MARBLEHEAD — One team tackled with a gang mentality, rallying so many helmets to the football that even if one guy missed there were plenty of others on the stop to clean up the play.
The other did not.
Host Marblehead took a couple of seasons worth of frustration out on Peabody High Friday night, laying lick after lick on Tanner ballcarriers in a 28-3 victory under the lights at Piper Field.
It was the fourth straight win for Marblehead (4-2) this season and its first triumph over Peabody since 2021. Head coach Jim Rudloff has never lost to the same opponent three straight years in his 16 seasons on the sidelines, and his Magicians weren’t about to don that particular albatross in this one.
“We’ve had Peabody marked on the schedule all year long, not just because they’d beaten us but because the last two years we felt like we didn’t really show up against them,” Rudloff. “We wanted to change that and give credit to our kids, they went out and did it.”
Stout and at times loud play by Marblehead’s Killer B’s at linebacker — Brady Selvais and Bodie Smith — made sure the Tanners didn’t gain any yards after first contact. A couple of key pass breakups by Cam Quigley and interceptions by Crew Monaco and Rylan Golden also helped stymie Peabody, which was held without a touchdown for the first time in 50 games going back to 2019.
“They improvement we’ve had at linebacker the last 3-4 games has been tremendous, and the supporting players around Brady and Bodie are doing everything they’re being asked to do,” said Rudloff. “The tackling was great tonight.”
The game couldn’t have started much better for the Tanners, who held the ball almost the entire first quarter with Marblehead running just three offensive plays. The third of those was an interception by Peabody captain Jayce Jean-Pierre, and a couple of good runs by Caio Santos took the ball down to the Marblehead 10-yard line to start the second quarter.
But Marblehead’s Declan Gibson knifed into the backfield for one stop and Selvais came up with another, forcing Peabody to settle for a 27-yard field goal booted through by Jake Marcotullio.
Being behind 3-0 with less than a minute of possession was a win for the Magicians.
“We really hadn’t been challenged like that in any of our wins, so having a defensive stand like that was huge for our team,” said Rudloff. “It’s good to see the kids make those smart, heady and timely plays.”
Golden took a short screen pass, broke a tackle, reversed field and weaved all the way through the Peabody defense for a 33-yard score to give Marblehead the lead for good on the next possession. That’s when the Magicians leaned on their two elusive and fast signal callers to break the game open.
Finn Gallup, a junior, made a perfect pull on a zone read and raced more-or-less untouched over the right end for a 53-yard touchdown to make to 13-3 with 3:40 left in the second. His fellow signal caller, senior captain Colt Wales, broke free up the middle for a 40-yard score with 52 ticks until halftime as Marblehead piled on 21 points in a matter of 7 minutes and 30 seconds.
“We can’t keep having the wheels fall off when one play goes against us,” said Peabody head coach Mark Bettencourt. “We’re not stopping momentum; we’re not moving on to that next play. And we’re not tackling — at all.”
Peabody got the defensive stop it needed to begin the third, but again couldn’t do much offensively. Quarterback Luke Maglione completed 14 passes for 85 yards, with that 6.07 yards per completion demonstrating the way Marblehead immediately put down any receiver that got the ball.
“They had 11 hats on the ball on every play,” said Bettencourt. “That’s something we preach and we practice — and Marblehead did it a lot better than we did.”
Another untimely penalty (offensive pass interference) wiped out Peabody’s biggest potential gain of the game.
Cory Dooley had a solid effort with 53 yards on six catches for the Tanners; Caio Santos ran for 47 yards and Gabe Santos rushed for 41. Jayden Betts also recovered a Marblehead fumble, but thanks to another Magician defensive stand the turnover didn’t produce points.
Monaco capped the scoring for Marblehead on a 4-yard pop pass from Gallup with 1:56 remaining.
Selvais ran for 61 yards and Yandel Garcia rushed for 43 as Marblehead racked up 227 on the ground and attempted just seven passes (a rarity for MHS in the spread offense era).
The victory sets up a winner-take-all clash for the Northeastern Conference Dunn title between Marblehead and Masconomet (6-1) next Friday at Piper Field. Both are unbeaten in league play, and Rudloff was already reminding his charges how important that battle will be in the moments after this week’s triumph.
“Huge game,” he said. “Not only for the league but there are a lot of playoff implications, too.”
Marblehead 28, Peabody 3
at Piper Field, Marblehead
Peabody (3-3);0;3;0;0;3
Marblehead (4-2);0;21;0;7;28
Scoring summary
P- Jake Marcotullio 27 field goal
M- Rylan Golden 33 pass from Colt Wales (Finbar Bresnahan kick)
M- Finn Gallup 53 run (kick blocked)
M- Wales 40 run (Wales rush)
M- Crew Monaco 4 pass from Gallup (Bresnahan kick)
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Peabody — Caio Santos 10-47, Gabe Santos 16-41, Luke Maglione 3-(-2) ; Marblehead — Colt Wales 6-62, Finn Gallup 2-61, Brady Selvais 9-61, Yandel Garcia 4-43.
PASSING: Peabody — Maglione 14-24-85-0-2; Marblehead — Wales 2-2-33-1-0, Gallup 2-5-13-1-1.
RECEIVING: Peabody — Cory Dooley 6-53, Jayce Jean Pierre 3-19, Anthony Silva 2-8, Tyler Rappold 1-4, G. Santos 2-1; Marblehead — Rylan Golden 2-33, Crew Monaco 2-13.