Peabody 11-15

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10 Coach urges urgency on Thanksgiving By Harold Rivera By Anne Marie Tobin PEABODY — It was a battle for Tanner city bragging rights Friday night at rain-drenched Coley Lee Field as the hometown Peabody Tanners football team took on their Woburn counterparts in a non-playoff contest. The game was a back-andforth affair, but in the end, the Peabody Tanners came up short, 28-24. Peabody led 24-21 after a clutch 37-yard field goal by senior kicker Austin Leggett with 9:31 left in the game. But Woburn took back the lead with a 70-yard, clockeating scoring drive that chewed more than six minutes off the clock, capped by on a 3-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Qualey to tight end Anthony Morales and point after by Ayob Essquabin. With 3:17 to play, Peabody CATERING TAKE-OUT •Dinners • Sandwiches • Salads • Daily Specials 978-532-2791 santoros.com had good field position at its 35- yard line, but shot themselves in the foot when assessed a delay of game penalty, followed by 2-yard loss on a botched run attempt, a sack and Alex DeNisco (3-of-11, 32 yards, INT) incompletion, turning the ball over on downs to Woburn with 1:32 to play, effectively ending the game. “We were trying to go wide on that second down, but there was confusion, so that was a real killer, that delay of game penalty,” said Peabody coach Mark Bettencourt. “We had our opportunities, but couldn’t find that big play when we needed it. But we lost the game because we put no pressure on their quarterback. We couldn’t flush him out and that game him time to read our defense and find open receivers. Their offense had a lot of diversity and ran some things we had not seen before, so that also hurt us.” Peabody led 7-0 after the first quarter, thanks to a 79- 2 Large Cheese Pizzas $14.99 WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880 NOVEMBER 15, 2018 The goal for Peabody football coach Mark Bettencourt and his Tanners coming into their Thanksgiving game against Saugus is simple. Peabody, 4-6 this season, won’t accept a loss to close a tough, injury-riddled 2018 campaign. “The seniors want to end the season on a win,” Bettencourt said. “Our goal of finishing the season over or at .500 was lost. Finishing at 5-6 is the best we can do and we have to make sure we do that. Finishing 4-7 isn’t an option, that doesn’t speak for the work we’ve put in this year.” Saugus, however, will have other plans. Bettencourt has studied the Sachems on film and knows they aren’t an easy opponent to beat. “They’re tough kids,” Bettencourt said. “The story early in the season about what happened there and the way they’ve persevered with Coach Mike Mabee, he’s done a great job rallying these kids, motivating them and giving them something positive. When you inspire kids to overcome adversity you get good results. Watching the film, they had growing pains early in the year but they’re playing cleaner with every game. They’re coming here expecting to win.” Peabody plans to control the line of scrimmage and establish an effective running game in hopes of creating opportunities through the air. That makes it a big game for Peabody’s offensive line, led by Abe Kaba, Chris Glass and Mike Lock, and running backs Luis Guridys and Angel Paulino. “The biggest key is up front,” Bettencourt said. “We have to control the line of scrimmage. In the games we’ve won we’ve controlled the line of scrimmage. We’ve shown we can do it against teams a little bigger than us. We did it against Masco and Haverhill. If we can’t establish a running game, it affects our passing game. “If we can control the trenches, it allows us to do a lot more with ball control and that allows us to control the passing game.” Other key offensive contributors include quarterback Alex DeNisco and kicker Austin Leggett. Defensively, Bettencourt pointed to sticking to assignments as Peabody’s key. He also foresees a tall task ahead for cornerbacks Dylan Peluso and Carlos Hernandez, who’ll be relied on to prevent big plays in Saugus’ passing game. Linebackers Tyler Norman and Kyle Maglione also have played well. “Defensively, we have to read our keys and trust what the coaches are telling them to do,” Bettencourt said. “When we get away from reading our keys, we step into Peabody loses battle of Tanners yard fumble recovery and return by Luis Guridys, who had a monster game. After Woburn tied the game in the second quarter on a 12-yard touchdown pass, Qualey to Tyler Parrish (Essquabin PAT), Guridys answered right back three plays later, exploding for a 61-yard dash into the end zone to make it 14-7 with 3:41 left in the half. Woburn then drove 73 yards in nine plays, the final play a 4-yard dash into the end zone by Stephen Kolodko with 32 seconds left in the half to make it 14-13 at halftime. Woburn regained the lead, 21-14, with 4:37 left in the third quarter on a 48-yard Qualey to Kolodko strike and Qualey to Ryan McLaughlin 2-point conversion. With 1:23 left in the quarter, Colby Therrien pulled the Tanners to within one, 21-20, with a 1-yard plunge. Guridys (4 carries, 96 yards, 2 TDs) was the man of the hour again, recovering a pooch kick PHOTO | BOB CARBONE Luis Guridys has been a mainstay in the Peabody backfield. problems. The defense we run relies on 11 guys doing their jobs. What helps us is we’ve played some really good teams. Haverhill, Masco and Woburn were good teams. Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, that’s going to help. “We have to step up and make sure we play our best game on Thanksgiving morning or the turkey might not taste so well.” Kickoff for Thanksgiving’s clash between Peabody and Saugus is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Coley Lee Field. at the Woburn 39, the second successful pooch kick of the game executed by Peabody. The drive stalled at the 20, but Leggett (3-of-3 PATs) split the uprights to make it 24-21, Peabody. “Luis did everything in this game, he was just everywhere on both sides of the ball and on special teams,” Bettencourt said. “I couldn’t be happier for him as he is such a hard worker and a game like this is so special for him and our coaches, just a big day for a great kid.” Angel Paulino finished with 82 rushing yards on 12 carries. The Tanners hope to wrap up the season in style with a Thanksgiving Day win over Saugus. Kickoff is set for 10 a.m. Nov. 22 at Coley Lee Field. While Peabody leads the series, 44-33, and Peabody has won the last four contests games, Bettencourt expects a tougher Saugus squad will give Peabody a real battle. “This is not the same Saugus team we have beaten these last four years,” said Bettencourt. “Saugus is the real deal this year, and considering all that program has gone through, they are having a great season. I expect we will need to play our best to come out on top. We need to finish the season strong as we have worked hard all year, so it’s important to come out with our best.” Prep onto Super Bowl By Steve Krause DANVERS — Brian St. Pierre has a chance to do something unique in St. John’s Prep football history: win a championship both as a player and a coach. St. Pierre accomplished the former in 1997 when his Eagles beat New Bedford in the Division 1 Super Bowl. The Prep moved a step closer to the latter Saturday by defeating Central Catholic, 21-0, in the Division 1 North final at Glatz Field. With the win, the Eagles move straight to the Division 1 Super Bowl on Dec. 1 against perennial Prep nemesis John DiBiaso and Catholic Memorial. The game is at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough at a time to be announced (Division 1 has no teams in Central or Western Massachusetts). “This is a special place,” said St. Pierre. “It’s why I came back here to coach.” If there were ever a championship “trap” game, Saturday’s game against the Red Raiders would have been it. All eyes pointed to a rematch between The Prep and Everett for a Super Bowl berth after the Crimson Tide survived a Week 3 tussle with the Eagles (26- 14). But Central put an end to those hopes by upsetting the Crimson Tide last week. So even though The Prep had beaten Central in Week 2, St. Pierre was wary. “Central Catholic is a very good team,” he said. “They went into Everett and won.” The game couldn’t have started better for the Eagles. “We hoped to win the toss, defer, take the wind, stop them, and then come down and score. We checked off all those boxes.” A defense that combined for six sacks Saturday got started early with a three-and-out, after which offense became the Matt Crowley show. The junior quarterback completed his first five passes and ended up at 10-for-13, 173 yards and a touchdown (he also set a single-season record for passing yards with 1,081). After running back Trent Tully (shouldering almost the whole load after Aise Pream went down with an injury) capped a long drive with a 3-yard plunge to make it 7-0, Crowley combined with Luke Brennan on a 49-yard thing of beauty in the second quarter. Crowley’s play fake lured Central’s defense toward the pocket, and he hit Brennan with a bullet about 10 years from the line. Brennan ran untouched to the end zone. Tully’s 8-yard run in the fourth quarter capped off the scoring. Now, the Eagles get ready to play at Fenway Park the night before Thanksgiving against Xaverian, and then at Gillette against Catholic Memorial.
NOVEMBER 15, 2018 WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880 11 Thanksgiving game for league title By Steve Krause After being the Thanksgiving football version of “A Man Without a Country” for more than a decade, seeing St. Mary’s from across the 50-yard line Thursday will do coach Dave Woods’ heart a lot of good. The fact that the game will be for a Catholic Central League championship makes it even better. “Anytime we play St. Mary’s in anything, it adds a little extra,” said Woods, on the eve of Thursday’s game (10) at Donaldson Field against the Spartans. “But with a league title on the line, it adds extra implications.” The fact that the value of winning a league title has been de-emphasized in terms of qualifying for the Super Bowl is of no consequence when it comes to playing the game. “It’s two good programs, and whoever wins is going to be (CCL) champion,” Woods said. FILE PHOTO Stefano Fabiano, left, caught two passes for 32 yards in the Crusaders’ victory over Ipswich. “It’s going to be fun.” Fenwick has run the table in the CCL up to now, but that’s a bit deceiving. Austin Prep dropped out of the CCL/Large and right now there are only five teams in the division. The Crusaders have beaten the three they’ve played — Williams, Spellman and Arlington Catholic — with only St. Mary’s left, while the Spartans only loss was to Williams. A St. Mary’s win would leave each team at 3-1 in the league, with the Spartans having the tiebreaker in head-to-head. In the world of the CCL, the lord giveth and taketh away for Fenwick. The Crusaders celebrated the return in Week 4 of quarterback Cory Bright, who, in the half-season since, has thrown for 1,100 yards and 16 touchdowns. “That’s a season for most kids,” Woods said. “He’s been phenomenal.” Prior to Bright’s return, it was sophomore Chrys Wilson under center who kept the Crusaders on track, guiding them to a 2-1 start. “He is also our starting linebacker and has played outstanding on defense,” said Fenwick coach Dave Woods. “He’s on all of our special teams and rarely comes off the field.” However, all-everything-else Keegan O’Connor broke his arm last Friday night against Ipswich, and that’ll be a tough loss for the Crusaders to absorb. “He wants to (play),” said Woods, “but I don’t know. It might be too soon to talk about doing that. It’s a tough break. He’s a senior.” Also playing their last games are Derek DelVecchio, George Fiskatoris, Ian Connor and Tommy McDonald. All six have been invaluable, Woods said. Underclassmen who have emerged as key contributors are David Cifuentes and Joe Rivers. “They’re our 1-2 punch at tailback,” said Woods. “David gets the ball more, but Joe scores about 20 percent of the time he touches the ball. We have to get him the ball more.” The Crusaders went into the Division 6 playoffs at 6-1 with the fourth seed, and defeated Greater Lowell in the quarterfinals before falling to No. 1 Stoneham in the semis. “Stoneham is a great team,” said Woods. “I think they could play with anyone from Division 3 on down. Maybe not a team like St. John’s Prep, but from 3 down, they can play.” Fenwick tuned up for St. Mary’s with a win over Ipswich to enter Thanksgiving at 8-2. St. Mary’s, not counting its state semifinal game with Cohasset, is 7-3. Fenwick football rebounds against Ipswich By Anne Marie Tobin IPSWICH — A week after being bounced from the Division 6 North state tournament, the Bishop Fenwick football team roared back with a 46-27 win over Ipswich Friday night at Jack Welch Field. Crusaders senior quarterback Cory Bright threw three touchdown passes, connecting with six different receivers, and also ran for another. Derek DelVecchio caught two touchdowns and Keegan O’Connor hauled in one. Despite missing five games to injury this season, Bright has thrown for 1,322 yards and 16 touchdowns this season. David Cifuentes, Joe Rivers and Angel Martinez also scored touchdowns for Fenwick. Martinez’s 25-yard touchdown rush sealed the scoring for Fenwick. Cifuentes went 3-of-4 on PAT kicks and Rivers added a 2-point conversion on a rush. While Fenwick (8-2) led from start to finish and was never in danger of losing, Fenwick coach Dave Woods was not happy with the Crusaders’ execution. Your HOLIDAY made easy... Orchard made PIES and CIDER Many varieties to choose from Come visit us for our OPEN HOUSE DEC. 1 and 2 from 12-3 Wagon rides • Samplings • Trees • Wreaths • Gifts • Assorted apples • Squash BROOKSBY FARM www.BrooksbyFarm.org 54 Felton St., Peabody • 978-531-7456 OPEN DAILY 9-5 pm •Closing for the season in late December “It wasn’t our best effort,” Fenwick coach Dave Woods said. “We had a sloppy week of practice so we kind of played sloppy. We had enough to pull out the win so we’ll move on and get ready for Thanksgiving. Cory had a great game. He kept us above water with some of his plays.” Fenwick’s Bobby Farren set up the Crusaders first score when he recovered a fumble on a Tigers’ punt, giving the Crusaders a short field at the Tiger 21. One play later, Bright hit O’Connor with a 21-yard touchdown pass. The Crusaders made it 12-0 a few minutes later on a 4-yard TD reception, Bright to DelVecchio. Ipswich closed to 12-7 on an 8-yard run by Cole Terry and extra point by Dominic Della Valle. Bright took matters into his own hands on the Crusaders’ next possession, plunging into the end zone from the 1-yard line to send the Crusaders into halftime leading 18-7. Despite a driving rainstorm, the second half was an offensive explosion with both teams making one big play after another. After DelVecchio recovered a fumble on the Tigers’ first play from scrimmage in the second half, Cifuentes scored from the one (Joe Rivers rush) to make it 26-7. Ipswich’s Ben Yanakakis Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS EVERETT – 419 BROADWAY L YNNFIELD – 771 SALEM STREET 617-387-1110 WWW.EVERETTBANK.COM countered with a 1-yard run of his own (Della Valle kick) to make it 26-14. DelVecchio (29-yard pass from Bright) and 43-yard run by Rivers, sandwiched around a 50-yard TD run by Terry made it 39-20. The Tigers Chase Huntley added a 43- yard rushing touchdown for Ipswich to make it 39-27 before Martinez sealed the deal with the final score of the game. The Crusaders will rest up and get back to practice in preparation for their Thanksgiving clash against Catholic Central League rival St. Mary’s. Member FDIC Member SIF
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