BOXFORD — The Peabody football team grinded out a much-needed 21-6 win thanks to a great defensive effort at Masconomet Friday night.
“This was a game that we knew we needed after not getting it done last week against Revere,” Peabody coach Mark Bettencourt said. “This was basically all or nothing. We’re not going to get into the playoffs at 3-4, we know that, we learned that last year and this is a situation where we have to win out and this was the first big hurdle we had to get over.”
The Tanners’ defense kept the Chieftains offense at bay for a majority of the night. Linebacker Joshua Tanzer led Peabody with two sacks and a forced fumble.
“He made some big plays for us,” Bettencourt said of Tanzer. “He found himself in positions to make plays and he was able to make plays in space. If he misses some of those plays it might be a different game. I thought our whole defense played well, especially Josh.
“We were able to execute the game plan by having the patience and the confidence that the guy next to them was going to do his job,” Bettencourt added. “That played a huge part in today’s game.”
Running back Colby Therrien added two touchdowns on the ground for Peabody while quarterback Matthew Jandrisevits also had a rushing touchdown.
“The team loves when (Therrien) comes in because they know what we’re doing,” Bettencourt said. “We’re powering the ball and I think our offensive line steps up a bit when he comes in the game in that package. Today it worked and we’re grateful to be where we are.”
A stop on 4th-and-inches by the Tanners defense provided the spark and field position the Peabody offense needed to get a scoring drive started late in the first quarter. Peabody drove 39 yards, adding a touchdown on a 1-yard run by Jandrisevits to go ahead 7-0.
The score remained 7-0 all the way up until the second half. Masco quarterback Marshall Lastes dropped back to pass but Tanzer forced a fumble that Peabody recovered at the Chieftains’ 7.
Peabody capitalized on the turnover on a 3-yard touchdown run by Therrien to go ahead 14-0.
The Chieftains were able to put together their only scoring drive of the night on their next drive. Jay Theriault (117 yards and one touchdown) totaled 56 yards on the drive, capping it off with a two-yard touchdown to cut the Peabody lead to 14-6.
On the ensuing kickoff, an attempted squib kicked turned into a huge play for the Tanners. Brandon Caniff scooped up the bouncing kick at Peabody’s 40 and returned it 55 yards before being brought down at the Chieftain’s 5.
“Those are things you can’t practice,” Bettencourt said of the play. “That kind of stuff seemed lately to be happening against us. Now maybe we’ve turned a corner and we can start getting some of those breaks.”
Peabody added a touchdown two plays later on a 5-yard run by Therrien and held onto the lead for the rest of the game for the 21-6 win.
Peabody (2-3) hosts Malden next Friday night (7).
“We want to get better every week,” Bettencourt said. “Every week you see our offense and defense getting a little bit better. The kids are buying in more and more everyday. We’re having great weeks of practice because they’re starting to believe in the system. Hopefully that keeps rolling into next week.”
