For fans of high school football in the City of Peabody, last Friday was an up-and-down one.
Bishop Fenwick survived host Cathedral, 21-14, after a rather sluggish first half. Peabody, on the other hand, conceded a late touchdown and fell to Danvers, 27-22, at Coley Lee Field.
Fenwick scored all of its points in the second half to, frankly, stun the home team. Trailing by seven at halftime, the Crusaders found the scoreboard in the third quarter after quarterback Brayden Clifford’s 1-yard rush.
Clifford continued to impress when he spotted Shane Conroy for a 13-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. The next thing you knew, however, Cathedral took the lead with Jayden Mohammad finding the endzone to make it 14-13.
But then, Fenwick’s game-winner. Once again, Clifford spotted Conroy – this one a 19-yard touchdown, followed by Jesse Timson’s 2-point conversion on the ground.
The Crusaders survived to improve to 6-1.
As for the Tanners, Danvers’ Owen Shanbar returned a kickoff 99 yards for a go-ahead touchdown with around 90 seconds remaining to put the pressure on. Peabody had a chance to win it late, but threw an interception in the endzone to seal a Falcons’ victory.
The Tanners, who came all the way back from a 21-point deficit, took a late lead after a Tyler Rappold touchdown. Quarterback Luke Maglione went home with a rushing touchdown, while Caio Santos ran one in from 2 yards out in the first half.
Peabody fell to 3-4 and returns to action Saturday in Beverly (11 a.m.). Fenwick hosts Arlington Catholic at 7 p.m. on Friday.
