RallyNorth.net

English's big plays sink Peabody

Saturday, November, 10 By Matt Williams
Staff writer

Looking to deliver his head coach, Gary Molea, his 100th career victory last night, Lynn English's Charlie Rucker turned in the game of his life.

The junior receiver single-handedly outgained host Peabody High and hauled in touchdown passes of 67, 55 and 77 yards as the Bulldogs raced past the Tanners, 29-12, at chilly Coley Lee Field.

The loss leaves the Tanners 1-9 on the season, while Lynn English improved to 4-5 as Molea | who has been at English since 1990 | hit the century mark.

Each of Rucker's three big plays was devastating for Peabody. He sped behind the defense on the opening drive and repeated the feat twice in the final 1:37 of the first half to balloon a 7-6 edge into a 23-6 at the break.

"Take away the three bad coverage plays and it's a totally different ballgame," said first-year Peabody coach Dick Woodbury.

Peabody had its chances early, forcing three turnovers in the first half. But none of the them yielded points as the Tanners managed just 40 yards over the first two quarters. Their lone first half score came on a 45-yard interception return by Kevin Skop, who tipped a screen pass at the line, hauled it in and raced to paydirt.

In all, the Tanners managed just 141 total yards as the Bulldogs stacked eight men in the box defensively. Peabody's passing game couldn't open it up as quarterback Tom Ciulla was 2-of-12 for a net loss of 5 yards. By contrast, English racked up 322 total yards | 206 of them on Rucker's four catches.

"Our defense dominated," Molea said. "They had a little bit extra tonight and really shut down Peabody."

The Tanners showed some life on the first drive after the break as seven straight runs by Nick Hiou drove them from their own 20 to the Bulldogs' 41. But the drive stalled and English scored on the ensuing possession to put the game out of reach.

Co-captain Scott Diefenbach closed out the scoring with a 3-yard TD run in the final minute. He and his fellow seniors played their final game on Lee Field, leaving behind a 4-11 home record as the Tanners have now lost 16 of their last 18 games.

"It's a tough pill for them to swallow," said Woodbury. "They walked off knowing they gave it the best shot they could."