GLOUCESTER — It was all Tanners all night long on Friday, as the Peabody football team rolled over Gloucester for a 41-0 win on the road at Newell Stadium in a Northeastern Conference showdown.
Everything was clicking for the Tanners, but a rout on the road at Gloucester was the last thing Peabody coach Mark Bettencourt expected.
“It feels good to go to Gloucester and win,” Bettencourt said. “We were on edge going in, Gloucester was sitting at 3-2 and looked good in three wins. We thought they’d stay in it all game and it wasn’t until the third quarter we really stopped being on edge.”
Sophomore quarterback Shea Lynch had another great game for Peabody, completing 10-of-15 passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns. Lynch was just short of a five-touchdown game, with a pair of pass catchers getting tackled at the one-yard line. The passing game was actually another surprise for Bettencourt and company, given Friday’s crazy North Shore weather.
“It’s funny, we didn’t plan on throwing the ball,” Bettencourt said. “It was snowing in Peabody, windy and we expected the same in Gloucester. They have a good run defense and we thought we would have to find ways to run. But we got off the bus and it wasn’t nearly as bad as we thought, so we got back to our usual plan.”
That usual plan involved using every weapon that the Tanners had at their disposal. Andrew Lucas, Brandon Pszenny, and Jonathan Teixeira all hauled in one touchdown pass each, while Cam Cuzzi, Alexander Silva and Teixeira added a touchdown each on the ground. Kicker Joe Swanton made five extra points.
“That’s the thing with our offense, it’s starting to get to the point where you have to account for everyone,” Bettencourt said. “It’s the strength of the offense. Even Eli Batista (freshman) and Alan Paulino (sophomore) caught a few balls. We spread the ball around and Shea was on point.”
Things started off ideal for Peabody after a Gloucester three-and-out on the opening drive. Lynch had a 21-yard rushing touchdown called back, but made up for it a few plays later when he found a wide-open Lucas over the middle for a 21-yard touchdown to get Peabody on the board.
Peabody’s defense barely bent at all, allowing just seven total yards to Fisherman in the first half.
“Dominic Annese at middle linebacker controlled everything and then Jaden Nigro, our nose tackle, controlled the middle of their line,” Bettencourt said. “Rafael Casiano and Shea-Wesley Palmer played well up front too, and then the defensive backs and everyone outside did a great job getting anything that bounced out.”
The offense took advantage on the other end. Lynch hit Jack O’Hara on a 17-yard pass to set up a first-and-goal before Cuzzi punched it in from one yard out to put Peabody up 14-0. One drive later, Lynch hooked up with Pszenny on a 27-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 21-0.
Peabody ended the half with a picture-perfect two minute drill, capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by Teixeira to give the Tanners a commanding 28-0 lead heading into the third quarter.
The second half was a lot of the same. Teixeira and Lynch didn’t skip a beat, connecting on a 66-yard touchdown pass that gave Peabody a 35-0 lead and just about wrapped things up early on.
Gloucester’s offensive struggles continued the rest of the night and Silva capped off the commanding win with a five-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Peabody (4-1) will hope to stay hot Friday (5) at home against Saugus in the season finale at Coley Lee Field.
