Peabody made sure injured teammate’s work wasn’t in vain

PEABODY – It?s never easy seeing a teammate injured, never mind taken away on a stretcher, but Peabody High?s defense made it quite certain that the premature ending to Isaac Lopez? high school career wasn?t in vain. After losing its senior lineman to what is believed to be a serious lower-body injury early in the opening quarter, the Tanners stifled a talented Saugus offense en route to a 33-0 victory on Thanksgiving morning. “You could see guys on our sideline with tears in their eyes. That?s their brother that got carried off the field,” said coach Mark Bettencourt of the unfortunate ending to Saugus? first offensive play from scrimmage.?Isaac is a senior so he doesn?t get another chance. Our defense noticed that, got back in the huddle and continued to churn out big plays for him.” In the first quarter alone, Peabody?s defensive unit forced a pair of turnovers against Saugus quarterback, Justin Winn (3-6, 18 yards passing). Just four plays after Lopez made his exit to a rousing round of applause, Tanners? linebacker Billy Teehan recovered a backwards pitch pass intended for running back Dan Cacciola. “We knew they were going to try giving the ball to Cacciola (46 yards) so our goal was to shut him down or at least bend and not break,” said Bettencourt. Bettencourt deflected some of the credit to mother nature. “Pitch plays are difficult to run in conditions like these so the weather helped us out in that regard,” he said. Saugus mustered just 120 yards of total offense. Much of the defensive success revolved around linebacker Matthew Schweizer, who drew praise from Bettencourt after his final game in a Tanners? uniform. “Matt?s engine doesn?t ever slow down, he has one speed and that?s full speed? He?s an animal and he?s been that way all year long,” the coach said.