POWERFUL PEABODY: Tanners dominant in shutting out Beverly football

Sep. 25—BEVERLY — At this point, if you don't believe the Peabody High football team of 2022 is very much for real, then that's on you.

Facing what some felt was their first 'real' test of the season against a traditionally strong program in Beverly and playing at a venue they hadn't won at in a quarter-century, the Tanners showed why they most certainly should be respected — and perhaps a little bit feared.

Their offense and defense were again in perfect sync, with senior quarterback Shea Lynch throwing for 281 yards and five touchdowns while the D held the hosts to just 132 yards in pummeling the Panthers, 40-0, at Hurd Stadium.

"I think that our first two wins were great, but this one felt a little bit special," Lynch, who has 10 touchdown passes in his team's first three games, said afterwards.

Now 3-0 for the first time in eight years (and only the third time since 2011), Peabody has demolished Revere, Lynn Classical and Beverly to the tune of a combined 115-8.

"This was a better barometer game for us in hindsight," said Mark Bettencourt, the team's head coach. "We knew coming into this game that (Beverly) was a good football team. They're well coached, they're tough kids, we've developed a bit of a rivalry, and the kids were excited to play this team.

"Not to mention, last year's scoreboard before we turned it off (in a 55-35 loss to Beverly) didn't make us very happy."

This now sets up a huge Week 4 showdown for the Tanners this coming Friday night, as they'll travel to Piper Field to take on the defending Division 3 Super Bowl champions from Marblehead. Like Peabody, the Magicians are 3-0 to start the season and have the state's longest current winning streak at 23 straight games.

Lynch's given middle name is Lucky (he is, after all, Irish), but his performance was anything but. Pure skill and athleticism allowed him to roll out to both his left and right and, while on the run, find open receivers in space equally well. And he didn't have to uncork long bombs to watch receivers gain huge yardage; slant patterns and quick outs did the trick.

The receiving numbers bore that out. Jayce Dooley, a big target who transferred in to Peabody High from Essex Tech for his senior year, took a slant from Lynch, wriggled out of two would-be tackles and raced into the Beverly end zone for an 88-yard touchdown. He also scored his team's first TD on a 4-yard toss (on which he artfully got one foot in bounds at the back of the end zone) and finished with 107 receiving yards.

Another Tanner wideout to go over 100 yards receiving was the mercurial Eli Batista, who hauled in a 9-yard pass from Lynch in the second quarter and turned a quick hitch into a 70-yard TD two plays into the third, making it 33-0.

Danny Barrett also got in on the fun, securing a 13-yard scoring reception with 1:06 until halftime following a 44-yard punt return by Batista. He too could've had two trips to the end zone, but the play was called back due to a holding penalty.

"We have athletes," Lynch, who hit paydirt on his own with a 28-yard fourth quarter run, said in the understatement of the season. "Anyone who steps on the field, I feel I can get them the ball within three yards and they can make a big play."

"Shea's a competitor; he knows we have weapons," added Bettencourt. "He's not going to be the reason we don't succeed. He busts his tail and brings that WR corps with him."

Beverly head coach Jeff Hutton was familiar with a number of the Peabody skill players, having coached against them during the spring track season, and was aware of what burners they could be in open space.

"We knew all week that if we gave those guys an inch they'd be able to break it," Hutton said. "Some of our guys were a little tentative and gave them too much room; at other times we'd get too close and miss the tackle. We couldn't win for losing, as the phrase goes."

Senior Alan Paulino had an interception for Peabody on the game's second play; Batista added another on the Panthers' ensuing possession. Will Pinto was credited with three QB sacks and nose guard Jose Lendor one, while Paulino stripped the ball loose from a BHS ballcarrier on another play and recovered the fumble.

"Quick hats in the middle, try to shoot the gaps and disrupt their blocking schemes," Bettencourt said in describing his team's defensive game plan to shut down the Beverly run game. "We were worried about their double handoff counter. When it was working, it was a problem, but we got to it more as the game went on. And I was very happy we were able to beat them to the outside and make them turn back; we didn't get beat to the edge very often."

Perhaps it was for the home team's benefit that the venerable old scoreboard at Hurd Stadium wasn't working Saturday due to a blown fuse during the lightning storm earlier in the week. Aside from the continued strong play from captain Matt Sopp at wideout and outside linebacker (where he picked off a pass) and blocked extra points by fellow senior Osman Solano, there wasn't much for the Garden City faithful to cheer about.

Sopp also snagged the first interception Lynch has thrown all season (on a ball tipped by Jackson Champlain, who recovered a first quarter fumble).

"Our (offensive) guys should be able to move against two guys wearing skill numbers (Lendor and Pinto). But sometimes, speed and toughness can with you a lot of games — and they had that over us," said Hutton. "They were the much better team and played with a purpose. We're still not to that point where we're confident as a team in what we do to overcome mistakes."

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Peabody 40, Beverly 0

at Hurd Stadium, Beverly

Peabody (3-0);6;20;7;7;40

Beverly (0-3);0;0;0;0;0

Scoring summary

P-Jayce Dooley 4 pass from Shea Lynch (kick blocked)

P-Dooley 88 pass from Lynch (Dom Scalese kick)

P-Eli Batista 9 pass from Lynch (kick blocked)

P-Danny Barrett 11 pass from Lynch (Scalese kick)

P-Batista 70 pass from Lynch (Scalese kick)

P-Lynch 28 run (Scalese kick)

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: Peabody — Shea Lynch 2-36, Will Pinto 6-27, Calvin Ridley 1-12, Alan Paulino 2-2, Alex Silva 4-1; Beverly — Marcelo Pinto 15-50, Devon Smalls 6-23, Logan Petrosino 1-12, Roman Sullivan 1-9, Kevin Hubbard 1-6, Brad Kessel 8-(14).

PASSING: Peabody — Lynch 15-21-281-5-1; Beverly — Kessel 4-10-34-0-2; Petrosino 1-1-12-0-0.

RECEIVING: Peabody — Jayce Dooley 3-107, Eli Batista 4-102, Danny Barrett 4-36, Ridley 2-25, Jayce Jean-Pierre 1-11; Beverly — Seamus Lordan 1-12, Nick De Souza 1-11, Matt Sopp 1-10, Smalls 1-7, Petrosino 1-3, Daniel Conant 1-3.

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