CHARACTER BUILDER LOSING STINKS, BUT SAUGUS QB MAKING BEST OF BAD TIMES.

Byline: Gideon Rubin  Staff Writer

SAUGUS - Travis Babin believes that going through the hard times he's experienced on a struggling Saugus High football team will ultimately make him better.

A second-year varsity quarterback as a junior, Babin has been on losing teams ever since he made the junior varsity as a freshman, but this season has been especially difficult for Babin and his teammates.

The Centurions (2-5, 0-2 in Foothill League play going into Friday) didn't have a coach until three weeks before the season, lost five returning two-way starters (four were injured, and one quit) and have had little time to adjust to a newly implemented offense under first-year coach Jason Bornn in which they're running the ball on more plays after years of employing a pass-oriented run-and-shoot offense.

But despite the team's struggles - Burbank ended a league losing streak at 51 games with a 16-14 Week 7 victory over Saugus, an event that ranks among the low points in the Centurions' recent history - Babin believes valuable lessons have been learned.

``You've got to be able to deal with adversity, that's the biggest thing,'' Babin said. ``I think that'll build character and build strength in me as a quarterback for the future, dealing with this kind of stuff.''

It hasn't been easy, though.

Just as quarterbacks are often disproportionately credited for a team's success on winning teams, they can also be unfairly blamed for a losing team's woes, something Babin has learned about firsthand.

``Of course, when things are great, the quarterback is the god,'' Babin said, ``but when things are bad, all fingers point to you a lot of the time. It's just something you have to deal with.''

Babin has put up respectable if not remarkable numbers, completing 67 of 152 passes for 767 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions, and has rushed for 203 yards and two touchdowns on 80 carries.

His athleticism, powerful throwing arm, competitiveness and natural leadership skills are among the qualities that make him a legitimate Division I college scholarship candidate, Bornn said.

``In the right system, with the right coach that's devoted to teaching him what he needs to do to be successful, I have no doubt that he will be a phenomenal college football player,'' Bornn said. ``It's just a matter of him getting in a system where he's got reps and time to do that. Unfortunately, we just haven't had time.''

But sometimes Babin's competitiveness has also been a liability. That was the case in the Burbank game, when he threw an ill-advised pass into triple coverage that went for an interception at a crucial point in the game.

``That's my biggest downfall as a quarterback right now: trying to do too much,'' Babin said. ``That just comes with experience.

``(The Burbank game) was a real eye-opener for me. You learn from your mistakes, that's how I look at it.''

Babin said he's made a conscious effort to be a positive influence on the team, something he considers especially important for a quarterback.

And according to Saugus senior running back Drew DeRousseau, Babin is having success in that area.

``He brings a lot of energy to the team,'' DeRousseau said. `` He doesn't accept failure. He keeps going every day of practice. He always wants to succeed and he never gives up.''

Babin admits that playing on losing teams hasn't always been easy, but for the sake of his teammates and himself, he's making the best of it.

``You can either complain and shut it down, or you can just rise above it, and I'm just trying to rise above everything right now,'' Babin said. ``You can't get dragged down by the situation; you have to just play your game.''

Gideon Rubin [phone]gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com

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Junior quarterback Travis Babin is staying positive despite Saugus High's losing record, which includes a defeat that allowed Burbank to snap its Foothill League losing streak at 51 games.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer