SAUGUS ? As Saugus’ Ryan Kennedy rumbled down the field with less than two minutes two play in his team’s Thanksgiving tilt with Peabody, he saw the ball squirt free from return man Greg Celentano’s hands. And at that moment, with his team leading, he knew a recovery would mean a victory.Click here to see a photo gallery from the Peabody/Saugus game.”I was excited to have a chance to grab that ball and seal a victory for my team,” Kennedy said. “It’s a great rivalry, and I just wanted to seal my place in history.”When he pounced on the loose ball at the Peabody 37-yard line, Kennedy did just that.Kennedy’s recovery of a botched fair catch by Peabody and a key fourth-quarter stand by the Saugus defense helped the Sachems prevail, 14-6, yesterday at Stackpole Field.It was the second straight time the Sachems have taken the Charles “Red” Hoffman trophy, which is awarded to the team that wins the two schools’ rivalry game. Saugus defeated the Tanners, 13-0, back in 2006 before the series took a two-year hiatus.The schools were knotted, 6-6, at halftime, but it was the final two periods that provided most of the drama.Midway through the third, Peabody made what seemed like a questionable decision when the Tanners attempted a fourth-and-3 from their own 31-yard line. Mark D’Addario was bottled up at the line of scrimmage by a swarm of Saugus defenders, and the Sachems took possession.”I made the call, and obviously it backfired,” Wlasuk said. “I was really confident we could pick the first down up ? It was a gamble, but if we had gotten the first down, it would’ve given us some momentum.”Instead, momentum swung to the Sachems. They picked up a first-and-goal at the Peabody 5, and used a bit of trickery on third down. Eric Mason took the pitch from quarterback John Moore on an option play, and he threw a 9-yard scoring strike to a wide-open Stephen Almquist in the back of the end zone.”They were bottling us up [in the running game],” Saugus coach Mike Broderick said. “We had to find a way to execute somehow, and it worked out for us.”The ensuing extra point was blocked, but the ball bounced into the end zone. Saugus’ Cameron Maguire fell on it for the conversion, giving the Sachems a 14-6 lead.Peabody had its best opportunity thwarted midway through the final period. The Tanners advanced to the Saugus 14, setting up a fourth-and-five. Quarterback Mike O’Brien hit Brian DeAngelis on a slant route to the right, but the play fell a yard short of the first-down marker.Saugus took over and was forced to punt, but Kennedy’s recovery sealed the win.In the first half, both teams scored on their first possessions. Peabody opened with a five-play drive that was aided by a 15-yard facemask penalty on Saugus. Justin Provencher scored on a 38-yard run to put the Tanners ahead, 6-0.On the ensuing Saugus possession, the Sachems went 71 yards in 10 plays. Mason (13 carries, 86 yards) did most of the heavy lifting, but it was Moore (15-85) who scored on a 2-yard rush to tie the game.From that point forward, Saugus seized momentum and never looked back.”We said a lot of things could be erased by beating Peabody,” Broderick said. “It’s a great rivalry. We focused and had a great week of practice, and things turned out in our favor.”uNotes: Saugus defeated Chelsea in each of its last two Thanksgiving Day match-ups, while Peabody fell twice to Malden Catholic ? Peabody won 17 straight years from 1989 through 2005 ? Peabody’s Mark D’Addario entered the game with 999 rushing yards this season. His 16 carries for 29 yards helped him get over the century mark and finish with 1,028 yards this year ? Peabody coach Scott Wlasuk said his team struggled to run the ball against the Sachem defense. When the Tanners were unable to turn the corner outside, they were forced to pound the ball between the tackles for short games ? Saugus won the game without its quarterback, John Moore, completing a single pass (and only attempting two) ? The Saugus defense, which had b