DANVERS— It would be easy to say the extra point that he blocked in the fourth quarter was the biggest play of the night from Owen Shanbar.
But the Danvers High senior captain did so much more than that.
Shanbar also ran for a game-high 146 yards, scored a pair of touchdowns, recovered a fumble and was stellar defensively in the secondary. Blocking that crucial PAT, however, was the obvious icing on top of the proverbial cake in the Falcons' 14-13 Northeastern Conference triumph over Beverly on a warm October evening at Deering Stadium.
"On the first TD they scored I got close (to blocking it), said the 17-year-old Shanbar, "and after they scored their second, I wanted to try and make a big play. I knew I could get there."
With a quick first step and one of his teammates helping make his path easier by putting down a Beverly blocker, Shanbar flew off the edge and cleanly blocked the point after, much to the elation of the home side.
"It's just a great shift in momentum," Shanbar, a track runner and fine student with a 3.8 GPA, added. "As soon as you get to (the ball), it's just a feeling of overwhelming joy."
"Great play by a great athlete," added Danvers coach Ryan Nolan, whose Falcons (now 2-3) snapped a three-game losing streak by capturing this 89th meeting between the two schools. Danvers ran for 212 yards out of their double wing formation, using inside power tosses time and time again.
It was a heartbreaking defeat for Beverly (1-4), which seemingly had moved the needle to their side of the pendulum after running back Gregory White (73 yards) crashed into the end zone from a yard out for his second touchdown of the evening. That made it a one-point game with 6:25 to play.
The Panthers held an edge in first downs (19-11) and time of possession (25:03 to 22:57) and had virtually the same amount of yardage (Danvers held a slight 238-233). But the Orange-and-Black hurt themselves with mistakes —both mental and physical — found themselves down 14 points in the second half, and ultimately fell to the Falcons for the third straight season and eighth time in the last 11 years (although they still hold a commanding all-time series edge, 59-28-2).
"I thought we matched up well, but you can't make mental mistakes," said head coach Jeff Hutton. "And we have no margin for error; we need to play a near-perfect game and hope the other team makes mistakes. The intensity and enthusiasm were there; we just have to finish."
"That 25 (Shanbar) broke some big runs," he added. "If we had a kid like that running our offense, we'd be great."
Nolan lauded not just Shanbar but fellow seniors such as captain Mike Albano for his communication skills; linebacker George Daaboul for turning in "an outstanding effort", captain Aidan Perry in the trenches, defensive lineman Mike Burke (one sack), senior San Lindeman (who picked off a Beverly pass late in the fourth quarter, ending their comeback bid) and kicker Connor Akerman (two PAT's), among others.
"We've got a bunch of young guys playing, but these (seniors) stepped it up," said Nolan. "We saw the leadership from them in practice this past week with urgency and communication, and it translated into the game."
Shanbar got his club on the board midway through the second quarter by capping off a 12-play, 64-yard drive with a 1-yard scoring run. He then took another inside toss and cut back right for a 57-yard third quarter gain, scoring two plays later from three yards out and a 14-0 lead.
That woke up the Panthers, who responded with a 12-play drive of their own that went 73 yards. Quarterback Danny Pierce found Ray Kwiatek for 17 yards and fellow captain Jake Consdine for 12 before White ("he ran his butt off tonight," said Hutton) followed the left tackle into the end zone from five yards out. The kick made it 14-7 late in the third quarter.
On their next series, starting at the DHS 18-yard line, the Panthers gained six first downs by churning out big play after big play. A 13-yard pass to Sean Costa, an 11-yarder to Xavier Auk on a screen, an 11-yard run from Jayden Santos, two more runs of 10 and nine yards, respectively, by Floyd White, and a 14-yard pass to Auk put the ball on the Falcons' 1-yard line, where Greg White barreled his way in.
Logan Gomes added a fumble recovery for Beverly, which plays at Marblehead (2-2) next Thursday at 7 p.m.
Danvers hits the road to face a strong Masconomet (4-1) squad in Boxford Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Danvers 14, Beverly 13
at Deering Stadium, Danvers
Beverly (1-4);0;0;7;6;13
Danvers (2-3);0;7;7;0;14
Scoring summary
D — Owen Shanbar 1 run (Connor Akerman kick)
D — Shanbar 3 run (Akerman kick)
B — Greg White 5 run (Maverick Genest kick)
B — White 1 run (kick blocked)
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Beverly— Greg White 14-73, Floyd White 5-32, Danny Pierce 3-11, Sean Costa 4-8, Jayden Santos 2-2, Xavier Auk 1-(-1);Danvers— Owen Shanbar 16-146, Kaio Borghardt 11-38, Nate Wise 8-28.
PASSING: Beverly— Pierce 13-17-108-0-1;Danvers— Wise 3-8-26-0-0.
RECEIVING: Beverly— Auk 3-25, Ray Kwiatek 1-17, Santos 3-15, G. White 1-14, Jack Consedine 1-12, Callan McCay 1-11, Costa 2-9, Liam Timpone 1-5;Danvers— Shanbar 2-22, Mike Albano 1-4.