Second-half rally sparks Peabody over Winthrop
Two halves. Two different results for the Peabody football team.
Struggling in the opening frame against upset-minded Winthrop, the 15th-ranked Tanners flipped the switch in the second half, rattling off 17 unanswered points behind a reinvigorated offense and a stellar defense to pull away for a 24-7 win at Miller Field in Winthrop.
Peabody improves to 6-0 overall and at 2-0 sits atop the Northeastern Conference North Division with three regular-season games left.
“It was a tale of two halves for us,” said Peabody coach Mark Bettencourt. “Offensively we weren’t clicking. We were confused. But we were able to make some adjustments and move some things around.”
Peabody fell in an early hole, falling asleep on Winthrop’s third offensive play when senior running back Robert Rich broke through the line and went untouched for a 93-yard score.
The Vikings (3-3) nearly doubled the lead later in the quarter. Junior Nick Cappuccio snagged a wheel pass and had nothing but green grass ahead. But Eli Batista used his track speed to chase down Cappuccio and push him out of bounds at the 4-yard line. On the next play, Peabody forced a fumble to prevent any damage.
“That’s what Winthrop does,” said Bettencourt. “We weren’t disciplined. Thank god for Eli Batista. He saved a touchdown.”
While the defense stymied Winthrop for the rest of the game, the offense took time to heat up. Clinging to a 10-7 lead in the fourth, Peabody sophomore quarterback Luke Maglione finally found his stride, rolling from the pocket on a fourth-and-9 pass attempt and connecting with Jayce Jean-Pierre in the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown.
A few players later, Maglione added another perfect pass, a 50-yard bomb dropped in the lap of Batista, giving Peabody a 24-7 lead with five minutes left.
Maglione, a sophomore who replaced record-setting quarterback Shea Lynch as the starter, finished 12-of-21 passing for 147 yards and three touchdowns.
Blue Hills 36, Diman 32 — Caiden Montas rushed for 180 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries, and Matt Began and Aidan Landers combined for 200 rushing yards with a touchdown apiece to lead the Eagles (4-2) in a Mayflower Large contest.
“Diman is really talented and they really put the pressure on us,” said Blue Hills coach Ed Madden. “To be able to win a game when you lose the ball three times, is almost impossible, so it was a tough game. It was tight all the way to the end and our guys bent, but they didn’t totally break at the end.”
Carver 32, Randolph 21 —The No. 19 Crusaders (6-0) opened a 20-0 halftime lead in a South Shore League road tilt with rushing scores from Patrick Attaya and Teagan Zakrzewski, and a 59-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Lennox to Derek Lopes.
“A win’s a win,” said Carver coach Ben Shuffain. “An ugly win is still a win, as Belichick used to say, so we’ll take it.”
Taunton 13, North Attleborough 7 —The Tigers (3-3) buckled down defensively to earn their first win over North Attleborough since joining the Hockomock League in 2012.
Sophomore Dylan Keenan hit Jose Touron for a 78-yard gain on slant route, then rushed for a 1-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
“It was a big win for us,” said Taunton coach Brad Sidwell.
Dedham 49, Norton 28 — AJ Pinet rushed for 235 yards and three touchdowns and Joe Goffredo completed 11 of 16 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns, running for 60 yards and four 2-point conversions to lead the Marauders (4-2) in a Tri-Valley League victory.
Malden 21, Lynn English 14 — Davien McGuffie plunged in for a pair of touchdowns, powering the Golden Tornadoes (2-4) to a Greater Boston triumph.
Milford 35, Lowell 20 — Jack Buckley completed 13 of 22 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for a 6-yard touchdown for the No. 5 Scarlet Hawks (6-0).
Whittier 32, Manchester Essex 16 — Senior tailback Nick Almanzar rushed for 201 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Wildcats (5-1) in a Commonwealth affair.
Winchester 23, Reading 16 — Senior quarterback Jack Centurelli ran for a pair of touchdowns and tossed a 29-yard TD pass to George Nelson, who also had over 70 return yards on kickoffs and five tackles.