The Tanners took a commanding 39-11 lead at the end of the first half and never looked back, defeating Westford Academy 53-32 at Trustees Field on Friday. Peabody Head Coach Mark Bettencourt was impressed with the focus his team showed.
“We came off the bus dialed in and really knew what we wanted to do once we took the field tonight,” Bettencourt said. “We have an offense that once we get going, we become difficult to stop, and that happened tonight.”
Tanners quarterback Shea Lynch led the way, as he finished the game with seven touchdown passes. Three of those touchdowns went to Colin Ridley, two went to Eli Batista and the other two found Alan Paulino. If Westford was going to pull off a miraculous comeback, that all ended at the beginning of the third quarter when Paulino intercepted Westford and took it back 105 yards for a touchdown.
“Our defense played well tonight, as Westford is a very talented offensive team,” Bettencourt said. “Our defense had three possessions where we stopped Westford’s offense in the red zone, which was the difference in the game.”
Peabody middle linebacker Jimmy Festa had a strong performance, including an interception. The Tanners are now 9-1 and will next take on Saugus on Thanksgiving.
