Patriots open gridiron season with exciting win over Medford
The Revere High football team kicked off its 2014 season with an exciting 35-34 victory at Medford Friday night under the lights at Hormel Stadium.
“It was a great football game and a great way to start the season,” said RHS head coach Lou Cicatelli of the contest which saw his charges appear to have the game all wrapped up late in the fourth quarter, only to allow Medford to climb back into the contest in the final minutes and have a shot at a victory.
Senior running back and Patriot captain Kaleb Silva served notice on Revere’s forthcoming opponents that he will be a force to be reckoned with this season. Kaleb rushed for 159 yards and scored three touchdowns in a powerful performance. “Kaleb was superb,” said Cicateli. “There was nothing Medford could do to stop him.”
Silva’s third TD came in the final quarter on a 10 yard run to cap an 80-yard drive that had chewed up eight minutes on the clock and gave the Pats what appeared to be a comfortable 35-20 lead with about three minutes to play. But then the football gods decided to make some mischief for Cicatelli and his visiting Patriots.
The ensuing kickoff saw the Medford return man take the pigskin and rumble 90 yards to paydirt. The successful two point conversion closed the gap to 35-28. Medford then went for the inevitable onside kick and recovered the ball at midfield. The Revere defense appeared ready to take the ball over on downs, cornering Medford into a fourth-and-long situation, but a long pass that bounced off two Patriots and a Mustang before finally falling into the arms of another Medford player covered 54 yards and moved the ball deep into Revere territory, from where Medford went in for six points to make it a 35-34 contest with just over a minute to play.
The Medford coach, no doubt feeling his team was on a roll and that destiny was theirs, then tempted the fates and went for the victory with a two-point conversion try. However, Cicatelli’s defensive crew sniffed out the Mustang play and rose to the occasion, stuffing Medford on a sweep for a five yard loss. “We were fairly certain that they were going to give the ball to their tailback, who had been so effective all game, so we were ready for him,” said Cicatelli. “But give the defense all the credit. I was very proud of the way they responded in that situation. Medford had all of the momentum, but we knew what was at stake and they came through with a great effort to preserve the victory.”
The teams batted to a 14-14 standoff at the half, but the Patriots took control after the intermission from the outset and proceeded to build their 35-20 advantage. “We made some key adjustments at halftime and that proved to make a big difference,” said Cicatelli. “We knew we had to control the ball, because Medford has some very talented backs who could break the game open.”
The Patriot offense, with junior quarterback Dan Murphy at the helm, was forced to punt only once all afternoon. In addition to rushing for 60 yards, Murphy also passed for over 100 yards, providing some exclamation points to the Revere offense with a 40 yard TD pass to Jerome Berry in the first half and a 35 yard strike to Berry in the second half on a third and long that that kept a scoring drive alive. Junior James Furlong also earned the coach’s plaudits with his running (50 yards on the ground) that took the pressure off Silva.
Defensively, the Patriot defense overall played well, with junior outside linebacker
Boys soccer team beats Classical, English
The Revere High boys soccer team took the measure of their Northeastern Conference opponents from Lynn, Classical and English, with a pair of victories last week.
Sophomore Matt Diaz scored two goals and junior Devin Garcia reached the back of the Classical net once to provide the offense for the Patriots in a 3-0 victory. In the hard-fought 1-0 triumph over English, junior Gerald Lemus broke the deadlock with the lone goal of the contest with less than 20 minutes to play.
“We played very well in the Classical game,” said RHS head coach Abdel Rhazi. “We moved the ball around very well and that enabled us to control the game both in the defensive end and at midfield.”
The dual victories gave Revere a three game winning streak that began with a 3-2 win over Salem in which three Patriots, Diaz, freshman Rodhane Dare, and junior Mateo Cespedes (on a penalty kick) reached the back of the enemy net.
However, the Revere victory skein was snapped with a 2-0 loss to Peabody Monday afternoon on the local pitch. The contest was a controversial affair, with the refs not calling some obvious penalties — such as pulling on a Revere player’s jersey from behind and a takedown of a Patriot in the penalty area — on the Peabody squad.
“We had lots of chances, but could not take advantage of our opportunities,” noted Rhazi. “We kept the pressure in the Peabody half of the field for most of the game, but we made two costly mistakes on defense and they took advantage.”
The Patriots, who are led by senior captains Jesus Landaverde and Abel Alcantar and sophomore captain Martin Ramirez, have earned Rhazi’s praise for their hard play and work ethic. “This team really plays from the heart,” said the coach, who in particular noted the fine play of freshman defender Robinson Tavares. “I’ve been very happy with the effort we’ve shown thus far this season.”
Rhazi and his squad host Gloucester today (Wednesday) and play at Saugus Friday. They journey to Danvers Tuesday.
Puopolo paces girls cross-country team
The Revere High girls cross country team opened its season on a winning note, cruising to a 19-53 triumph at Winthrop last week on the newly-designed course on Deer Island.
Sophomore Vanessa Puopolo paced the Lady Patriots, finishing first (and therefore holding the current girls’ record on the new course!) in a time of 18:28. Vanessa led a strong Revere showing in which seven of Coach Katie Sinnott’s returning runners ran personal-record paces.
Rounding out the top five finishers for Revere were Suellen Guerreiro in third spot with a time of 19:17, followed by Hannah Fitzpatrick in 19:41, Jaclynne Dion in 19:46, and Hayley Mangino in 19:49.
Also turning in impressive performances with top 10 finishes were Trisha Cheever in 20:27 in seventh place, Joanna Severino Perez in 21:46 in ninth place, and Nicole Paddock in 22:08 (10th).
Other Revere girls who competed were Megan Erwin in 22:40 (12th), Monica Posada in 22:41 (13th), Lani Stevens in 23:58 (15th), Ally Ciano 24:39 (16th), Jessica Ventura 25:00, (17th), Cristina Martinez in 26:36 (18th), Lori Brizuela in 26:50 (20th), Leslie Constancia in 27:10 (22nd), Catherine Monroy in 30:44 (24th), Meloee Nazaire in 32:40 (25th), and Lyba Khan in 36:35 (26th).
Sinnott and her crew will compete in a tri-meet tomorrow (Thursday) when they host Beverly and Lynn English on the Belle Isle course.
Boys cross country opens with victory
The Revere High boys cross country team opened its 2014 season with a 15-40 shutout victory over Winthrop last week.
Leading the way for Coach Mike Flynn’s squad was senior Salah Barhoum, who covered the new, 2.67 mile course at Deer Island in a blazing time of 14:47. “Salah did a lot of work over the summer and it really showed,” said Flynn. “He should be one of the top runners in the league this season.”
Sophomore Sebastian Mejia was next across the line for Revere in a clocking of 16:31. He was followed by senior teammates Chris Genty in 16:54, Bounlaing Chea in 17:07, and John Simonini in 17:34 to complete the Revere scoring.
Other Patriots who competed were junior Dominic Giangregorio in 26:44, freshman Ashton DeRuosi (who was running in his first race) in 24:58, and freshman Justin Doane, also running in his first race, in 31:17.
“It was a good showing by the team and a nice win for us,” said Flynn, whose Patriots will be back in action tomorrow (Thursday) when they host Beverly and Lynn English in a tri-meet on the local course at Belle Isle. “If we continue to work hard and improve, it should be a good season.”
Volleyball team notches first win over Lynn EnglishÂ
The Revere High volleyball team earned its first victory of the season with a 3-1 triumph over Lynn English last Thursday. After dropping their first set in an extra-point session, 25-27, the Lady Patriots began to assert control in the second set, winning 25-17 to even the match at 1-1. Revere then cruised to powerful victories in the next two sets, 25-8 and 25-9, to take the match.
Among the leaders for Revere were Natasha Iacoviello with six kills and seven aces; Ally Hinojosa with three kills and five aces; Rachael DeSantis with six aces; Andrea Rueada and Vanessa Leone with two kills and three aces each; and Vanessa Velasquez with five aces.
“Overall, it was a team win,” said RHS head coach Jaime Imbracsio. “The girls played well as a whole. In the first set we were working out teamwork and movement details and then really had it nailed down by the third set.”
This past Monday the Lady Patriots came out on the short end of a 3-0 decision to Peabody. “Peabody is an all-senior team and we stayed right with them. Despite being a younger team, we made Peabody fight for many of their points, which is a positive for beginning our season as a new team,” said Imbracsio.
The Lady Patriots host Saugus Friday and Danvers Monday before hitting the road to Marblehead next Wednesday.
RHS field hockey defeats Salem, 2-0
The Revere High field hockey team earned its first win of the season with a 2-0 triumph over Salem Friday. Aggressive freshmen Victoria Correia scored the first Lady Patriot goal, assisted by junior Julia Freni. The second goal was scored unassisted by junior captain Adanna Hector.
The 2014 Lady Patriots are led by their senior captains, Jasmine Zelkanovic and Olivia Venezia, and junior captain Hector.
“We are a young team with only one other junior, Julia Freni,” said RHS head coach Erin Parker. “We have six returning sophomores and three new sophomores. There are also four freshmen getting varsity minutes.
“The girls worked hard all summer, coming in to lift and run three times a week,” added Parker. “We have 14 freshmen new to the program, which is a jump from seven the year before. Although young, we are getting better every day and looking to continue improving.”
Parker and her crew were set to play at Marblehead yesterday (Tuesday) and to host Saugus tomorrow. They travel to Swampscott Monday and entertain Gloucester next Wednesday.
Girls soccer team edges English, 1-0
The Lady Patriot soccer team chalked up its first triumph of the season Thursday afternoon with a 1-0 victory over Lynn English. Revere’s goal was scored by freshman Gabby Ortez with 25 minutes to go in the game. The Patriot defenders and midfielders worked the ball upfield with control and found Gabby in the middle of the box, from where she reached the back of the English net with a clean strike.
“The win was a total team effort. The defense kept us in the game with great plays by Luana Santos, Danielle Fortuna, Fiona Keither, and Joseline Argureta,” said EHS head coach Meg O’Donnell. “Jade Aguilera had a terrific game in goal for us, making 10 saves and keeping the game in our control.”
Last Tuesday the Lady Patriots dropped a 5-1 decision to Lynn Classical. Ortez scored the Revere goal, with O’Donnell giving major credit for the score to Manuela Giraldo-Montoya and Vanessa Rojas, who fought their way upfield to get the ball to Ortez for the finish.
Although her troops came out on the short end of the decision, O’Donnell was pleased with her team’s effort. “The score does not reflect how the girls played,” noted O’Donnell. “The girls showed their true love for the game of soccer because no matter the score of the game, the girls did not give up. I am very happy with the effort and time the girls have put into soccer this season and we are only three games in. We have a lot to look forward to this season.”
The 2014 Lady Patriots are led by captains Danielle Fortuna, Jade Aguilera, Vanessa Gutierrez and assistant captain Immaculate Langat. O’Connell noted that Aguilera “has displayed her true leadership skills by stepping up to the plate and playing goalie and has done a wonderful job for us.”
O’Donnell and her crew were set to play at Peabody this past Monday and will make the long trek today (Wednesday) to Gloucester. They will host Saugus tomorrow and entertain Danvers Tuesday.
