SAUGUS — There's no nice way to say it: The Peabody High football team ate seagull, not turkey, on Thanksgiving.
Again.
An inspired effort by host Saugus in the trenches, blown Tanner defensive assignments and a costly fourth down call late in the third quarter all had in a hand in the Sachems' 14-6 shocking victory Thanksgiving morning at Stackpole Field.
"They surprised us," said Peabody head coach Scott Wlasuk, his team finishing 3-8. "I don't think we took them lightly, but Saugus played a hell of a ballgame. They outplayed us."
The Sachems (2-8) snapped an eight-game losing streak and beat Peabody on successive tries for the first time since 1987-88 as the old time rivals met for the first time in three years.
"This is a testament to our seniors. We had a tough middle of the year with a ton of injuries and freshmen playing on varsity. I told them a lot of that can be erased by beating Peabody," said Saugus head coach Mike Broderick. "I wouldn't have thought we'd beat them twice in a row when I got here. We've come a long way."
Deadlocked in a 6-6 tie and facing 4th-and-3 at his own 31, Wlasuk elected to go for the first down. Senior back Mark D'Addario (14 carries, 12 yards) was run down behind the line, though, as Saugus took over and cashed in on the short field.
Sachem quarterback John Moore ripped off a 25-yard gain on an option keeper. Teammate Eric Mason then tossed a halfback option pass to a wide open Stephen Almquist for what would turn out to be the winning points.
"I blew the call. I thought we had another play called, but I take responsibility," said Wlasuk. "It was a gamble, but I thought if we got the first down we could get some momentum. It looked like we had the corner and a guy (from Saugus) shot out of nowhere and got ahold of Mark. It's my fault."
The Tanners got the ball back after a defensive stand and marched to the Saugus 13-yard line. But quarterback Mike O'Brien's 4th-and-5 pass to Brian DeAngelis netted only four yards as Peabody was quelled.
Another defensive stand forced a Saugus punt and would've given Peabody a last ditch chance to tie it up with 82 seconds to play. The Tanners' Greg Celentano couldn't field the kick, though, and it was recovered by the Sachems.
"We had a (punt) block on, so most of our speed guys were up trying to get to the kicker," said Wlasuk.
The morning started in storybook fashion for Peabody as senior Justin Provencher rumbled 38 yards for a touchdown on the opening drive. The 6-0 lead was short-lived, however, as Tanners never got their running game going after that.
The single-wing attack netted 89 yards on 29 runs with little push from the offensive line. Backs forced to hesitate and fend for themselves as a result.
"We tried to get to the perimter and they had great pursuit," said Wlasuk. "They had three, four or five guys flying to the football every play."
Saugus answered Peabody's touchdown by going 71 yards on 10 plays, capped by Moore's 2-yard keeper to knot it up at 6-6. That's how it stayed until Almquist hauled in the halfback option pass. Saugus added the two-point conversion when its blocked point-after try was recovered by a Sachem in the end zone.
Saugus 14, Peabody 6
at Stackpole Field, Saugus
Peabody6000 — 6
Saugus6080 — 14
P- Justin Provencher 38 run (kick blocked)
S- John Moore 2 run (kick failed)
S- Stephen Almquist 9 pass from Eric Mason (PAT blocked and recovered in end zone in for two)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Peabody — Justin Provencher 2-40, Chris Murphy 6-21, Mark D'Addario 14-12, Nat Gaye 1-5, Mike O'Brien 2-5, D.J. Henrick 1-4, Brady Doyle 3-2; Saugus — John Moore 15-95, Eric Mason 12-87, Vincent Talluto 10-40, Anthony Guthro 1-1.
PASSING: Peabody — Mike O'Brien 3-7-26-0-0; Saugus — Mason 1-1-9-1-0, Moore 0-2-0-0-0.
RECEIVING: Peabody — Doyle 1-18, Henrick 1-4, Brian DeAngelis 1-4; Saugus — Stephen Almquist 1-9.
