A couple of fluke plays made a big difference for Peabody

Peabody High football coach Scott Wlasuk is a police officer in his “day” job ? and if he wants to find a culprit for the Tanners’ 3-7 season, that culprit could be fluke plays.”I think we’re a couple crazy plays from having a little different (result),” Wlasuk said. “As they say, it’s part of the game. It’s kind of tough to accept when it happens to you.”Consider:-The Tanners are playing Swampscott at Blocksidge Field. It’s 7-7 towards the end of the third period. Swampscott scores twice to open up a 21-7 lead midway through the fourth. Peabody mounts what its coach calls a “nice drive” ? but ends up fumbling.-Peabody is playing Malden Catholic at Donovan Field at Bro. Gilbert Stadium. On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Tanners are on the Lancer 2-yard line when they fumble. The Lancers recover and take it 95 yards to the house for a game-sealing score.-Against Revere, the Tanners fumble the opening kickoff and the Patriots run it in for a score. Then, on the very first play of the fourth quarter, Peabody has third-and-goal on the Patriots’ 1-yard line, but the Tanners fumble. It bounces twice in the end zone before the Patriots’ Scooby Mageza runs it 103 yards for a touchdown.Reverse some of those plays and maybe the Tanners are going into their Thanksgiving Day matchup with Saugus at 6-4 instead of their current 3-7 record. Still, Wlasuk is excited to resume the teams’ traditional Turkey Day tilt.”I grew up on Peabody High football,” Wlasuk said. “One thing I remember is Thanksgiving Day games with my dad and grandfather way back when. Nineteen seventy-eight was my senior season at home against Saugus. The result was not that good. When I was a junior it was at Stackpole (Field).”I remember the excitement of Thanksgiving Day. I lived it as a player and for several years as an assistant at Peabody High School. To me, personally, it’s exciting to have that back. People I talk to in the community, alumni, are happy we’ve started up the rivalry again.”As for the current Sachems team?”They have a couple good athletes in the backfield,” Wlasuk said. “Two excellent linemen. Only one win, but the last couple of years I believe they were 7-3. The last three or four years, they were able to rebuild the program.”This year’s Tanners faced several injuries that frustrated them as much as the fluke plays. Peabody lost its quick-side end, Dave Richardson, against St. John’s, and also lost Mike Kerwin, its planned wing back. Richardson returned last week and will play on Thanksgiving.However, the coach praised some of his players on offense, including quarterback Mike O’Brien, receiver Jamal Abu-Hijleh and running backs Mark D’Addario and Brady James.”Mike did a good job for us,” Wlasuk said. “I had hoped to open things up with the passing game, but we had a couple key injuries early on.”Abu-Hijleh, a senior and a first-year player, “is a player I wish we had for another year,” the coach said. “He came out this year and had a great preseason.” (The coach also liked what he saw from 6-5, 210-pound tight end Brian DeAngelis.)As for D’Addario, Wlasuk said, “We knew going in that Mark was one of the top returning backs in the area. We also knew we’d give Mark the ball quite a bit ? Last week, he passed the over-1,000-yard mark. He’s one of the leaders, if not the leader, in a number of categories, like number of carries. I’d say he’s got to be in the top three on the North Shore in yardage.”James transferred from St. John’s and has made an impact at Peabody.”I knew him back in Little League and Pop Warner days,” said Wlasuk, whose son Cody played on this summer’s Peabody West team that reached the World Series. “I was delighted when he transferred back. I knew he had a lot of potential ? I eased him into the offense. He had a breakout game against Winthrop with 122 yards rushing and a 70-yard touchdown run that put us back in the game. We won in overtime.”On the defensive side, Wlasuk praised starting outside linebacker Justin Proven