Football: Classical-Peabody leads list of games Thursday

Because of the observance of Yom Kippur on Friday, five area football games will take place on Thursday night.Of the five, perhaps the one with the most significance, in terms of league standings, is Classical-Peabody (6 p.m., at newly-turfed Coley Lee Field).League play only began last week, and both teams are 1-0. And the winner will certainly not have an easy ride to the Northeastern Conference/South title either, as both teams still have to play Winthrop, the league?s other 1-0 team.However, the winner in this game will certainly have the upper hand going forward.Peabody has come crashing out of the gate at 3-0, with the closest of the three games being last Saturday?s 35-19 win over Danvers. The Tanners have a bona fide stud in the backfield in Doug Santos.As for the Rams, they got their second 200-plus-yard performance of the season from running back Micah Dublin in their 37-14 win over Salem. And quarterback Matt Lauria, in his first varsity start, threw a touchdown pass. Also, Devin Crayton may have had only 19 rushing yards, but he found the end zone three times.English at SwampscottAt Blocksidge Field (7), in a rare 7 p.m. start, the Big Blue are desperate for a victory, having begun the season with an 0-4 slump. The Bulldogs got that monkey off their backs last Friday by beating Saugus to raise their record to 1-2.English?s Lucas Harris emerged in last week?s game as more of a force, playing both offense and defense. He contributed nine tackles as a safety, and also shone on offense, throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for a fourth in the Bulldogs? 41-33 victory.As for Swampscott, the Big Blue came out on the short end of a slugfest with Marblehead, but still managed to score 35 points. Two Big Blue players — Michael Faia and Devin Conrad — ran for more than 100 yards.Marblehead at GloucesterAt Newell Stadium (7), the Magicians got an all-world performance last week from senior Brooks Tyrrell, who had seven touchdowns and ran for 252 yards in the 56-35 win over Swampscott. That gave the Magicians a 4-0 record to start the season (1-0 in the NEC North).The Fishermen have started slowly, with last week?s 30-16 loss to Beverly dropping them to 1-3.Revere at DanversAt Dr. Deering Stadium (7), the Patriots, after a pulsating opening-week win over Medford, have run into a stone wall offensively as they?ve scored only seven points in two games. They suffered a heartbreaking loss two weeks ago to Malden, and got blanked by Winthrop last week, 21-0.Danvers is winless coming into the game, having been defeated by Marblehead, Beverly and Peabody respectively.Salem at WinthropAt Bertram Field (7), these are two teams going opposite ways. The Vikings (3-0) have ridden their season-opening comeback win over Saugus to victories over both Swampscott and Revere, while the Witches have lost to Gloucester, Marblehead and Classical in coach Matt Bouchard?s first year on the sidelines.