PEABODY — Gone are the shining superstars for coach Mark Bettencourt in Peabody but on Friday night at Coley Lee Field, his Tanners showed they are not ready to rebuild just yet.

The Tanners held Melrose scoreless for the final 36:28 of the season opener as they rattled off 27 unanswered points to cruise to a 34-13 win in front of a packed house.

“In years past, we’ve been able to wear teams down with our speed,” Bettencourt said. “This year we have to do it with size. That’s our advantage over a lot of the teams we’re going to see.”

It was a clinical effort over the last three quarters for the Tanner defense. The Red Raiders had touchdown drives of 67 and 55 yards to begin the game but gained only 49 yards the rest of the way.

That gave the experienced but new faces on the Peabody offense a chance to settle into the game.

Down 13-7 entering the second quarter, the Tanners got a touchdown from Gabe Santos to take the lead for good at 14-13.

The turning point came on the next Peabody drive as Melrose pinned them at the four to begin. The Tanners systematically worked from the shadow of its goalposts before hitting a big play when Luke Magliore (12-of-14, 151 yards) hit Tyler Rappold for a 46 yard gain to the Melrose 22.

Three plays later, Santos powered in from five yards out for his third touchdown of the evening and a 21-13 halftime lead.

With cramps becoming a problem on the Peabody sideline, including preventing Santos from carrying in the second half, it allowed the Tanners depth to take over on both sides of the ball.

Melrose turned it over early in the third quarter and Peabody took full advantage. Magliore made his best throw of the evening, firing a 20-yard bullet to Jayce Jean-Pierre for a touchdown and a two-score lead heading to the fourth.

Any hopes of a Melrose rally ended early in the fourth when Peabody’s constant pressure finally forced Jack Feeney (15-28-121) to make a mistake that Jean-Pierre turned into an interception.

The Tanners then went about bleeding the clock and leading on the Melrose defense with its huge offensive line. Peabody took six minutes to drive 58 yards with Caio Santos (16-77) putting the finishing touches on with a seven-yard plunge to make it 34-13.

“Those are two guys who paid their dues and had to wait their turn behind some pretty good backs,” Bettencourt said about the Santoses. “So you’re excited to see that work pay off.”