BEVERLY — Holding one of the most dynamic players in the Northeastern Conference to just over three yards per carry was a good day at the office for the Beverly High defense.
With the game on the line, however, three yards were all Peabody High’s senior signal caller, Dominik Mercier, needed.
A second effort leg drive by Mercier on a fourth down play with 56 seconds remaining gave the visiting Tanners the fresh set of downs they needed to run out the clock on a hectic fourth quarter and escape Hurd Stadium with a 14-7 victory over rival Beverly Saturday morning.
Unbeaten Peabody (4-0) had to withstand a furious rally by the Panthers (2-2), who scored early in the fourth quarter and took possession with a chance to tie with 6:00 to play. The Orange-and-Black crossed midfield on the eight-play drive before the Tanner defense dug deep and forced a turnover on downs with just 2:36 to play.
“Great atmosphere. The crowd was into it and we were into it. We were under pressure and we had to put our heads down and fight through it,” Peabody captain and defensive lineman Matt Dresser said of the tension on that final defensive stand.
All three touchdowns in the game were a result of turnovers by the opposing side.
After falling victim to a pair of second quarter turnovers, Beverly forced one of its own when senior Anthony Sullivan knocked the ball free from Mercier and classmate Hunter Roccio recovered.
A nifty screen pass hauled in by Beverly’s Brody Lehmann set up senior Sean Okhuozagbon’s 3-yard score, making it 14-7 with 8:46 remaining. The touchdown ended a shutout streak of 122:53 by the Tanner defense that went back nine quarters to Week 2.
Besides that drive, though, Peabody’s defense kept Beverly’s run game at bay. The Tanners allowed 159 total yards, had six plays result in a loss of yards, and used gang tackling to prevent the dangerous Okhuozagbon (22 carries, 91 yards) from getting into the secondary and hitting his second gear.
“Everyone on defense had to be dogs. Beverly’s quick on the ball, so we had to go right after them … lock in and get it done,” said sophomore tackle Zaiden Nazaire, who had one of the game’s best defensive plays when he dropped a Beverly screen pass for a 5-yard loss.
Beverly’s defensive line was similarly effective. The Panthers prevented Mercier from escaping the pocket and made him uncomfortable enough that deep shots weren’t available. He was sacked a season high five times, with both Sullivans (Anthony and Stephan), Roccio, Isaiah Zohn and Prince Olowu getting in on the action for the Panthers.
“They looked much better out here than on any film we saw. They were phenomenal,” Peabody head coach Mark Bettencourt said of Beverly’s D-line. “We had trouble because we couldn’t churn out yards with our running backs, and they didn’t give Dom time to throw the ball more than 15 yards downfield.”
Forcing turnovers on back-to-back defensive snaps in the second quarter tilted the game in Peabody’s favor.
Senior Aniel Espinal recovered a fumble that led to Mercier following a deft lead block by Joe Fagundes 45 yards to the end zone for the game’s first TD (and longest play). Senior Jack Smith intercepted a pass moments later, setting up a second TD run by Mercier from 12 yards out (his 7th TD of the season).
“You can’t give a good team a short porch,” Beverly head coach Jeff Hutton said of the turnovers. “(Mercier) was the best athlete on the field. A guy like that makes you nervous because you can do everything right and he can still completely change the game. That’s what he did for them.”
Hutton pointed out that three keys to victory are the turnover battle (Peabody won, 2-1), big plays and missed tackles — and Beverly’s longest play of the game was only 19 yards.
“We never got fully on track,” said Hutton, whose squad saw a bad snap derail one drive and took two false starts on the final possession. “I’m proud of the effort; we didn’t quit down 14-0. We just need to find ways to be more consistent.”
Mercier finished with a team-best 61 yards rushing while completing 14-of-17 pass attempts for 79 yards. Beverly’s outside tackling was tremendous, keeping Tanner targets like Espinal (8 catches, 59 yards), Mark Mendonca and Smith (2 catches, 6 yards each) from getting yards after contact.
To open the second half, Peabody marched down to the Beverly 4-yard line, but couldn’t land a knockout punch. The Tanners wound up netting just 25 yards on their last three possessions after that, which contributed mightily to the late scare.
“We didn’t score in the second half. That’s unacceptable,” said Bettencourt, who came away pleased with the play of linebackers Stylz Bonaventure, Fagundes, Brian Collins Dixon and James Hooper. “Those guys made some great plays under pressure.”
The 73rd meeting between these NEC rivals saw Peabody win for the third straight time at Hurd Stadium. Oddly enough, the road team has come away victorious in seven of the last eight in the series.
Peabody 14, Beverly 7
at Hurd Stadium, Beverly
Peabody (4-0);0;14;0;0;14
Beverly (2-2);0;0;0;7;7
Scoring summary
P — Dominik Mercier 45 run (Jake Marcotullio kick)
P — Mercier 12 run (Marcotullio kick)
B — Sean Okhuozagbon 3 run (Tyler Singelais kick)
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Peabody — Dominik Mercier 17-61, Drake Dixon 9-20, Joe Fagundes 3-15, Nick Barbosa 2-6; Beverly — Sean Okhuozagbon 22-91, Charlie Frost 3-6, Logan Fialho 1-2, Tommy Collins 5-(-1); .
PASSING: Peabody — Mercier 14-17-79-0-0; Beverly — Collins 9-17-61-0-1.
RECEIVING: Peabody — Aniel Espinal 8-59, Jack Smith 2-6, Mark Mendonca 2-6, Brian Collins Dixon 1-6, Dixon 1-2; Beverly — Jordan Downey 3-23, Stephan Sullivan 2-22, Brody Lehmann 1-12, Frost 2-9, Okhuozagbon 1-(-5).