It was another successful weekend for the City of Peabody, with both the Tanners and Bishop Fenwick Crusaders winning their high school football games.
In their regular season finales, Peabody delivered a narrow 14-7 win in Beverly, while host Fenwick rolled over Arlington Catholic with ease, 41-6.
Starting things off with the Tanners, they avoided an upset in dramatic fashion – to say the least. A 7-7 game late, Jayce Jean-Pierre hauled in a 44-yard touchdown pass from Luke Maglione in the final minute to seal a Peabody win.
Jean-Pierre was a man on a mission, catching the ball before breaking a tackle and sprinting to the promised land. There were only 32 seconds remaining for Beverly, which couldn’t find a late equalizer.
Ballgame.
Maglione connected with Corey Dooley for a 6-yard touchdown earlier in the contest. Jake Marcotullio converted both of his extra-point attempts, while Caio and Gabe Santos rushed for 54 and 51 yards, respectively.
Next up for Peabody is a Round-of-16 matchup at Knowlton Stadium. The No. 11 Tanners face No. 6 Winchester in Division 2 action with kickoff slated for 6:30 p.m. Friday night.
Truth be told, Fenwick’s game wasn’t as thrilling. That’s because the Crusaders scored 34 first-half points to put AC away early.
A pair of rushing scores got the points party started. Dylan Patterulli and Tyler Connolly rushed for 5- and 8-yard touchdowns, respectively, for a 13-0 advantage in the first.
The second quarter – well, it was more of the same. Patterulli, Connolly, and Brayden Clifford all scored touchdowns within the 5-yard line to make it 34-0 by halftime.
Then, some extra insurance. Joe Morceau barreled into the endzone during the third quarter from 1 yard out. AC’s Jace Lyons threw a 4-yard touchdown to Sean Connelly in the fourth quarter, but it was nowhere near enough.
It’s on to the next one. No. 5 Fenwick hosts No. 12 Norton at 7 p.m. in Friday night’s Round-of-16 matchup in Division 5.
