectations for all the girls across the board. But we do have five freshmen that are going to help rebuild that program for when our seniors leave.”
Onovo has helped in that regard, showing her teammates that basketball is fun, but sometimes a more serious nature is needed to get to a higher level.
“While we’re having fun, I mean, you have to know that we have to be serious sometimes and that we have these things we have to do,” Onovo said.
The Centurions will have a new look to them – both in terms of roster construction and who is leading them – but Onovo is confident going into the season. She knows how long she and her teammates have been working together and is expecting that work to turn into results.
“We’ve been practicing for so long now, since even before the summer, so I think definitely a lot of hard work and I’m excited to see how that turns out during the season,” Onovo said.
