BEVERLY — The Peabody football team couldn’t get anything to work offensively against a strong Beverly defense, falling 28-7 to the Panthers at Hurd Stadium Saturday afternoon.
“They beat us up up-front,” Peabody coach Mark Bettencourt said. “We couldn’t hit open holes. They stopped us from running downhill and they outplayed us in every facet of the game. We didn’t show up at any phase of the game.
“Everything they did, we practiced for four days and we weren’t lining up right,” Bettencourt added. “I don’t know how that happens but we’ll have to watch the film and find out where the confusion was. They just outmanned us. They played a better football game then we did. I give Beverly all the credit in the world they needed to win this game and they went out and played inspired.”
Despite the loss, Peabody (3-4), qualified for the Division 2 North state tournament as the No. 6 seed. The Tanners will visit No. 3 Reading Friday (7).
Panthers coach Andrew Morency was happy to see his team’s hard work throughout the season pay off Saturday. The Panthers (4-3) clinched a state tournament bid in Division 3 North with the victory. Beverly visits No. 4 Winchester Friday night (7).
“It’s a huge win to make this our third in a row and get a win at home against a hot Peabody team,” Morency said. “Going forward in the playoffs, I think you need a good defense and ours had been something else the last few weeks.
“We’re just excited,” Morency added. “This is a hard working group. They have decided to take it day by day and you’ve seen the results so I’m very proud of this team and the way they’ve turned it around this year.”
Duncan Moreland had a huge game for the Panthers at both defensive back and wide receiver. Moreland broke up several Peabody passes and hauled in four catches for 102 yards and one touchdown.
“You see the return of a few guys having a huge impact for us,” Morency said. “Marje Mulumba, Duncan back there at defensive back. Our back seven has been playing better. I know we have a strong defensive line but to have those guys come up and make plays is a huge thing.”
The game started with several back-and-forth stops by both defenses including an interception by Peabody’s Jake Sousa at his own goal line. However, Sousa was hurt on the play and unable to return for the Tanners.
“Losing Jake on that interception where he pulled his hamstring, that’s a devastating loss,” Bettencourt said. “But I’m not going to use that as an excuse, the middle linebacker position was not the issue that we had.”
The Peabody offense started the game with five straight three-and-out drives and was unable to capitalize on two Beverly turnovers in the first half.
With four minutes remaining in the first half, Beverly hit its first big play of the day when quarterback Ryan Barror (5-for-11 for 125 yards, one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown) found Moreland open down the left sideline for a 68-yard touchdown pass to put the Panthers ahead 6-0.
Beverly struck again a few minutes later when Barror capped off a drive with a 4-yard touchdown run to extend Beverly’s lead to 14-0.
The Panthers started the second half with a blocked punt by defensive tackle Bobby Adams and from there the game belonged to the hard running of Clayton McAlpine (13 carries for 102 yards and two touchdowns).
McAlpine added a 1-yard touchdown and broke off a 66-yard touchdown run on the next drive to put Beverly ahead 28-0 in the third quarter.
Peabody was able to capitalize on a Beverly fumble with a three-yard touchdown run by Colby Therrien, but the Tanners’ next drive ended on an interception to seal the Beverly win at 28-7.
