PEABODY — As a senior captain making his 33rd straight start at quarterback, Peabody’s Luke Maglione figured he had seen just about everything on a high school football field.
Thanksgiving morning, though, he had to admit that he’d never seen his team fall behind by 20 points in just seven minutes … and still find a way to win.
The Tanners came alive after a ghastly start, rallying to top Saugus 28-26 in a marathon game Thursday at Coley Lee Field. Maglione keyed the comeback, completing 22 passes for a career-high 288 yards and four total touchdowns to make sure his team hoisted the Lion’s Club Trophy for the 31st time in the last 35 holidays.
“When you start out the way we did, there’s no energy,” said Maglione, who graduates with 4,184 passing yards and 38 TDs. “The only way to get a spark is do something … go out there and make a play.”
Junior Mark Mendonca made a number of those momentum shifting plays for the Tanners (2-9), catching six balls for 149 yards and touchdowns of 42 and 26 yards in the second half. His 40-yard grab on 3rd-and-long in the second quarter also sparked Peabody’s first scoring drive, which covered 90 yards and sent the team to halftime trailing 20-7.
“Getting back that energy was huge,” said Mendonca, who felt the biggest play of the day was captain Cory Dooley’s fumble recovery in the third quarter. After Peabody’s initial march stalled out, the Sachems (2-9) fumbled it away, leading to Maglione’s 13-yard touchdown scamper.
“Saugus could have had some momentum after it got that stop, and the fumble took it all away. That gave us what we needed to have a huge third quarter,” said Mendonca, who caught both of his touchdowns in what was a 21-0 third quarter for the hosts.
His 42-yarder and the third of junior Jake Marcotullio’s extra points gave Peabody its first lead (21-20) with 7:27 left in the third. Mendonca’s 26-yarder then provided some cushion at 28-20.
“Mark’s not the tallest guy or the fastest guy. He’s just always open,” Maglione said of Mendonca, whose 42 catches this season were the fourth-most in school history. “He knows his stuff and he knows where to be. He’s incredible.”
The Sachems weren’t interested in going away, however. Captain Jordan Rodriguez got behind the defense for a 65-yard touchdown reception with 7:12 to play. The Tanners stopped the 2-point rush to retain the lead (28-26), but their defense was tested again when Saugus took over 17 yards from the go-ahead touchdown after a botched punt.
Peabody pinned its ears back and got a great pass rush from junior James Hooper and senior Braeden Murray, forcing four straight incompletions to avoid potential disaster.
“When you’ve got a 1-win team and you go down 20-0 in the first quarter, it’d be really easy to lay down,” said head coach Mark Bettencourt, who led Peabody to its 11th straight Thanksgiving win. “I’m really proud of our effort and of seniors. I’m proud of the players who finished out this season and made sure we ended it the right way.”
In a game that took 2 hours and 45 minutes, the Tanners wore down the Sachems a bit. Maglione dropped back to pass 50 times (completing 22-of-46 with a few sacks mixed in) as Peabody racked up 407 total yards.
Saugus, on the other hand, had a net loss of rushing yards in the second half; the Tanners were credited with seven tackles behind the line of scrimmage over the last two quarters with Murray getting two, sophomore Andrew Senfuma getting three, and senior Anthony Melo holding the edge for another.
“We came out for the second half ready to play and prove that first quarter was a fluke,” junior captain Matt Dresser said.
Saugus’ Ryan Shea raced for a 42-yard touchdown on the first drive, and a blocked punt was recovered in the end zone by Steph Cazeau shortly after for a stunning 14-0 Sachem lead. After Chris Mazin took an interception back to the 5, he ran it in as the crowd was stunned by the 20-0 score.
With nearly three-and-a-half quarters left, Peabody managed to steady itself and extend its all-time series lead over Saugus to 52-28. It was only the third one-score game between these two teams since 1998 and the closest since a one-pointer (14-13 for Peabody) in 1989.
Seniors Joaquim Chaves (60 yards), Yadiel Villaneuva (37) and Chris Jeune helped move the chains on the ground for the Tanners. Joe Fagundes was a force defensively and Melo, a corner back, had his best game of the season in run support.
Collins Dixon had six catches for 42 yards, junior Jack Smith caught four balls for 49 yards and Dooley finished with six snags, also for 49 yards.
While the 2-9 record was Peabody’s fewest victories in a dozen seasons, ending the year with back-to-back wins could create some forward momentum for 2026. Thanksgiving morning was also the first home win of the year.
“It does feel pretty awesome,” Maglione said. “Ending it like this? It was the right way to go out.”
Peabody 28, Saugus 26
at Coley Lee Field, Peabody
Saugus (2-9);20;0;0;6;26
Peabody (2-9);0;7;21;0;28
Scoring summary
S — Ryan Shea 42 run (Jordan Rodriguez rush)
S — Steph Cazeau block punt recovered in end zone (rush failed)
S — Chris Mazin 4 run (rush failed)
P — Brian Collins Dixon 5 pass from Luke Maglione (Jake Marcotullio kick)
P — Maglione 13 run (Marcotullio kick)
P — Mark Mendonca 42 pass from Maglione (Marcotullio kick)
P — Mendonca 26 pass from Maglione (Marcotullio kick)
S — Rodriguez 65 pass from Eli Fielho (rush failed)
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Saugus — Ryan Shea 6-26, Chris Mazin 6-13, Paxton Ferraro 2-12, Eli Fielho 3-(-35); Peabody — Joaquim Chaves 12-60, Yadiel Villaneuva 12-37, Luke Maglione 5-14, Chris Jeune 4-8.
PASSING: Saugus — Fielho 4-15-109-1-0; Peabody — Meglione 22-46-288-3-1
RECEIVING: Saugus — Rodriguez 2-80, Shea 2-29; Peabody — Mark Mendonca 6-149, Cory Dooley 6-49, Jack Smith 4-49, Brian Collins Dixon 6-42.