A Perfect Way to Celebrate the Holidays

Girls basketball team wins Fenwick tourney, improves record  to 6-0

The Revere High girls basketball team captured the Bishop Fenwick Christmas Tournament with a pair of impressive wins last week. The twin victories also raised the Lady Patriots’ record to a perfect 6-0 on the season.

Revere met Londonderry, N.H. in the opening round of the tourney on Tuesday after the game had been postponed from its original Monday start because of the blizzard. Londonderry is ranked third among New Hampshire high schools and features a tall team that clearly outsized the Lady Pats at all positions.

The contest proved to be the toughest test yet for Coach Diana DeCristoforo’s charges, who had won their first four contests against their Northeastern Conference opponents by an average of 30 points per game.

Londonderry pressed Revere the entire game and utilized a box and one on RHS star Morgan Jenkins in its half court defense. By the start of the fourth quarter, Londonderry held a three-point lead.

However, the Lady Patriots dug deep and soon turned the momentum in their favor. They began to break the Londonderry press, which in turn led to fast break opportunities. But unlike earlier in the game when the Lady Pats were having trouble finishing their scoring chances, they made the most of them when it counted in crunch time.

Revere also hit some clutch free throws down the stretch to come away with a hard fought 57-52 triumph. Despite the extra attention from Londonderry, Jenkins still managed to hit for 16 points and pulled down an amazing 25 rebounds. Gena Restiano was high scorer with 17 points and Ashley DiFraia added nine.

The win catapulted Revere into the championship game the following night against the host Bishop Fenwick team, which had defeated Cambridge. Once again DeCristoforo’s crew found themselves in a nip and tuck struggle into the start of the fourth period that saw Fenwick holding a two-point edge as the quarter got underway.

However, in a case of deja vu all over again, the Revere girls refused to buckle under difficult circumstances. They stepped up their defensive game to the next level and soon began to take control. A three pointer by Gena Restiano at the start of the final frame also played a key role in changing the momentum in Revere’s favor. By the time the smoke had cleared and the dust had settled, and the final buzzer sounded, the scoreboard showed a 64-51 advantage for the Lady Patriots.

Jenkins led the point parade with 18, while senior sparkplug Marissa Parent came through with a dynamite all around game for the Lady Patriots, scoring 17 points and dishing out six assists. DiFraia hit for 11 and Restiano chipped in with 10.

“We know that the other teams are going to key on Morgan, so it’s important that everyone else has to be prepared to step up,” said DeCristoforo. “We expect that anyone who is out on the floor will be capable of scoring.” Jenkins, by the way, is just 12 points shy of the 1000 point career mark.

“We needed to experience games like this,” continued the erudite DeCristoforo.  “We had to play a very physical game against a bigger Londonderry team. In both games we had to find a way to push the ball against pressure defenses in order to swing the momentum our way, while at the same time we had to get tough defensively ourselves.

“The girls have a great deal of confidence in themselves as a team and in each other. We’re growing and maturing and getting better all the time. As a team, we’re coming together,” added the coach.

The Lady Patriots were set to play Peabody last night (Tuesday). That will conclude the first half of their games against opponents from the NEC Large School Division. The girls then will begin their schedule against NEC Small School foes starting Friday when they will host Gloucester, a team which also was undefeated in the NEC as of press time. The Lady Pats then will hit the road to Saugus next Tuesday and to Medford on Wednesday.

Boys track team makes it three straight

The Revere High boys track team won its third meet in a row to remain perfect on the season with a runaway 76-10 triumph over Winthrop last Tuesday.

The Patriots won eight of the nine individual events and also claimed the 4 x 400 relay, although Winthrop did not field a foursome in that event.

Finishing in first place for the Patriots were Vito Licata with a shotput toss of 37-1.5; Paul Rizzo in the 55 meter hurdles in a time of 9.7; Joey Richie in the 55 dash in 7.2; Breny Guzman in the 300 meter dash in 41.3; Mike Fitzpatrick in he 600 in 1:34; Robert Rose in the 1000 in 3:04.4; Brahim Rahzi in the mile in 5:04.1; and Ernesto Bonilla in the two mile in 11:13.

Second place efforts were turned in by Vincent DiChiara in the high jump with a leap of 5-3; Armin Katadzic in the shotput with a heave of 35-9.75; Leonard Giraldo in the dash in 7.2; Devin Colon in the 300 in 41.7; Brian Collins in the 600 in 1:43.1; Mohamed Bensadok in the 1000 in 3:31.6; Anthony Cantone Heinz in the mile in 5:44.5; and Kristi Nushi in the two mile in 12:34.

Adding single points to the Revere scoring column with third place finishes were Rahzi with a high jump of 5-3; Abdul Hamadeh in the shotput with a throw of 34-10.5; DiChiara in the dash in 7.3; Johnny Lopes in the 300 in 42.5; Derek Fortuna in the 1000 in 3:42; John Dello Russo in the mile in 5:46.5; and John Carnabucci in the two mile in 15:17.

“3 and 0 is a very nice start to the season,” said RHS head coach Jack Mosko. “We’ve had 31 boys who have scored points, giving us depth and strength in every event.”

Mosko and his crew took on Peabody this past Monday and will host Beverly next Monday evening at the Merullo Fieldhouse at 6:30.

Track girls drop close meet to Winthrop

The Revere High girls track team dropped a close meet to Winthrop last Tuesday, 45-41. Four Lady Patriots won their individual events to put five points onto the Revere side of the scoresheet: Briana Scata captured the shotput with a toss of 26-4; Lindsay Gurska sped ot victory in the 55 meter hurdles in 10.3; Comfort Toglan won the 300 dash in 48.0; and Alanna Pasco topped the field in the 600 in 2:02.8.

The Lady Patriot 4 x 400 relay team of  Toglan, Pasco, Amel Derras-Chouk and Noelle MacDonald also took first place, nipping their Winthrop rival quartet by just 0.6 seconds in a time of 4:48.

Second place efforts, good for three points on the scoresheet, were turned in by Raychel Adreani in the 55 meter dash in 8.5; Derras-Chouk in the 300 in 50.3; Maggie DiPlatzi in the mile in 6:46.1; and Nikki Nelson in the two mile in 14:58.5.

Adding single points to the Revere total with third place finishes were DiPlatzi with a high jump of 4-2; Noelle Galli with a shotput heave of 24-4.5; and Kassandra Digitale in the 1000 in 3:56.1.

“We lost a heartbreaker that we could have won,” said RHS head coach Samnang Ros. “We knew going into the meet that it would be a tight meet, probably coming down to the relay, because the meet was on a vacation week and we had some of our top scorers missing.

“With the girls we had, our goal was to do our best to bring it to the relay,” Ros continued.  “If the meet was to be decided on the relay, our team had the better chance at winning.  Unfortunately we came up a few points shy.  If we had an extra 2nd place or a couple 3rd place finishes in any of the events, it could have come down to the relay which we did win.

“But our girls fought hard and performed well,” Ros added. “The biggest surprise of the meet came from first year runner, sophomore Alanna Pasco.  She ran a personal best time by six seconds in the 600 meter race to take an unexpected first place.  Alanna competed hard, taking the lead with two laps left and not letting it go.  Another first year runner, freshman Comfort Toglan, continues to show talent and improvements in the 300 meter race, running a personal best time by one second.  Amel Derras-Chouk showed her senior leadership and won the second heat of the 300 meter race.  Her time was fast enough to overtake the number one Winthrop runner and placed her second overall in the race.

“Another first year runner, sophomore Raychel Adreani, stepped up in the 55 meter dash with the absence of our senior sprinters.  Raychel ran a personal best time and took second to give us a needed three points,” Ros continued. “Senior Briana Scata continues to be our top shot putter taking first in the event.  She knew the meet was on the line and did what she could to give us a better chance.

“As has been the trend with this year’s team,  the young girls continue to contribute much needed points.  Sophomore Lindsay Gurska continues to improve in the hurdles.  Sophomore Maggie DiPlatzi gets better each day in the distance events.  Freshman Nikki Nelson continues to be a force in her young track career,” concluded the coach.

Ros and his team hosted Peabody this past Monday and will host Beverly this coming Monday.

RHS hockey team defeats Salem, 6-3

The Revere High hockey team improved to 3-0 in the Northeastern Conference with a 6-3 triumph at Salem Saturday evening.

Captain Joe Corbett and Marco Mazzarelli provided the offensive punch for Coach Jim Palumbo’s squad with two goals and an assist apiece. Peter Marino and Brandon Mastropietro also lit the lamp for the Patriots.

Marino put Revere on the board at 7:45 of the first period, assisted by R.J. Tiorano and Mazzarelli, but Salem responded four minutes later to deadlock matters at 1-1 at the end of the first period.

The teams then went on a scoring binge early in the second frame, with four goals in a span of 2:19 starting at 3:42 into the period. Fortunately three of the four came off the sticks of the Patriots: Corbett (assisted by Pat Bartol), Mastropietro (assisted by Corbett), and then Captain Joe again, assisted by Dale Paradise. Salem scored after Corbett’s first tally. The teams then settled down for the rest of the period with Revere holding a 4-2 lead at the second buzzer.

Salem made things interesting with a lamplighter at 2:06 of the third stanza to make it a 4-3 affair, but Mazzarelli, a freshman who had been playing defense this season until he was moved to forward with this game by Palumbo, gave Revere an insurance goal at 7:56, assisted by Tiorano and Martino. Marco then added some double insurance with an unassisted goal at 10:49.

“We moved Marco up from defense to forward in hopes of giving us some more offense, and obviously it worked,” said Palumbo afterwards.

Palumbo also praised the effort of his goalie, Jeff Redding, who played another solid game in nets, and Marino. “Peter has been our best defensive forward,” said the coach. “He does an outstanding job with his back checking and is up and down the ice.”

Saturday’s win was preceded by a tough 3-2 loss to Northeast Regional Vocational School last Wednesday. Revere held a 2-0 midway through the second period thanks to goals by Drew Lauria (unassisted) and Paradise (assisted by Lauria). But Voke chipped away at the lead with a marker before the end of the second frame, tied it midway through the third, and then scored a goal with a minute  to play to claim the victory.

Palumbo and his crew, who now stand at 3-2 overall on the season, took on Marblehead this past Monday and will travel to Beverly Saturday. They will host NEC power Peabody next Wednesday at Cronin at 6:30.

RHS boys hoop back in action

The RHS boys basketball team returned to action last night (Tuesday) after a break during the holiday, traveling to Peabody. Coach Rick Hayes and his crew make the long trek to Gloucester Friday and return home next Tuesday to face Saugus.

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