Peabody’s playoff run ended Friday night as the Tanners lost to Winchester, 35-27, in the Division 2 state tournament. Despite the postseason defeat, there were plenty of positives to take out of the fall.
“It’s been a down season for us as far as the record goes because the last two years, we went 10-1 and had as many losses as we did this year,” said Peabody coach Mark Bettencourt. “It’s a little disappointing for the kids. We want to keep the program winning and keep that winning culture, and our record does not reflect how well we played. We lost a couple of heartbreakers on big plays made late in the game by us, and big plays made by the opposing teams. You like to be on the winning side of those late scores and we have been on the other side.”
Although it wasn’t the season the Tanners envisioned a few months back, there were some key players who stepped up, according to Bettencourt.
“Jimmy Festa had a big year for us on the offensive and defensive line,” Bettencourt said. “Jayce Jean-Pierre had a good year for us defensively, and the Santos backfield of Gabryel and Caio really helped us with our ground game.”
The senior class had lots of success and rarely tasted defeat until this season.
“The success they had as sophomores and juniors really made me feel like hard work pays off and, you know, the record sometimes can overshadow the hard work. The lesson, I think, this senior class learned is that you could work as hard as you can and you could do things the right way and it doesn’t always work out the way you want it to work out,” Bettencourt said. “That doesn’t take away from the effort you put in and pride you take in preparation. Things don’t always go the way you want them to go, and that’s a life lesson.”
Like most programs, there were highs and lows. Bettencourt singled out the Danvers game.
“We had a couple of moments that stood out – some of them were wins and some of them were losses. For this team, thinking back to the Danvers game, we went down 21-0 in the first quarter and then fought back. To make it 21-20 and the decision that I made to go for two and for us to convert to make it 22-21, it was probably one of the most exciting moments of the season,” Bettencourt said. “Unfortunately, Danvers ran back the kickoff for a touchdown and kind of ruined that, but for me, that moment when we scored the two-point conversion to come back from three touchdowns down really made me happy for our players. To have their hearts broken 20 seconds later was probably one of the worst moments. Coming back in that Danvers game and showing resilience, not giving up, and continuing to fight meant a lot to me.
Then, there was the Beverly game – one that came with a highlight-reel ending for the Tanners.
“The final touchdown in the game that gave us a 14-7 win in Beverly was another great moment for us – seeing Jayce Jean-Pierre catch a pass, break a tackle, and get in the endzone late in the game to give us a lead,” Bettencourt said. “We were losing in that game, 7-0, and coming back and winning that game meant a lot.”
Peabody will have two more games to close out the year. The Tanners are back on the gridiron this Friday when they host Chelmsford at 7 p.m.
“This week, we play Chelmsford, who is a really good Merrimack Valley team and they’re a great example of not judging a team by the record. They didn’t qualify for the state tournament because they only won two games, but if you look at their schedule, they played some juggernauts and this is another game that we’re going to have to try to find a way to play well, get to the fourth quarter, and then find a way to win,” Bettencourt said. “It will be no different on Thanksgiving morning. The way this season is going to end, it’s going to be a couple of dogfights and our kids have to realize that just because we’re not playing for a Super Bowl, there still is a lot to play for.”
The Turkey Day game kicks off at 10 a.m. in Saugus. It will be the seniors’ last time wearing the blue and white.
“Every year… you would like the seniors to come off the field one last time as winners,” Bettencourt said.
