RHS Football Team Falls to Malden, 29-0

Turnovers and injuries continued to bedevil the Revere High football team for the second week in a row as the Patriots dropped a 29-0 decision to Malden Friday evening under the lights at Harry Della Russo Stadium.

“We have a lot of young players who have been called upon to step in because of injuries,” said RHS head coach Lou Cicatelli. “We have a lot of work to do in a hurry to improve on our level of play, or it’s going to be a long season.”

The contest was not as one-sided as the final score might indicate. Malden held a slim 7-0 lead at the half thanks to a broken play that resulted in a 25 yard touchdown run. Otherwise, the hometown fans were treated to some staunch defense by their Patriots, who on two occasions stuffed Malden on fourth down plays to turn the ball back to Revere.

“I was pleased with our overall defensive effort,” said Cicatelli, who noted in particular the fine play of senior linebacker Duche Donovan and junior Kaleb Silva.

However, the Patriot offense never was quite able to shift into gear. Whenever the Pats managed to get something going, turnovers in the form of fumbles stymied their efforts. A Revere drive at the start of the second half came to a halt thanks to a lost fumble at the Malden 45 and the visiting Golden Tornadoes gathered the momentum from there to  take control of the contest.

“Turnovers have been a big factor in both of our losses. Whenever our offense gets something going, we give the ball away” said Cicatelli, who found a bright spot in the fine rushing of Silva, who gained 70 yards against Malden, with most of his pickups coming on hard running between the tackles.

This Friday brings arch-rival Winthrop (don’t worry, it’s not Thanksgiving yet) to town for another Friday Night Lights affair at HDR. One of the quirks of the new MIAA playoff set-up is that many of the traditional schoolboy archrivals have to play each other twice in a season because the determination of who gets into the playoffs must be made by early November, based on a school’s record in its first six or seven games.

So if traditional Thanksgiving rivals are in the same division for playoff purposes, it means they will have to play each other twice because of the new MIAA format.  Thus Revere also will meet Winthrop on Thanksgiving Day.

It’s all very complicated and confusing — just know that if you’re a Patriot football fan, Harry DR Stadium is the place to be Friday evening at 7:00.

Volleyball team runs record to perfect 5-0

The streaking Revere High volleyball team improved its record to a perfect 5-0 with a pair of impressive victories this past week, defeating Northeastern Conference rivals Beverly, 3-1, and Danvers, 3-0.

Lady Patriots’ head coach Jamie Imbracsio had anticipated that the match at Beverly would prove to be her team’s toughest contest of the young season, but her squad handled the Lady Panthers with aplomb. After winning the first game easily (25-13), but then dropping the second by an equally-decisive margin (25-15), the Lady Patriots rallied to take the next two games, 25-17 and 25-23, to claim the match.

“Beverly was the best opponent we’ve met thus far this year, but the girls really pulled together as a team after Beverly tied us at 1-1 and were determined to beat them,” said Imbracsio, who is in her first year at the helm of the RHS varsity squad.

Among the leaders in the statistical categories for Revere were senior captain Shannon Spillane, who served three aces and made nine digs; Rachael DeSantis, who dished out nine assists to her teammates; and Raela O’Donnell, who was credited with seven assists on the day.

The Lady Patriots had little trouble dispatching with their next opponent, at Danvers, in straight games, 25-16, 25-10, and 25-15.  Senior captain Natalie Colon-Martins was immense up front with five kills and eight assists. O’Donnell came through with another strong effort with six kills and eight assists. Helen Davis also made a significant contribution to the winning effort with eight assists.

“The Danvers win was another total team effort,” said Imbracsio. “We extended the rallies and found a way to win the points.”

Imbracsio and her crew have a full schedule on tap for this week. They were set to host Lynn Classical Monday and trek to Peabody today (Wednesday) for what shapes up as a big Northeastern Conference encounter. They host Lynn English Friday and then travel to Winthrop Monday and to non-league foe Bedford next Wednesday.

RHS field hockey team triumphs again, nips Malden

The Revere High field hockey team earned its second win of the season with a dramatic 1-0 triumph over Malden Monday. As was the case in the Lady Patriots’ first victory (in which Revere broke a 2-2 deadlock in the final moments), the “W” over Malden came about in equally exhilarating fashion. Revere had controlled the contest from the opening whistle, peppering the Malden goal with 20 shots throughout the game, but had been unable to make a dent in the enemy backboard.

However, the final, frantic minute saw the Revere girls apply intense pressure in the Malden circle. With the seconds ticking away, Revere captain Logan DiCarlo appeared to put a shot on goal which was deflected away by the Malden goalie. However, senior forward Michaela Elliott was in the right spot at the right time to put home the rebound with just 40 ticks left on the clock.

“The girls played a great game,” said RHS head coach Erin Parker. “We had the better of the play all the way, but could not put it past their goalie until the very end.”

In addition to Elliott, who notched her second goal of the season, Parker lauded the performances of  DiCarlo and Noelle MacDonald. “Logan is our center back, but she is involved in a lot of our offense. She was everywhere for us,” said the coach. “Noelle played at forward last year, but we needed her to play at center midfield this season and she’s done a great job.”

Although the Lady Patriots came out on the short end of  a 2-1 decision to Marblehead two days earlier, Parker was effusive in her praise of her squad. “Marblehead traditionally has one of the strongest programs in the Northeastern Conference,” said Parker. “Last year they beat us rather easily in the range of 5-0, so for us to play them so closely this year is an indication of how much we have improved. This game was a big step forward for our program.”

Junior Jasmina Zelkanovic notched the Revere tally. Parker noted the fine play of senior defenseman Jennifer Martinez. “Jennifer played a great game for us,” said Parker. “She has shown a lot of improvement since last year and has done an excellent job of moving the ball upfield for us.”

Parker and her squad will embark on a busy stretch, starting with a home encounter today (Wednesday) against Swampscott. The Lady Pats will travel to Peabody Friday and host Gloucester Tuesday.

RHS boys soccer tops two NEC foes

The Revere High boys soccer team earned a pair of victories against Northeastern Conference rivals this past week, edging Lynn Classical 2-1 and routing Salem, 4-0.

“The team played very well in both games,” said first year RHS head coach Abdel Rhazi. “We controlled the play against both of our opponents and our victories were well-deserved.”

Saad Elkhain and Tarik Maddrey scored the goals for the Pats in the win over Classical on the local field. The final score of  2-1 was not indicative of Revere’s dominance, as the Patriots controlled the play throughout the contest and almost reached the back of the Classical net on a couple of other occasions, only to hit the post.

Rhazi also cited the fine defensive work of Adrian Perez and Younes Hartout, who were assigned the task of marking Classical’s leading scorer.  “Our defense did an overall great job. Adrian and Younes in particular shut down their primary goal scorer,” added Rhazi.

Thursday’s shutout triumph at Salem saw the Patriots sprint to a 4-0 lead in the first half and never be seriously threatened after that.

“I think we let up a bit in the second half when we had the big lead,” said Rhazi. “But we counterattacked well and made some nice runs.”

Maddrey beat the Salem keeper for two goals. Teammates Rubens Soares and Galo also scored for Revere.

Rhazi and his crew have a busy week on tap as they enter the heart of their schedule. They were set to host Beverly this past Monday; travel to Lynn English today (Wednesday); entertain Marblehead Friday; and make the short trip to Chelsea Monday.

Young RHS boys cross country team improving

Although the Revere High boys cross country team came out on the short end against both opponents in a season-opening tri-meet with Beverly and Lynn English, RHS head coach Mike Flynn saw a reason for optimism in his team’s performance.

“We have a lot of new and young members of the team, but overall we ran very well for our first meet of the season,” said Flynn of his team’s

performance in which they fell to Beverly, 17-44 and were nipped by English by the narrowest of margins, 27-29. “We would have beaten English, but our third runner took a wrong turn on the Beverly course (which is not uncommon on that 2.96 mile run) which proved decisive in the final scoring.”

Leading the way for the Patriots was senior captain John DelloRusso, who was the first Patriot to cross the line in 18:46. “John ran a really gutsy race for us because he was sick,” noted Flynn. “He’s been a great leader  for our younger team members and this was another example of that.”

Fellow captain Jay Mistri was the next Revere runner to come home, clocking in at 19:26. “Jay ran a really strong race,” lauded Flynn. “He beat some English runners who had beaten him a year ago.”

Freshman Sebastian Mejia  was the third Patriot to come home in a time of 21:47. “This was Sebastian’s first-ever cross country race and he was very impressive,” said Flynn. “He finished in 14th place out of 34 runners.”

Sophomore Chris Genty was next for Revere in 21:50, followed by junior John Simonini (in his first cross country race) in 24:31, David Landeta in 25:10, John Erazo in 25:53, Dominic Giangregorio in 26:22, and freshman Vinicio Baez (who just joined the team two weeks ago) in 26:27.

“We’re really looking forward to the rest of the season,” added Flynn. “We know we’ll get faster and it will be fun to see how much we improve.”

The Patriots were set to trek to the far north of the NEC to Gloucester yesterday (Tuesday) in a rare meeting between the schools in the sport of cross country and then will journey to Lynn Classical this coming Tuesday.

Girls cross country team tops English

The Revere High girls cross country team ran against Beverly and Lynn English on Wednesday in a tri-meet at Beverly. The Lady Patriots came out on the short end of a 15-50 decision to Beverly, but took the measure of Lynn English by an identical 15-50 tally.

“Beverly once again had a very strong team,” said RHS head coach Katie Sinnott. “Their course is a challenge and they have a large core of talented runners.  For much of my team, this was their first cross country race and for a handful, their longest race ever (as they ran the shorter races of middle school cross country or indoor/outdoor track).  For all, it gives them a good starting point and leaves plenty of opportunities for improvement.”

Leading the way for the Lady Patriots was their ace captain, senior Nikki Nelson, who was seventh overall in the tri-meet in a time of 21:55 over the 2.96 mile course. “Nikki is running better than ever and I am really excited to see what she can do this year,” noted Sinnott.

Nelson was followed by teammates Hayley Mangino (18th overall in 25:17), Vanessa Puopolo (20th overall in 25:26), Jaclynne Dion  (21st overall in 25:27),  Taylor O’Neil (27th overall in 27:13), Suellen Guerreiro  (28th overall in 27:10), Nicole Paddock  (29th overall in 27:14),

Joanna Severino Perez  (35th overall in 33:23), Jessica Ventura  (36th overall in 34:48), Catherine Monroy  (37th overall in 34:49), Evelyn Bonilla (38th overall in 35:48), Megan Erwin  (39th overall in 36:10), Lani Stevens  (40th overall in 37:16), Michele Vargas  (41st overall in 37:24), Vivian Vo (42nd overall in 37:25), Alyssa Silveira  (44th overall in 39:36),  Rajaa Belhaouari (45th overall in 44:50), Emily Brawley (46th overall in 44:51), and Kasey Sierra  (47th overall in 44:52).

“Hayley and Jaclynne have started the season strong and will push each other to excel,” said Sinnott. “Newcomers Taylor O’Neil,  a senior, Suellen Guerreiro, a sophomore, Vanessa Puopolo,  a freshman, and Nicole Paddock, another freshmen, bring some much needed depth to the team.”

Sinnott and her crew were set to take on Beverly yesterday (Tuesday) and will run at Lynn Classical next Tuesday.

RHS golf team faces tough challenges

Although the Revere High golf team still is searching for its first “W” of the season, coach Matt Nazzaro’s crew has posted some fine individual efforts thus far this season.

In a match held last Thursday at Peabody’s home turf at the Meadows (the match originally had been scheduled for Revere’s home course at Cedar Glen, but it was unavailable), two Patriots topped their Peabody rivals. “Our team had difficulty on such a difficult, unfamiliar course,” noted Nazzaro. “But we still had two golfers win their matches.”

Max Anderson triumphed in his match by a score of 5.5-3.5 over his Peabody counterpart. “Max has been a pleasant surprise for us,” said Nazzaro. “He came out for the team this year as a sophomore and has been our number one contributor thus far this season.”

Senior Jeff Kingston, playing in the number seven slot, also topped his Peabody rival by a score of 5.5-3.5. Freshman Chris Andersen made a nice contribution to the Revere scorebook with 3.5 points on the day at the No. 8 spot.

Two days earlier the Patriots hosted Beverly at Cedar Glen. “Beverly is a very talented team and kept us in check,” said Nazzaro. “Although we were not able to win a match,  the team put in a solid effort.”

Anderson was Revere’s  highest scorer with 3.5 points at No. 3. Jay Seigal and David Sinatra made fine contributions to the Revere cause with three points each at the Nos. 5 and 6 spots.

In earlier matches this season, a number of Patriots provided some iron for Revere. In a match with Malden Catholic, freshman David Sinatra won his contest, 5-4. Junior Julie Sinatra battled her MC opponent fiercely to win four points, as did Deukmejian. In a prior match at Peabody, senior Alejandro Rojas achieved the rare feat of shutting out his opponent by a score of 9-0.

In a 46.5-25.5 loss to Lynn English at the Gannon Country Club,  top performers for Nazzaro’s crew were  Kingston (senior), who won his match 6-3;  Deukmejian, who triumphed  5-4; and Anderson, who halved his match, 4.5-4.5.

The Patriots are headed northward to Bass Rocks to face Gloucester today (Wednesday).

Lady Patriot soccer team hosts English tonight

The Revere High girls soccer team will host Lynn English this evening (Wednesday). Kick-off time is 6:00 for the varsity encounter.

Although the Lady Patriots dropped their three matches this week to Northeastern Conference foes Salem and Beverly and to non-league rival Weston, Revere head coach Megan O’Donnell saw some bright sports in her team’s performances.

“We played a great second half in the Weston game and Rim Ieranar scored her first high school goal,” said O’Donnell. “In the contest with Beverly,  we got some fine play in the second half from  Olivia King, Tori Coots, Brenda Rudecindo, and Jade Aguilar.  Cassandra DiBella has been the backbone of the team, along with Marisa Verruto, Danielle Fortuna, and Paola Ortez.”

After tonight’s encounter, the Lady Patriots journey to Marblehead Friday.

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