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Lynnfield: ON THE DEFENSIVE - Strong defensive effort not enough for Lady Pioneers against familiar rival Newburyport
ENGLISH LESSON
Tanners dropped for a loss by Bulldogs in Lynn
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Photo by Bob Roche
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Peabody halfback Mark D’Addario (2) and the Tanners had very little room to operate Friday as they fell, 28-0, to Lynn English at Manning Field.
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By Bob Albright
LYNN – Peabody High head football coach Scott Wlasuk went into last
Friday’s game with the thinking that Lynn English QB Jesse Fowler would
be the most dangerous signal caller that his team would face this season.
After watching the versatile senior shred both the fog and his secondary for
the full 44 minutes with one pinpoint pass after the next in the Bulldogs’ commanding
28-0 win, Wlasuk was not about to back off that assessment.
“He’s a great football player,” said Wlasuk. “I’m
just thankful that he’s graduating and that’s what I told
him after the game.”
After watching the 6-3 Bulldogs dominate his team on both sides of the ball
for the full 44 minutes Wlasuk may have been tempted to extend the same sentiments
to the rest of the senior starters for the English.
“I give them a lot of credit,” said Wlasuk. “We knew
that they were a great team and I think they’re better than three losses.”
The loss dropped Peabody to 4-6 and shattered the Tanners’ designs on
a winning season. Peabody will look to be the first Tanner squad to hit the
five-win plateau since 2004 next Thursday when they entertain Malden Catholic
in the two teams second Thanksgiving showdown.
While Wlasuk and the Tanners knew they were in for an uphill climb in Lynn,
it’s likely that neither the coach or his players were expecting the
Mt. Everest expedition that Friday night turned out to be against a Bulldogs
squad that’s blessed with tremendous team speed. Peabody did not complete
a pass and managed just 75 yards of total offense and six first downs – two
of which came courtesy of Bulldog penalties. On the defensive side of
the ball, Fowler hit on 15-of-17 passes for 194 yards and two scores to highlight
an offensive attack that seemed to be a couple of steps ahead of the Tanners
all night long.
“They got to the ball very quickly,” said Wlasuk. “They may
have had the most team speed of anyone we’ve seen.”.”
That speed advantage was evident right off the bat as Fowler found wide
receiver Justin Young on what appeared to be a relatively innocuous slant over
the middle at the Peabody 28 during the bulldogs’ opening drive. The
fleet-footed wideout simply shifted gears and streaked into the end zone for
what proved to be the winning score less than three minutes into the contest.
Peabody would respond with a solid nine-play drive behind Nick Hiou (13 rushes,
46 yards) and Mark D’Addario (14 rushes, 33 yards), which included a
gutsy fourth down conversion by D’Addario on the Peabody 45, but
the Tanners were stopped on downs at the Bulldog 39.
Fowler, who is getting some interest from both BC and UNH, found Ryan
Wounm for a 24-yard scoring strike on the next drive and it pretty much unraveled
from there. While giving credit to Fowler and his talented band of receivers,
Wlasuk also thought the defensive game plan was a solid one.
“They’re loaded with great athletes, but we had people in position
to make the plays and we just didn’t make them,” said Wlasuk. “Good
athletes are going to make you miss tackles, but I thought we just blew too
many assignments.”
Despite all those miscues Peabody was down just 13-0 at the half as the Bulldogs
attempt to score in the closing seconds of the half on a fake field goal went
for naught on one of the more bizarre plays you are going to see.
Lining up for a 24-yard kick, Young took the snap and made it all the way to
the goal line where he was greeted by a crushing hit by Peabody’s Kevin
Bettencourt and Co. The hit popped the ball up into the air, off another Bulldog
player, and into the waiting hands of Charles Rucker in the end zone for an
apparent score. After some deliberation it was ruled that the wide receiver
did not get both feet inbounds and the play was disallowed.
Peabody’s good fortune continued in the third quarter. With the fog quickly
engulfing the field, the Bulldogs marched right down the field on their first
drive only to cough the ball up on the Peabody two.
Just two plays later, however, D’Addario, who simply had no where to
run all evening, was dropped well behind the goal line for a safety and the
flood gates opened from there as English tacked on scores on their next two
possessions.
After seeing any hope of an NEC Large title dashed a week earlier in a decisive
35-7 loss to Gloucester, first year Bulldogs coach Peter Holey was pleased
to see his team, and his seniors in particular, answer the bell.
“We told them they had to respond with some Bulldog pride,” said
Holey. “I’m glad especially for the seniors. At the start of the
game I told them they were down to just 88 minutes of football and now it’s
44 minutes.”
The same holds true for Peabody’s talented senior class and you have
to think that with an extra week to stew about this one they are going to make
their final 44 minutes count next Thursday morning.
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