Fans witnessed a triumphant and emotional return at the Saugus and Hart football matchup on Friday, Nov. 1.  On the field’s sidelines was Centurions quarterbacks coach Scott Maxwell making his season debut, having missed nearly every snap this season after undergoing lymphoma surgery.  Maxwell wanted to be there for his seniors, a group he for the most part coached for all four years that he wished to lead one final time.  “It was good to be back on the field and have some normalcy,” Maxwell said. “That was really what I was fighting for that whole time I was in the hospital, just trying to get back out there with the guys and enjoy some football.”  Saugus ended up taking the loss but the offense had its highest scoring output of the season with 40 points. The offensive onslaught was no surprise to junior quarterback Jake Nuttall, who threw for 325 yards and a touchdown.  “It’s no coincidence we had our best offensive team of the season the game he was there,” Nuttall said.  Saugus coach Scott Maxwell coaches Abe Rivera (16) and Jake Nuttall (9) during a timeout. Courtesy photo. Maxwell was with the team for about the entirety of the off-season. The coach went in for surgery in August before waking up two weeks later. The elongated recovery continues for the coach who is in physical therapy due to the surgery complicating his ability to walk.   “It will really be focused on trying to restore my movement in my lower limbs and trying to get back to walking,” Maxwell said. “So that’ll really be the next focus. We’ll just take it one day at a time, hoping to see little bits of improvement, just like we do in practice. We’ll attack it as much as we can.”  During his absence from the team, the Saugus community organized a GoFundMe to help pay for the coach’s medical bills. In about two months the community totaled over $25,000.  “Oh amazing,” Maxwell said about the fundraising. “Saugus is a very tight-knit, family-oriented community, especially the football team.”  The Saugus community hasn’t stopped with the GoFundMe and wishes to keep drawing in funds for Maxwell all it can. The community has teamed up with The Local Pub & Grill in Valencia to keep the cause going. The Local offers a charity burger, ale and cocktail every month where 10% of sales go to that month’s chosen foundation or cause, and Maxwell’s recovery will be the restaurant’s charity of the month in December.   “I’d do literally anything to help him,” Nuttall said. “He’s not only a great football coach, but he’s a great mentor and a great leader. He’s helped me out with so much on and off the field, it just what kind of a guy he is and his character. That’s why everyone rallied behind him. I’d do anything to help him out because of how much he’s done for us, and especially for me.”  Maxwell got his diagnosis back in March, after a lingering stomach pain wouldn’t go away. The coach found out days later he had lymphoma and started chemotherapy immediately. Maxwell remained with the team and was actually able to do his chemo while coaching with his medical equipment hooked up from a fanny pack to his collarbone.  “I was watching the team, watching practice every day and giving feedback as much as I could but those were some really rough days,” Maxwell said.  Then in July, his initial progression took a turn, when oncologists found a second, more rare and aggressive cancer. His original chemo wasn’t able to attack the newly discovered disease in the same way so surgery would be his next path.  Maxwell remained in the intensive care unit on a breathing tube for two weeks. The hospital planned on keeping him longer but the coach was anxious to return to Saugus football.  The team felt a notable hole with the absence of their quarterbacks coach throughout the year.  “Without him, it just felt lost,” Nuttall said. “When he’s there, he’s one of those coaches who’s gonna get everyone fired up, everyone’s gonna hear his voice. Without him, there’s just kind of a void, like. It feels like something’s missing when he’s not around.”  Maxwell started working on his physical therapy shortly after. He attacked everything one day at a time as one of his more immediate goals was to return to the team for senior night.  Scott Maxwell with Saugus players and coaches. Courtesy photo. “It was just important to me to see because I had a lot of those kids for four years,” Maxwell said. “I’ve seen them as freshmen in my ninth grade English class, and now seeing them as seniors walking across the track with their parents, it was just good to see them. It was just good to see our guys go out there and fight.”  Maxwell has had and continues to have a better support system than he could’ve imagined. His friends, Misha and Kara Gordon, who collectively have physical therapy and paramedic backgrounds, have stepped in to aid Maxwell. The coach also said his wife, Theresa, has been his rock throughout this process.   Theresa was gearing up to sit with her husband in the stands of the Saugus-Hart football game before Scott reassured her he couldn’t just watch the senior night game.  “I was like, you’ve got to text (Theresa’s friend) and make sure she’s going to the game. She’s like, ‘Oh, why? I thought you were just gonna go and watch and sit with me,’” Maxwell said. “I said, ‘No. If I go, I’m coaching.’  “So we just rolled up, literally. I made sure I got there early enough that I was able to say hi to everybody. Obviously, I give the speech but I was there for business. I had the headset like normal. I was able to work with our quarterbacks there. And that was a great moment.”  Maxwell got to witness a tremendous game from Nuttall on top of a solid touchdown pass from senior backup Abe Rivera, who connected with receiver Landon Lattimore on a goal line fade for six.  “We found out at about the start of the week that coach Maxwell was gonna be there on the sidelines,” Nuttall said. “What none of us expected was that he was actually going to be coaching. So after every drive, I’d go meet up with him, he’d have the iPad, and we’d review stuff, which was a big surprise to me, but it just shows how tough he is and how much of a sacrifice he’s making. He could be at home worrying about his own health, but he’s still coming out, supporting and even coaching. It was really special to see.”  Maxwell is still unsure if he is cancer-free but will continue to take everything one day at a time. The coach is aiming to return to the team in full capacity soon while still giving his all in physical therapy with hopes of walking in the next year.  While the 2025 season is still a long road ahead, Nuttall and Saugus football are all eager to return to the field alongside their quarterback coach.   “I’m really excited to see how we’re going to attack the offseason,” Nuttall said. “He’s taking strides every day with his health, and it’s really good to see. We’re all really looking forward to having him back next year.”  The post Saugus community rallies behind football coach battling cancer  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.