MELROSE — The old saying goes that you have to learn to crawl, then walk, before you can run.
Peabody High head football coach Mark Bettencourt brought that to mind when he told his team that in order to score touchdowns, first you have to grind out a few first downs.
Friday night’s 2025 season debut at Melrose proved to be a tractor pull for the Tanner offense, which struggled to move the chains in a 21-0 loss to the host Red Raiders at Fred Green Field.
“If you don’t score, you’re going to have a hard time winning,” said Bettencourt, whose team hadn’t lost a September season opener in eight years.
Moreover, the Tanners hadn’t been shut out in a span of 55 games going back to October of 2019. The last time the program was blanked in a season opener was 15 years ago, three years before Bettencourt took over as coach.
What ailed Peabody on the offensive side of the ball Friday night? Dropped passes didn’t help as senior captain Luke Maglione completed just five of his 16 offerings. The run game didn’t fare any better, netting 33 yards on 18 tries. There were no chunk gains, with the longest until the final drive being a gain of 11. And there were no sustained drives — no Peabody possession went more than five plays in the first half and five second half possessions averaged three plays each.
“We have to do a better job on first down,” Bettencourt said. “Too many times we wound up behind the sticks, and that’s not a recipe for success. There’s a lot to clean up, but it is all correctable stuff.”
Melrose (1-0) took control on the first play from scrimmage when Richie Harrison raced 75 yards to give his team the lead for good. The Red Raiders employed ten ballcarriers in a Wing-T attack that completed only one pass, and save for that first play the Tanners did a pretty good job of containing it.
Seniors Jayden Betts and Cory Dooley had one sack each, and senior Braeden Murray excelled at the linebacker spot alongside junior Brian Collins Dixon.
“For the amount of time the defense was on the field, I thought they played pretty well,” said Bettencourt. “There’s no excuse for not being ready on the first snap of the game; that can’t happen. But after that I thought defensively we hung in there.”
Junior Mark Mendonca recovered a muffed punt at the Melrose 25-yard line late in the second quarter, giving Peabody a golden chance to tie the game. Four incomplete passes later, though, the opportunity passed by the wayside.
“Those were the biggest plays of the game,” Bettencourt noted.
Coming out of halftime trailing 7-0, Peabody got a first down completion to Dooley but fumbled away the next snap. Melrose cashed in on the turnover with a five-play scoring drive and added a touchdown pass (their only completion of the night) from Jack Feeney to Nicholas Vassallo on the first play of the fourth.
Mendonca also had a defensive interception for Peabody and led the Tanners in receiving with two grabs for 30 yards. Seniors Christ Jeuen and Yadiel Villanueva led the backfield, combing for 29 rushing yards.
Up next is a rematch with Division 2 foe Winchester, who the Tanners played twice last fall with a win in the regular season but a loss in the playoffs.
“It was a lot of little things that added up to big things in this game,” Bettencourt noted. “It’s all things we’ll work on, starting Monday at practice.”
Melrose 21, Peabody 0
at Fred Green Field, Melrose
Peabody (0-1);0;0;0;0;0
Melrose (1-0);7;0;7;7;21
Scoring summary
M — Richie Harrison 75 run (Tyler Garripay kick)
M — Nolan Clark 4 run(Garripay kick)
M — Nicholas Vassallo 28 pass from Jack Feeney (Garripay kick)
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Peabody — Christ Jeune 9-20, Yadiel Villanueva 7-11, Max Silvia 2-2, Kris Adams 1-1, Luke Maglione 3-(-8); Melrose — Richie Harrison 7-108, Parker Siebel 5-33, Nolan Clark 8-30, CJ Cinella 5-23, Jack Feeney 4-9, Cian Sullivan 2-8, Ricardo Teixeira 3-8, Max Hoag 2-3, Max Lanciani 2-2.
PASSING: Peabody — Maglione 5-16-57-0-1; Melrose — Feeney 1-6-28-1-1.
RECEIVING: Peabody — Mark Mendonca 2-30, Cory Dooley 2-22, Drake Dixon 1-5; Melrose — Nicholas Vassallo 1-28.