RallyNorth.net

Playing football at the college level never really crossed the minds of Beverly High teammates Brian Kureta and Greg Pierce.

That is, until they were both preparing for their senior years.

Both have chosen to continue their careers at the Division 3 college level, with Kureta heading off to powerful Curry College while Pierce will ply his trade at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.

SALEM | They were so enthusiastic talking about the films they watched that you have thought the members of the Beverly High football team were referring to such modern teenage staples as "Knocked Up", "Wedding Crashers" or the instant classic, "Superbad".

SALEM -- Irony smiled down upon the Beverly Panthers late yesterday morning.

How else will you be able to explain the biggest play of the 109th meeting between the Beverly and Salem football teams to folks 10, 20, even 50 years from now?

Nothing to play for?

You say there's nothing to play for?

You obviously have no clue what the Beverly vs. Salem football rivalry is all about.

Take the records | both the visiting Panthers and host Witches enter tomorrow's game with identical 5-5 marks | and toss them aside. Literally.

Salem High School football player, Chris Al-Nabulsi hands a Salem High t-shirt to Beverly High School football player, Greg Pierce. The two schools met on Veterans Memorial Bridge for the 24th-annual Bridging the Gap Ceremony. In the middle is Beverly High player, David Patnaude.

Beverly High sophomore linebacker Nick Kozlowski lets his performance do the talking on the football field.

Otherwise, his silence is deafening.

"Yeah, Nick is a man of few words," Beverly head coach Dan Bauer says with obvious amusement. "We had him out there with our younger group taking every snap in 90-degree heat against Wakefield in the preseason | and he didn't say 'boo'."

Where: Bertram Field

Date: Thursday, Nov. 22

Time: 10 a.m.

Coaches: Dan Bauer, Beverly; Scott Connolly, Salem.

Captains: Beverly: Liam Blodgett, Sr. OG/DE, Greg Pierce, Sr. RB/DB; Salem: Chris Al-Nabulsi, Sr. FB/LB, Taylor Charlton, Sr. HB/DB, Matt Paine, Sr. WR/DB, Garrett Cauley, Sr. OG/DT.

BEVERLY | Fans at Hurd Stadium on an overcast, chilly Saturday afternoon in November got to see the future of Northeastern Conference football.

His name is Chris Beranger.

A junior halfback for the Winthrop High football team, Beranger had a career game here Saturday, scoring four touchdowns as the Vikings guaranteed themselves a winning season with a 34-21 triumph over the Panthers.

When Beverly's superb running back, Pat Bailey, graduated last spring and moved on to Tufts, it was thought that his school rushing record of 1,498 yards in 2006 would be safe for a while.

But it's not. Bailey's understudy from last season, Greg Pierce, already has 1,379 yards with two games remaining. Pierce gashed Swampscott for 156 yards on 19 carries last weekend. At that rate, he'd break Bailey's record against Winthrop at home tomorrow.

Beverly's Greg Pierce owned the first 12 minutes of yesterday's Northeastern Conference Small football showdown between his Panthers and host Swampscott at Blocksidge Field.

The final 34 minutes, however, belonged to Big Blue quarterback Peter Kinchley.