PEABODY - Staring at a 10-point deficit and a hostile Coley Lee Field crowd, the Beverly High offensive line decided they'd had enough — they were not going to be a footnote in Peabody's comeback season.
The Panthers beefed-up front paved the way for Rashad Sims to shake, bake and blaze his way to a career-high 229 yards and three total TDs as visiting Beverly put down the Tanners 33-16.
"We had to be mentally tough and the line was opening great holes," said Sims, who got a congratulatory hug from uncle and Peabody police sergeant Ricky Sims after the game. "I can't single out one (lineman). I was following everybody — even the receivers were throwing cut blocks out there."
The Panthers (4-1) scored 27 unanswered points to seize any momentum Peabody (2-3) gathered from an early 10-0 lead. Sims dashed into the end zone from 44 yards out late in the first half for Beverly's first lead of the night, then ripped off a dazzling 34-yard TD scamper just 1:26 later after a Peabody fumble.
"I wanted to be a leader and show the team that we can't mope around. We hit them all day and it showed on the scoreboard," said Sims, whose Panthers led 20-10 at half.
The Tanners pinned Beverly deep at the start of the second half, but Sims had the answer. The 165-pound senior rumbled up the middle, then cut outside and into the secondary. He didn't stop until he was run out of bounds at the Tanners' 4-yard line. The 86-yard run set up a Mark Hannable 1-yard TD.
"You get someone like (Sims) in the second level and he's dangerous. He has good moves, great speed and great, great vision," said Peabody coach Scott Wlasuk.
Mark D'Addario (12 runs, 59 yards) and the Peabody offense drove 67 yards and scored on Nick Hiou's second TD of the night. The drive chewed up over six minutes of clock, though, and the Panthers struck right back with Hannable's second TD pass, a 29-yard strike over the middle to Sims.
Trailing 33-16, Peabody's power offense simply isn't designed to come from behind or put up points in a hurry. All told, the defense just couldn't get a stop when the Tanners needed it.
"I'm disappointed because I know we're a better football team (than we showed). We had guys in position and missed tackles. But just as I say we missed things, Beverly made the plays," said Wlasuk.
The Panthers racked up 431 total yards, 337 of them on the ground. That's a credit to linemen Ken Mahoney, Nick Kozlowski, Peter and George Kallas, who got their hats on Peabody's speedy front seven and drove them off the ball.
"They made it easy for Rashad and he appreciated how hard the line worked. He made some great cuts and hits, but the guys up front made it happen," said Beverly coach Dan Bauer.
Hiou (17 runs, 128 yards) got Peabody rolling early on a broken play, picking up a fumble in the backfield and racing to the sideline for a 40-yard score. Justin Provencher nailed a 35-yard field goal minutes later to extend Peabody's lead before the Panthers came roaring back.
