LYNN — The Lynn Classical defense didn't so much shut down Peabody High's offense last night at chilly Manning Field. It was more like a perfectly executed game of keep-away.

The Rams held the ball for 30 of the 44 minutes and ran 60 offensive plays to just 26 for the Tanners. The result was a 22-0 triumph for host Classical that looked much more one-sided on the stat sheet than it was on the field.

The back-breaker for Peabody (3-6, 1-3 NEC Large) came when the Tanners failed to recover back-to-back onsides kicks in the second quarter. That created an 11:26 stretch into the third where Peabody went without an offensive snap.

"There's no excuse for what happened on special teams," said Peabody coach Scott Wlasuk. "To recover back-to-back onsides kicks — there's no excuse for that. That's just our guys not being ready and I have to take responsibility for that."

The first onside kick came after the Rams drew first blood with 5:52 left in the first half. A shocked Peabody team allowed a deep pass down the seam for 36 yards that set up Jasper Grassa's touchdown run and before the Tanners could blink it was a two-score game, 15-0.

A gutsy Classical squad, which won its fourth straight to move to 6-3, 3-0 in NEC Large play, went for it again. This time, Peabody co-captain Mike DiFrancisco appeared to have the ball, but he lost it in the pile and the Rams were awarded possession again.

The Tanners' "D" stopped Classical at the 1-yard line on the final play of the first half to keep it close and got the ball back relatively quickly in the second half.

Keyed by Mark D'Addario (11 carries, 46 yards), Peabody marched into the red zone late in the third. But the drive stalled and Mike O'Brien's fourth down end zone pass to Jamal Abu-Hijleh fell incomplete.

"We felt confident after the stops and we had a nice drive going, but we just couldn't put it in," said Wlasuk. "You can't throw the ball any better than O'Brien did, but we couldn't make the play. That turned the game around."

The possession-minded Rams took over and kept the ball for 8:49, essentially salting away the game and any comeback hopes for Peabody. Rams QB Nick Grassa found Jasper Grassa from 17 yards away to cap a 16-play, 86 yard drive with only 4:24 left.

"We had them in a couple of third-and-longs and our guys gave cushions that were way too big," said Wlasuk. "The three crucial plays were the two onsides kicks and us not capitalizing near the end zone."

Peabody finished with 76 total yards on 26 plays and was hurt by giving up two sacks. It was the second time the Tanners were blanked in the last three weeks including a 34-0 loss to Gloucester.

Classical gained 347 yards on its 60 plays.