MARBLEHEAD — Marblehead took the long way home Friday night at Piper Field, scoring touchdowns on three big plays en route to a 28-3 drubbing of Peabody.
After a first quarter that the Tanners (3-3) dominated, albeit with no points to show for it, the Magicians got to work in the second quarter after spotting Peabody a 3-0 lead on Jake Marcotullio’s 29-yard field goal.
Marblehead’s first score came on a play that the New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator, Alex Van Pelt, could only dream about.
With the ball on the Tanner 32, quarterback Colt Wales, one of two signal callers Magicians coach Jim Rudloff used on alternating drives, threw a short pass to Rylan Golden that looked like it wouldn’t result in much yardage, but Golden ran straight across, starting from the far hash mark, and then cut diagonally into the Peabody line. And he kept running for the score to make it 7-3.
Later in the quarter, Peabody got the ball back on its own 47. One play later, it was 13-3 as Finn Gallup, the other quarterback, called his own number. He galloped 53 yards down the field and into the endzone.
The Magicians scored once more before the end of the half. And again, it was a big play. This time, it was Wales’ turn to put his legs to use, charging for 39 yards and the touchdown.
With a 21-3 lead going into the third quarter, the Magicians (4-2) ran off nine plays that took up more than half of the period, but didn’t score off the drive. Peabody consumed the other half with its own drive, but — and this was really the story of their game — the Tanners couldn’t convert. And when the clock struck 0:00 to end the period, the Tanners were lining up to punt.
While the Magicians played a near-flawless game both ways, their only mistake came on a fumbled exchange deep in Peabody territory. But it was to no avail as the Tanners went three-and-out on the subsequent possession.
Marblehead scored midway through the fourth quarter, and the touchdown was set up by a 32-yard run by Yandel Garcia. Gallup found Crew Monaco in the end zone for the score.
Marblehead’s next game is on the road as it will travel to Beverly on Friday for a 7 p.m. showdown. Peabody will look to bounce back on the same day at home against Danvers at 7 p.m.
