MALDEN — The Peabody football team got back to its ground-and-pound ways this week, as the Tanners pounded their way to a 40-0 win over the Malden Golden Tornadoes at MacDonald Stadium on Friday night.
The senior running back duo of Eric DeMayo and Noah Freedman led the way on the ground for Peabody. DeMayo rushed 14 times for 124 yards and a touchdown, while Freedman rushed 11 times for 48 yards with two touchdowns. DeMayo also added a defensive touchdown with an interception return for a touchdown in the second half.
One of the biggest advantages Peabody held in the game was the time of possession battle. The Tanners held onto the ball for more than 28 of the 44 total minutes in the game, completely controlling the pace of the game.
“That’s what we’ve always been trying to do, but we’ve had trouble at times with it this year,” Bettencourt said. “But the guys did a great job tonight of staying within the game plan.”
The Tanners got things going early on, scoring on their very first drive. After Freedman pounded out four rushes for 23 yards to start the drive, DeMayo took a handoff around the right side and ran 40 yards for a touchdown.
After forcing a three-and-out on the ensuing Malden drive, Peabody got the ball back and went on a 14-play, 70-yard drive that took over 11 minutes off the clock between the first and second quarters. The drive was capped off with a four-yard touchdown run from Freedman.
The Tanners got the ball back one more time before the half ended, with 40 seconds to make something happen. Luckily for them, Malden muffed the snap on a punt and set Peabody up on the Malden five-yard line. It took three plays for Freedman to punch in his second touchdown of the game from three yards out.
With the game well in hand, Peabody spent much of the second half killing off the clock. They did continue to score though, starting with DeMayo’s pick six with about two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The defensive performance as a whole was huge for Peabody, with the Tanners notching six sacks as a team and forcing three turnovers.
“The guys played well out there on defense,” Bettencourt said. “(Malden) made some mistakes, and we were able to capitalize on those mistakes. That’s the name of the game in high school football.”
Running backs Luis Guridys and Declan Russell each added a rushing touchdown late in the second half to stretch out the lead and seal the win.
Next up for Peabody (2-4) is Northeastern Conference foe Beverly, who Bettencourt says the Tanners always treat as a rival.
“When Peabody and Beverly match up, you can throw the records out,” he said. “This has always been more of a rivalry game, like what we have with Danvers. So we’ll work hard this week and I’m sure the guys will be ready to go.”
Peabody and Beverly will kick off at 7 p.m. next Friday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
