Last-minute drive earns Beverly a win over Danvers

BEVERLY – Beverly quarterback Mark Hannable’s two-yard run with 17 seconds left in the fourth quarter capped an 11 play, 73-yard drive in the final two minutes of regulation to give the Panthers a 21-15 win over Danvers in the NEC South opener for both teams on Saturday at Hurd Stadium.The Panthers (5-1, 1-0 NEC South) trailed for most of the game but rallied to put up 15 fourth quarter points against the plucky Falcons (1-5, 0-1 NEC South).”THat was a big time gut check for us,” Beverly coach Dan Bauer said. “We work on that 2-minute drill all the time but there’s never as much pressure as when you have to score to win.”Beverly had led 14-9 early in the fourth quarter thanks to a 2-yard run from Rashad Sims, who rushed for 189 yards in the contest, before falling back behind on Eric Burgos’ (20-133) 37 yard run for the Falcons.After forcing a Danvers punt with 2:00 left, Beverly began its last ditch drive from its 27.Hannable hit Curtis Manuel (five catches, 74 yards) for a 25-yard gain into Falcon territory. Two incompletions followed before Hannable hit Manuel for six yards and Dylan Terry for seven on fourth-and-four to keep the drive going.Two plays later, Hannable looked Terry’s way again for a five yard catch between the hash marks on third and four from the 24. After spiking the ball to stop the clock, Hannable made his best throw of the day to slot receiver Steve Dubois, who jumped over a Danvers defender to make a spectacular catch at the two with 22 seconds left.Hannable did the rest, taking a shotgun snap and diving over the goalline to give Beverly the lead.”We really thought we had them,” Danvers coach John Sullivan said. “It’s a game of breaks and they got one more that we did.”Danvers had one final chance as a 23-yard pass from Greg Ladd to Cody Croft got the ball near midfield. But Ladd was sacked for an eight yard loss on the game’s final play.”The defense really made a big time stop at the end,” Bauer said. “It just goes to show you that it’s never over until its over.”
St.. John’s (S) 13, St. John’s (D) 7at Cronin Field, Danvers, you may have thought you were seeing a production of “South Pacific” as the Pioneers’ Richard Rodgers hit on field goals of 24 and 34 yards to go along with a 67-yard interception return by Colin O’Rourke to build a 13-0 lead by the half.Though the Eagles’ defense stiffened in second half, the offense couldn’t make up the deficit, although George Sessoms scored on a one-yard plunge in the fourth quarter.After the Eagles opened with four straight wins, including a stunner over Everett, they’ve dropped their last three.