PEABODY — When it comes to high school football, the annual Northeast 7v7 East Regional Tournament at Bishop Fenwick always promises a day of ups and downs.
This year’s event also featured a couple of big surprises for a couple of teams that, simply put, were coming off losing seasons last fall and probably weren’t on anyone’s shortlist of contenders on Saturday.
But at the end of a long and action-packed day, Peabody (Open Division) and Lynnfield (Small) were the final two teams of 40. It was each program’s first win, punching their tickets to the New England 7v7 Championship this Thursday at Bishop Fenwick.
Peabody, after pulling off an epic 19-6 upset against perennial powerhouse and 2025 Div. 1 Super Bowl champion Xaverian in the semifinals, led from start to finish in a 24-14 win against Northeastern Conference foe Masconomet. Quarterback Dominik Mercier, a senior transfer from Malden Catholic, wasted no time establishing the tone, hitting Jack Smith with a 40-yard bomb on the first play of the game. Ryan Levesque and Tyler Lomasney had one touchdown apiece, while Mark Mendonca had a couple of two-point conversions and Smith had one.
Peabody finished 3-1 in pool play. The Tanners opened with a 30-15 win against North Andover and followed with a 20-0 win against St. George’s. Then came a 24-12 win against Barnstable before losing 22-15 to Reading. The Tanners rebounded to beat Andover 18-14 in the quarterfinals.
“It was a great day,” said volunteer coach Justin Powers. “You can tell Dominik controls the game well and is a good athlete. … And we had some younger guys like Ryan Levesque and James Morgan making some plays, as well as Drake Dixon and Ty Lomasney, who were holding it down on defense.”
Lynnfield had a rougher road to the championship, finishing 2-2 in pool play and needing Mashpee to beat the host Crusaders to advance in a tiebreaker. The Pioneers beat Bedford 19-6 in the quarterfinals and followed with a 19-6 win over St. Bernard’s in the semifinals. They clinched the championship with a come-from-behind, 14-7 win over Danvers in the final.
Trailing 7-0 with four minutes to play, Lucas Deraps cut the deficit to 7-6, then added the game-winning touchdown two minutes later.
Pioneers’ coach Pat Lamusta said he is taking the offseason one day at a time.
“Today, the players came ready to compete and also showed great conditioning, playing in seven games over the course of the day,” Lamusta said. “Players like Joel Attubato, Lucas Deraps, and Chase Buoniconti played both sides of the ball all day and showed their leadership. Both quarterbacks, Spencer Brown and Neal String, did an effective job distributing the ball. We did not have to rely on one guy, but James Pasquale certainly made some awesome catches throughout the day.”
Lynn Tech finished 3-1 in pool play with wins against Essex Tech, Winthrop and Wilmington, as well as a loss to Bedford. The Tigers defeated Gloucester 13-0 in the Small Division quarterfinals only to be eliminated in the semis by Danvers, 14-13.
Coach James Runner said he is excited to see what quarterback Jadiel Ortega will bring this fall.
“He’s been our starting quarterback since eighth grade. We’re a running team, but I think he is going to turn some heads this year. My twins, Anthony and Tyler Brown, also played really well today. They did a really good job. Ryan Levesque also played well and had two interceptions — one for a touchdown.
“This tournament is a good measure to see our defense and offense. As head coach, I get to sit back and enjoy it because it’s just not our time yet. I love it. I like the camaraderie of it all. I’m really proud of the guys we’ve had since the eighth-grade year.”
Swampscott and St. Mary’s also advanced to the playoffs. The Big Blue opened with a 14-7 loss to St. Bernard’s in pool play, then defeated Wakefield 20-12, KIPP 7-6, and Trinity 14-0, only to lose to Danvers, 13-0 in the quarterfinals.
Big Blue coach Peter Bush was impressed with the play of quarterback Quinn Palmer and receiver Will Rowe.
“Quinn just really started playing quarterback last year as a junior and he’s come a long way. I’m really pleased with how he’s playing today. He’s gotten better as the day has gone on and is more confident,” Bush said. “Will Rowe has looked really good today. He’s definitely going to be one of our top guys.”
Last year’s Small Division champion, St. Mary’s, also had a slow start with a 6-0 shutout loss to Greater Lawrence Tech.
“We’re a very young team, so this tournament is good for us. We played last week in Maine and the same thing happened,” said coach Sean Driscoll. “Maybe we’re just an afternoon or evening team. We just need to wake up earlier.”
The Spartans rebounded with a 27-21 win over Danvers, a 20-6 win over Revere, and a 22-7 win over Pembroke Academy to advance to the knockout round, where they were eliminated by St. Bernard’s 20-13.
“Obviously, it would have been nice to win, but especially with a young team, it’s about getting them together,” Driscoll said. “With a private school and kids coming from so many different places, it’s a good thing.”
Host Bishop Fenwick also participated, but failed to advance to the championship brackets with a 1-3 pool-play record.
“That’s OK,” said assistant coach Dave Duggan. “This is a good event for us because the kids all work together. We let the captains run the plays and the defense, so it’s a good day for our leaders. This is just a great day for high school football. It’s a showcase.”
On top of Lynnfield’s victory, Deraps said he was glad to see Peabody in the winners’ circle.
“It was great to see them do well,” he said. “We know each other and know we had off years last year, so it was good to see both teams come out winners today.”
