PEABODY — With a comeback that might be talked about for years to come, the Peabody and Saugus football teams put on a real show on Thanksgiving Day.
By the time the dust settled, the Tanners came out on top 28-26 to claim bragging rights for the 11th consecutive season.
The Sachems, who came in to the game with just two wins and had only scored double-digit points in one game, stormed Coley Lee Field, scoring three touchdowns in the first seven minutes of the game to put the Tanners in a 20-0 hole.
Peabody, which entered the game 1-9, turned tables in the third quarter, exploding for 21 third-quarter points in the span of four-and-a-half minutes to lead 28-20.
But the Sachems had no quit and made things interesting when sophomore quarterback Eli Fialho (5-of-12, 105 yards, TD) connected with senior captain Jordan Rodriguez from 65 yards out to pull to within two, 28-26, with a little more than seven minutes to go.
With less than 10 seconds remaining in the game, Saugus had two last shots at the game-winner, only to come up short — the final one a Hail Mary pass broken up by Peabody quarterback and senior captain Luke Maglione and junior Mark Mendonca as time expired.
Maglione completed 19-of-36 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Jake Marcotullio was 4-for-4 on extra points. Mendonca caught six passes for 151 yards.
Peabody coach Mark Bettencourt said the Tanners’ mental toughness was key to the comeback.
“That was probably our worst first quarter of the season,” Bettencourt said. “We talked at the half about getting back to mental toughness and that’s what so many kids did as the game went on. Credit to Saugus. They were shorthanded. Coach (Steve) Cummings’ kids fought to the end. The game wasn’t over until that last whistle blew.”
Cummings said he was proud of the Sachems’ efforts.
“Depth is something that has been a problem this year, but we got off to a really good start today,” Cummings said. “We had a really good two weeks of practice and it showed. I give them a lot of credit and they showed a lot of poise when we fell down. We just needed one more play.”
Saugus wasted no time showing it had come to play, taking the ball at its 33-yard line and marching 67 yards to the house. Ryan Shea did the honors, racing home from 42 yards to put Saugus on top 6-0. Rodriguez tacked on the 2-pointer to bump the lead to 8-0.
The Sachems made it a 14-0 game a couple of minutes later when they recovered the ball in the end zone after a Tanners’ punt was blocked.
It went from bad to worse in a hurry for the Tanners. Facing third-and-12 on the 42, Saugus senior captain Chris Mazin picked off Maglione, then scored from 4 yards out making it a 20-0 game.
The Tanners broke the ice with five minutes left in the half. Facing a fourth-and-goal at the 5-yard line, Maglione hit Brian Collins Dixon and Marcotullio nailed the extra point to make it 20-7.
“That was important,” Bettencourt said. “We wanted to get on the board going in to halftime and make it a two-possession game.”
The third quarter was all Peabody. Three minutes in, Braeden Murray recovered a fumble. Maglione called his own number on the next play, running it in from the 15 to cut Peabody’s deficit to 20-14. A minute later, Maglione connected with Mendonca from 42 yards out to give Peabody its first lead, 21-20, after the extra point from Marcotullio. Three minutes later, Mendonca made it 28-20, hauling in a 25-yard pass from Maglione.
Saugus closed to within two, 28-26, on a 65-yard touchdown bomb from Fialho to Rodriguez with 7:12 to play.
Saugus had one last possession in the waning seconds of the game after a Sean Costa punt pinned the Sachems at their own 9-yard line, but the Red and White came up empty.
Maglione and Bettencourt said getting off a good punt was critical.
“Sean has been great all year,” Maglione said. “He had one slip up, but we all make mistakes. That was so important that he got that punt off. When it came down to it, he made the play, which was huge.”
“Sean has been outstanding and has done a great job all year for us,” Bettencourt said. “He came up big when needed to get that last one off.”
“It was a tough spot with no timeouts,” Cummings said. “We just tried to give a guy a shot and hoped that maybe something good happens. We had a lot of opportunities earlier to put ourselves in a better situation, but our guys battled.”
