PEABODY — Brains. Brawn. Speed. Power. Elusiveness and vision.
At a glance, the Peabody High backfield has it all in 2011, spread over four seniors that have the Tanners hoping they can finally break the curse of six straight losing seasons.
Nat Gaye, Peabody's first returning 1,000-yard rusher in 14 years, is the feature back. Powerful D.J. Henrick leads the way at fullback, Brady Doyle (500 yards, 6 TDs last year) changes pace and spreads the field, and quarterback Jason Hiou directs things under center.
The Tanners are coming off a 5-6 season in which they blew out several opponents but were also shut out three times. That prompted head coach Scott Wlasuk to re-tool the offense, moving from an old school single wing to a pistol set.
"We want to try to get the ball out in space. If you have athletes, get them out and give them space to make plays," explained Wlasuk, in his fourth season as head coach. "We had issues against big, physical teams last year and want to force them to defend the whole field."
A rebuilt offensive line holds the key. Captain Nick Hill is a returning starter, Rob Habib takes over at center while Braudys Nunez, Max Gordon and Tony Catalano will see time up front.
The pistol adds a power running flair to the spread formation. With Peabody's depth of ballcarriers and Hiou's speed, an option-based offense could be tough to contain. The QB, who Wlasuk calls a second coach on the field, is certainly bright enough to read most defenses.
"The idea is to get more space to use the speed we have. We want to get the short passing game going, too," said Hiou, a returning starter and captain.
Gaye is the heart of the order, and the Tanners are hoping he's their version of the Red Sox' Adrian Gonzalez. The senior went off for 130 yards or more five separate times last year, scored 11 TDs and is every bit the workhorse every good offense craves.
"Nat certainly made a name for himself last year," said Wlasuk. "We're hoping we can use him more on defense, too; he was our second-leading tackler two years ago."
Henrick, another captain, will anchor the Tanners' revamped 4-3 defense, moving back to middle linebacker. The bruiser benched 405 pounds in the offseason and is a three-year starter.
"D.J. is an old school player. He's the kind of guy you picture bleeding with the tape hanging off, all sweaty. He's a hard-nosed kid," said Wlasuk.
Sean Wlasuk is the other captain and will handle the kicking chores and be a cog in the secondary. Casey Grenier, another senior, could play both ways while Nick Ingham is a strong, athletic player that will line up at tight end. Peabody is also hoping for big things from Jared Spriggs at receiver.
The Tanners got a taste of winning last year, and the ultimate goal is build on that in 2011.
"We had a little success last year and we feel like we can really have a lot of success now," said Hiou. "We want to get some wins, get a winning record and see where we can go."
TANNER TIDBITS
Last year's record: 5-6
Head coach: Scott Wlasuk (4th year, 12-21)
Team captains: D.J. Henrick, Sr., FB/LB; Nick Hill, Sr., OL/DL; Jason Hiou, Sr., QB/S; Sean Wlasuk, Sr., K/S
Top returning rusher: Nat Gaye (1,069 yards, 11 TDs)
Top returning passer: Jason Hiou (37-for-88, 377 yards, 3 TDs)
Top returning receiver: Brady Doyle (69 yards, 0 TDs)
Last league title: 2000 (Greater Boston League)
Did You Know?: The Tanners will play both Masconomet and North Andover for the first time their 100-plus year history.
2011 Schedule
DateOpponentTime
Sept. 9Salem7 p.m.
Sept. 16Danvers7 p.m.
Sept. 30at Gloucester7 p.m.
Oct. 6Beverly3 p.m.
Oct. 14at Revere7 p.m.
Oct. 21at Masconomet7 p.m.
Oct. 28Lynn English7 p.m.
Nov. 4North Andover7 p.m.
Nov. 11at Lynn Classical7 p.m.
Nov. 24at Saugus10 a.m.
