To paraphrase Julius Caesar, the Revere High football team came, saw, and conquered their counterparts from Peabody, 42-24, on a crisp night for football under the lights at Peabody Friday night.
Although the battle was of the back-and-forth nature in the early going, the contest was not nearly as close as the final outcome, an 18 point difference, might indicate. The Patriots never trailed and, after shaking off a tight start, built a 28-12 advantage at the half which ballooned into a 42-12 bulge by the end of the third period.
“Peabody was a our first league game and we had been focusing on it for two weeks,” said RHS head coach Lou Cicatelli, whose team had a bye the week before. “We were looking forward to it and we came to play.”
The first period was The Bobby Rose Show for the Patriots, as the speedster scored two touchdowns, both of the spectacular variety. The first came on a 40 yard scamper from scrimmage off a pitch out from quarterback Joe Ritchie in which Rose turned the corner and blasted through a hole to paydirt.
The second came on an 80 yard kickoff return after Peabody had narrowed the gap to 7-6 (after a short touchdown drive that had been set up by a Revere fumble). “Bobby had a great game,” said Cicatelli. “He had almost 200 all purpose yards. His kick off return answered their touchdown right away and kept them from establishing the early momentum.’
Although Peabody soon put together its best drive of the night (which was aided by a facemask call against the Pats) to once again pull within a point, 13-12, to start the second quarter, Revere responded in devastating fashion before the arrival of the intermission. Tom Portrait, whom Cicatelli noted “had a monster game,” scored the first of his two TDs with a 40 yard jaunt into the endzone.
Then, with Revere taking over at its own 30 with about two minutes left in the half, Ritchie expertly directed a drive that culminated with a beautiful 30 yard toss to Kyle Gotham on a slant pattern with only seconds left on the clock.
“That touchdown put us in the driver’s seat going into the locker room,” said Cicatelli.
The Patriots added to their bulge in the third quarter with two more forays into the Peabody endzone. Portrait galloped 35 yards for his second score of the evening (Tom also scored on a two point conversion in the first half to give him 16 points on the night) and Ritchie showed why he is a true double threat when the speedy quarterback took off on a ramble that covered 38 yards. By the time the third period ended, the scoreboard showed Revere firmly in control, 42-12. Jeff Simbert converted the PAT on both of those TDs, giving him four in five attempts on the night.
And if the Revere offensive firepower were not enough, the Revere defense made sure that Peabody had no chance of getting back into the contest. “We made some adjustments at the half and shut down the things that had worked for them in the first half,” said Cicatelli, who noted that his first team defense has allowed only one touchdown in the second half of their five games to date. Both of Peabody’s fourth period scores came against the Patriot reserves.
Revere was playing without the services of four starters on defense, two of whom, lineman/backer Conlen Adjindah and defensive back Colin McCarthy, are out for the season with a broken foot and fractured collarbone respectively.
“What was really impressive about our defensive effort was how some of our guys stepped up to fill in for the players who are out,” said Cicatelli. Among the defensive standouts lauded by the coach were linebacker Steve Piazza, who had eight tackles; two way lineman Marvin Rios, who had five tackles on the D line and who led the way for many of Revere’s big gainers on the O line; junior Brian McNitt at cornerback, who had five tackles; junior defensive tackle Mike Debay; and junior defensive tackle Deche Romeus.
The Patriots, who now stand at 4-1 on the season and 1-0 in Division 1 of the Cape Ann League/Northeastern Conference, will entertain a strong Lynn English team (4-2) under the lights Friday evening at Harry Della Russo Stadium. English is led by tailback Isaiah Davis, who scored three touchdowns and rushed for 225 yards in the Bulldogs’ 23-12 win over Salem this past Friday.
“English is a good team and has a lot of size,” said Cicatelli. “But if we can use our quickness and speed to get penetration on them, we should be able to neutralize their size advantage.”
The teams have played two teams in common. Both defeated Swampscott, but Revere fell to Salem, 20-6, in a contest that was a tie game with 4:30 to go.
Kickoff time is 7:00.
Boys cross country team runs past Salem
The Revere High boys cross country team made the journey to Salem’s new Winter Island cross country course a fruitful endeavor, coming home with a 20-41 triumph. Coach Mike Flynn’s Patriots were led by Kristi Nushi, who took second place in a time of 18:38 over the 2.94 mile course that features a varied terrain with elevation, including a beach run and a sharp and rocky downhill section.
Nushi was followed by teammates Rawlings Toglon (19:09), Karim Sahila (19:09), John Della Russo (19:18), and William Truong (20:10) in places three through six to clinch the victory.
Also running for the Patriots were Derek Fortuna (29:41), Mohamed Bensadok (21:15), Jay Mistri (21:33), Chris Genty (25:15), Dom DeGregorio (29:52), and Carl Bendeck (30:14).
“Everybody ran a solid race,” said Flynn. “All in all, this has been a very strong season for us,”added the coach. “Everyone has worked hard and improved considerably over last year.”
The Patriots were set to close out their dual meet season yesterday (Tuesday) at perennial power Peabody and then will set their sights on the Northeastern Conference League Meet which is set for Saturday, October 27, at Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield.
Girls cross country squad defeats Salem
The Revere High girls cross country team featured strong performances from many of its team members to earn an 18-47 victor at Salem last week on Salem’s new course at Winter Island that challenged the Lady Patriots over an ever-changing terrain that included narrow paths, multiple loops, steep down hills, and a beach section, not to mention a chilly rain off the ocean.
“Many of the girls enjoyed these challenges and a few even enjoyed the rain,” said RHS coach Katie Sinnott. “Alanna Pasco had a breakout day. Alanna ran very well and placed second overall. She was, as expected, very excited. I am pleased to see the improvements in her running.
“Freshman Jessica Ventura also ran very well,” added the coach. “Though the rain obscured her glasses, she smiled the whole way through.”
Nikki Nelson once again led Revere, coming in first overall in a time of 22:49. Pasco came next in second place in 24:53. Caitlyn Caramello grabbed third in 25:02, followed by Trisha Cheever in fifth in 26:09 and Hayley Mangino in seventh in 26:09 to complete the Revere scoring.
Other Lady Patriots who competed in the race were Jaclynne Dion in 26:23; Maggie DiPlatzi in 26:48; Ghizlane Benzerdjeb in 30:53; Jessica Ventura in 32:11; Alessandra Sabella in 33:06;
Rayana Benzahora in 34:03; Evelyn Bonilla in 36:01; Michelle Vargas in 37:46; Catherine Monroy in 37:48; Dakota DeLuca in 38:51; Ashley Goodwin in 38:51; Meloee Nazaire in 38:51; and Francesca DeRosa in 39:48.
Sinnott and her Lady Patriots were scheduled to have their last dual meet race yesterday (Tuesday) against the perennially strong Peabody team.
Boys soccer team tops Swampscott, Winthrop
The surging Revere High boys soccer team won both of its contests this past week, edging Swampscott, 1-0, and then cruising past Winthrop, 6-0.
The Patriots have won four of their last five games and now stand at 4-8-1 on the season, which gives them a chance at qualifying for a state tournament berth. However, it will be a tall order, as the Patriots must win at least four of their final five contests and can afford to tie only one in order to attain the .500 record that is necessary to punch their ticket for a Journey to the Tourney.
“The team has shown a lot of improvement in the past few weeks,” said RHS head coach Nik Tower. “We know we can beat anybody in the league if we play up to our potential. We’re going to take it one game at a time and give it our best shot.”
Tarik Maddrey, who has been an offensive whirlwind since being moved into the field after playing as the Patriot keeper, scored the winning goal against Swampscott. Revere controlled the pace of the contest and had numerous chances to widen the gap, but could not reach the back of the Swampscott net save for Maddrey’s marker.
The Patriots had no such problem a few days later against Winthrop, ringing in six tallies against the Vikings. Galo Espinosa got the ball rolling Revere’s way with a score in the opening three minutes and the Pats cruised from there. Chris Santos scored twice, with teammates Quais Ghulam, Frank Guzman, and Abel Alcantar also reaching the back of the Winthrop net.
Tower and his crew were set to begin their quest for a tourney spot at Peabody yesterday (Tuesday). They will host Lynn Classical tomorrow, travel to Salem Monday, and entertain Beverly next Wednesday.
RHS soccer girls beat Malden, tie Winthrop
The Revere High girls soccer team broke a 0-0 deadlock with two goals in the second half to come away with a 2-0 win over former Greater Boston League rival Malden last week. Both tallies came off the foot of Paolo Ortiz. Ortiz dribbled past two Malden defenders and let go a low blast to the corner from just outside the 18 yard line for the first marker and then drilled a penalty kick for an insurance goal.
In the 1-1 tie with Winthrop on Friday, Jackie Noel reached the back of the Winthrop net as she and teammate Taylor Fiore rushed the Winthrop goal in pursuit of a crossing pass from Cassandra DiBella, who earned an assist on the play.
The Lady Patriots, who trailed 1-0 at the half, dominated play after the intermission, but could not notch the game-winner after Noel’s equalizer.
The Lady Patriots’ lone setback of the week came via a 4-2 decision to Swampscott Monday. Ortiz once again was the leading figure on offense, scoring both of the Revere markers, including a nice direct kick that beat the Swampscott keeper. Revere held a 1-0 advantage at the half, but the Lady Big Blue scored in a flurry after the intermission to pull away for the victory.
“The team is playing extremely well,” said RHS head coach Natalie Lyons, whose squad now stands at 4-8-1 on the season. “Ths is a great group of girls who give 100 percent on the field all the time.”
The Lady Patriots, who still have an outside shot at a state tourney berth if they can take nine points in their final five games, were set to host Peabody yesterday (Tuesday), play under the lights tomorrow at Lynn Classical’s Manning Field, and entertain Salem Monday. They will journey to Beverly next Wednesday and then return home next Friday (October 26) for Senior Night festivities against Lynn English.
RHS golf team completes season
The Revere High golf team wrapped up its 2012 regular season with a pair of matches against Beverly and Winthrop. The Patriots came out on the short end of a 44.5-27.5 decision to Beverly last Tuesday on the Pats’ home course at Cedar Glen.
Standouts for Coach Matt Nazzaro’s squad were Mark Maloney, who defeated his opponent in the No. 2 spot, 5.5-3.5, and T.J. MacDonald, who defeated his Beverly rival at No. 6, 6-3.
In a 41-31 loss to Winthrop, also at Cedar Glen, Gennaro Cataldo was the lone Patriot victor, edging his Winthrop counterpart, 5-4. Maloney and MacDonald also played well, halving their matches, 4.5-4.5.
The outcome of those contests left the Pats with a final record of 5-9. “We didn’t finish the season as well as we had hoped,” said Nazzaro. “Even though it was the best record for a Revere golf team in over 10 years, it was short of our team goal to make it to the state tournament.”
Nazzaro will be losing his two top golfers, John Cimmaruta and Mark Maloney, as well as key seniors T.J. MacDonald and John Papasodora to graduation.
“But we have a core of juniors who are going to have to work hard in the off season if we want to be as competitive as this year and there is a solid group of sophomores and freshman from our JV program who will be rounding out the varsity,” added Nazzaro.
The Patriots will compete tomorrow (Thursday) in the Northeastern Conference Open at the Kernwood in Salem to which each NEC school will send its top two players.
In addition, the Pats had two players who performed well enough to qualify for the Division 1 MIAA state tournament on November 7th at Bradford C.C. However, because of the size of the event, teams that do not qualify for the state tournament can only bring one player.
Nazzaro will send Cimmaruta to the states, “since he played at the number one spot all season and consistently challenged the best players from every other city in the NEC, never losing by more than three points and finishing with a respectable 4-5-1 conference record,” said the coach.
“Mark Maloney finished with a strong 7-2-1 conference record in the number two spot and will be a shoo-in as an NEC all-star,” added Nazzaro.
Field hockey team ties Malden, 0-0
The Revere High field hockey team tied Malden, 0-0, and dropped contests to Gloucester (2-0) and Salem (1-0) last week.
“Gloucester beat us the first time 5-1, so I consider that an improvement,” said RHS head coach Erin Parker. “Janice DeStefano played her first varsity game and sparked the offense with her strong hits.”
The Lady Patriots’ outcome with Salem was a heart breaker, with Salem scoring the winning goal in the final minute. “Stephanie Gregorio played her best game of the year for us at forward,” Parker noted.
Revere dominated the encounter with Malden, recording 25 shots, but could not dent the Malden goal. “Angela Curtis saw a lot of action against Malden and was an offense force for us,” said Parker.
The Lady Patriots were scheduled to play Beverly yesterday (Tuesday) and at Danvers tomorrow. The will host Marblehead Monday.
