The good news is that the Winthrop High football team outplayed undefeated Peabody, the 12-ranked team in Massachusetts that had been averaged 32 point per game, in the first half, holding the high-scoring Tanners to a late touchdown.
But the not-so-good news is that Peabody took control in the second half, scoring 17 unanswered points on its way to a 24-7 victory over the Vikings last Thursday night at Miller Field.
So instead of five reporters seeking out Winthrop head coach Jon Cadigan after the game to talk about a momentous victory, a spectacular 93-yard yard by captain Robert Rich, and the Matt Noonan-to-Chris Cappuccio passing connection that accounted for 105 yards, they huddled around Peabody coach Mark Bettencourt for his immediate observations (see related story).
The Cadigan Contingent took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when Rich took a handoff on a trap play and raced 93 unimpeded yards for a touchdown.
“[Coach] Mark D’Ambrosio made a good call – they gave us a perfect look for that one play, and Robert just showed the kind of speed that he has,” said Cadigan. “He just pulled away and there was nobody even close. That’s the kind of element that Robert brings.”
Late in the first quarter, Noonan found Cappuccio in the middle of the field and the junior outran some Peabody defenders before Eli Batista tackled Cappuccio at the 3-yard line. The play went for 76 yards. However, Winthrop (3-3) fumbled on the next play and Peabody recovered it to deny Winthrop a potential 14-0 lead.
“That was a huge momentum swing,” said Cadigan. “Just a great play by Matthew and Nick to get us down near the goal line, and we just didn’t block our [running] play correctly, and the Peabody player made a good play. It was a big turning point, but it wasn’t the play that cost us the game or anything like that.”
Winthrop forced a punt on the Tanners’ next possession, but Peabody would eventually score a touchdown right before halftime on an 8-yard pass that was caught by Dorlyn Morel after the football was tipped by a teammate in the end zone.
Peabody’s Dominic Scalese, who is the grandson of former Revere High head football coach Mike Cella and the great-grandson of the late RHS Silvio Cella, booted a 36-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead. Peabody scored its final two touchdowns on pass plays, with Batista catching a 50-yarder to complete the scoring.
Cadigan saw some positives in the game as his team prepares for a visit from Salem (6-0) Friday at Miller Field.
“I think I have a very good football team, but we are still searching to play four quarters of football,” said Cadigan. “The Gloucester game withstanding (a 35-0 win), we’re still searching to play a full game, and we’re running out of time to play a four-quarter game. We have a big game Friday with another undefeated team coming in.”
Phil Boncore Named Vikings’ Defensive Player of the Game
Junior linebacker Phil Boncore earned the Vikings’ Black Shirt Defensive Player of the Game recognition. Boncore had 11 tackles.
Mark Johnson and Donovan Cassidy each made seven tackles. Alessio Marcoccio made four tackles and recovered a fumble. “Phil has been tremendous, flying around the field and making plays, and just competing,” said Cadigan.