PEABODY — In a battle between two teams who scored more than 30 points in the state tournament’s opening round, fans expected a high-scoring affair between the No. 4 Peabody Tanners (9-1) and visiting No. 5 Barnstable Red Hawks.
However, it was quite the opposite.
A game that had nine punts between the two sides, and 22 combined points, made a much-anticipated quarter-final battle turn into an old-school, hard-nosed, defensive fight.
The Tanners fans roared from kickoff to the final whistle, but they couldn’t push their side to victory. With a chance to punch its ticket to the Division II state semifinals, the Tanners fell by a score of 13-9 on Friday night.
It was a struggling offense that held the Tanners back from the jump, only scoring nine points and completing six passes, as the Red Hawks slowed Peabody’s biggest threat.
“We just couldn’t get into a rhythm,” said Peabody coach Mark Bettencourt. “It feels like every play we missed one block that would have made a difference…they were all over Eli [Batista], we had some opportunities for some other guys, but we weren’t able to find them.”
The Tanners struck first with a 27-yard field goal in the second quarter and compounded its lead with a score on its ensuing drive. Tanner’s quarterback Luke Maglione and Eli Batista connected just twice on the day, but a Batista 27-yard reception set up Peabody’s first and only touchdown of the day.
Alex Silva (52 yards, 1 touchdown) punched it in from 11 yards out to give Peabody a 9-0 advantage four minutes before halftime, but that would be the last time the Tanners scored.
Even with a slow offensive game, the Tanners’ defense picked up the slack, forcing four punts and a turnover-on-downs in the second half alone.
“You can’t ask your defense to do any more than that,” Bettencourt said. “When you allow a high-scoring team like Barnstable to score 13 points, you should win, no doubt about it.”
With 2:04 left in the fourth quarter, and the Tanners still holding onto a 9-7 lead, Barnstable was faced with a third-and-eight on the Tanners 41-yard line. And with a dying gasp, the Red Hawks went deep for a 41-yard touchdown score that gave them the 13-9 advantage.
With one drive left Peabody got in good field position thanks to a Maglione pass to Nicholas Dresser for a 59-yard gain with just over a minute left. Unfortunately for Peabody, a costly interception ended the game and gave the victory to the Red Hawks.
Bettencourt had one final message for his team after a deep run in the tournament, and a 9-1 overall record.
“I’m very proud of our guys, especially coming off of the success we had last year,” Bettencourt said.
“To shake off the losses that we had as far as personnel goes, and do as well as we did in the season, we’re very proud of the kids. It speaks volumes for their work ethic and their effort.”
