Nick Giannino: Moving the Chains column: Now at Proctor Academy, Beverly's Copeland eager for looming clash at Pingree

Sep. 30—When Beverly's Gabe Copeland chose to transfer from his hometown high school to Proctor Academy this fall, it wasn't a decision he took lightly.

"I knew that if I took the risk and left I would have a better future in terms of getting better looks for college for football," said Copeland, who has reclassified as a junior at Proctor for this school year.

"(It gave me a chance) to get better grades here at Proctor and to boost my GPA up before I leave for college. Proctor was the only school I was looking at and it was a very tough and long decision. But I thought it was what was best for me and my family."

During his three years at Beverly High, Copeland established himself as one of the top basketball players in the area. Back in 2020 he helped lead the Panthers to their winningest campaign in program history and a Division 2 North title to boot. Last winter, Copeland averaged 16 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists while aiding in Beverly's smooth and seamless transition to Division 1 competition.

On the football field, Copeland was no slouch either. He carried the ball 48 times for 687 yards and three touchdowns last fall while serving as a reliable defender as well.

At Proctor, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound running back/middle linebacker has already taken his gridiron game to new levels. In just his first appearance with the team last weekend, Copeland ran for a whopping 230 yards and three touchdowns, while racking up 10 tackles and forcing two fumbles on the other side of the ball.

Copeland and his new squad will head to Pingree this Saturday for a marquee matchup with the Highlanders. Of course, it'll be a homecoming of sorts for the talented athlete, one that he's certainly not taking for granted.

"I am really looking forward to being back at home and playing in front of some hometown fans," said Copeland. "Pingree is a great football team but I think if we come out and play with energy, play our game and execute the game plan, we should come out on top."

Copeland is confident, and why shouldn't he be? He's coming off a monster performance in his Proctor debut, one that helped lead his team to a 48-7 drubbing of Berkshire School.

This Saturday, however, a blowout of that proportion is about as unlikely as Mac Jones suiting up for the Patriots this week. Pingree, too, got off to a terrific start with a 35-0 victory over Portsmouth Abbey last Saturday. The Highlanders have size and plenty of talent at the skill positions.

Quarterback Hudson Weidman got the start in the season-opening triumph and showed no ill signs of slippage or rust after he tore his ACL in Pingree's bowl game victory last November. Weidman thrived in the pocket, making excellent reads and throwing pinpoint passes to his number of capable receivers en route to a five-touchdown afternoon.

Three of those touchdowns went to Chris Colby, who piled up 130 receiving yards on just four catches. Jaylon Richardson, Jayden DelTorchio and Mekhi Taylor all flashed moments of brilliance as well for what is a deep and gifted receiving corps.

On the ground, Pingree used six different backs, including starter Matt Theriault who led the way with 60 rushing yards.

Weidman knows that Proctor poses a more significant challenge for his team this week, and like Copeland, he couldn't be more excited.

"Proctor's a great team and has a bunch of new kids this year so they're definitely going to be a challenge for sure," said Weidman. "We knew that coming; we have a tough schedule, the hardest in program history for sure. So we knew coming into this season that we were going to have to be pretty close to perfect to be perfect. It's going to be a good game for sure."

Regardless of what happens in Saturday's prep school tilt, Copeland is undoubebdtly at peace with his decision to transfer. He cherishes his time at Beverly and wishes his old teams nothing but the best moving forward, but Proctor is his new home now and he's solely focused on helping his squad compete for a league crown.

"I will always be grateful for attending Beverly High School and it is a chapter in my life I will never forget," said Copeland. "(But Proctor's) been great so far. I have loved everything about it. We have a very good football team and we are going to shock a lot of people this season." — First-year Hamilton-Wenham head coach Tim Freiermuth spent the previous two seasons as an assistant for Steve Hayden and Dan Leary at Pentucket. This Saturday, he'll get the chance to line up on the other side against his former colleagues.

A Pentucket graduate himself, Freiermuth will look to lead his 1-2 Generals to a home win over the struggling Panthers (0-3). Safe to say he's looking forward to the opportunity.

"Obviously this game is special to me since Pentucket is my alma mater," said Freiermuth. "A lot of great memories growing up in that district. The previous two years I got to teach and coach at the school so not only did I become really close with that staff but the players as well. Steve Hayden is a big reason why I wanted to coach and teach.

"I learned a ton from Dan Leary, too, on how to be a great high school coach," he continued. "I'm most looking forward to competing and hopefully coming out with a win."

After a season opening win over Gloucester (20-12), Hamilton-Wenham dropped its next two contests to strong Watertown (28-7) and Amesbury (32-0) squads. Getting back to .500 on the year with a victory over his former squad would certainly be a highlight for his debut head coaching campaign.

"At the end of the day this game is about the players," added Freiermuth. "We have had a great week of practice and we look forward to staying on our home grass on Saturday."

Saturday's game is slated for a 2:30 p.m. start. — Through three games thus far Ipswich is still in search of its first win. The Tigers will head to unbeaten North Reading on Friday night hoping to ride a bit of momentum they built in last week's competitive setback. The Tigers fell to Lynnfield, 23-19, in that aforementioned contest, but were able to establish an effective run game while building a lead against their CAL foes.

Henry Wright was particularly impressive, carrying the ball 26 times for 205 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns; he's up to 369 yards and three scores on the ground for the season while returning a kick for a touchdown to boot. In addition, head coach Zack Lamkin should feel confident giving Wright a spell for fellow back Matt McGowan. The latter ripped off 97 yards on 15 totes to go with a touchdown last week, and he's up to 194 rushing yards on 33 carries with three touchdowns for the year.

"We played really well and just came up short," Lamkin said of last week's close defeat. "It was a step in the right direction for us though."

North Reading will undoubebdtly be another tough test for the Tigers this Friday, although the Hornets haven't necessarily been challenged yet this fall. They've handled Northeast Metro (35-20), Greater Lawrence (44-17) and Pentucket (48-0) to open the year.

Contact Nick Giannino at NGiannino@Salemnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGiannino_SN.

Contact Nick Giannino at NGiannino@Salemnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGiannino_SN.