Sports 12-23-2015

RhS sports Roundup

RHS girls basketball opens with two wins

The Revere High girls basketball team opened the defense of its Northeastern Conference North Division title with a pair of victories over NEC North foes this past week, both of which came on the road.

In the season-opener last Tuesday with Danvers, the Lady Patriots overcame a slow start, but soon revved into high gear, spurred with a pressure defense that moved Revere out to a 21-11 lead at the half.

The Lady Patriots maintained their momentum and fire after the intermission at both ends of the floor to enlarge their to a commanding 37-21 advantage after three frames, from where they coasted to an eventual 50-32 victory.

Sophomore center Valentina Pepic was a true force for Revere with a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Pamela Gonzalez gave the visiting Lady Falcons fits all night with 10 points and eight steals.

“We started slowly and our transition defense was lagging behind a quick Danvers team,” said RHS head coach Diana Finn. “However, we came together at the start of the second quarter and dug in defensively. We turned our defense into quick offensive points.”

In addition to the contributions of Gonzalez and Pepic, Finn noted the fine play of senior point guard Adanna Hector and senior guard Natasha Iacoviello.

“Adanna and Natasha were leaders on the court and were able to control the tempo of the game,” noted Finn. “We didn’t play as well as we can — and will — this season, but we got back to work right after Danvers to prepare for Beverly on Friday.”

Although Finn and her squad expected a tough battle with the Lady Panthers, the final count of a 76-39 Revere victory demonstrated the extent to which the Lady Patriots have the capability of dominating their foes this season when they are firing on all cylinders.

“Our defensive effort while controlling the boards made a huge difference for us against Beverly,” said Finn. “I was proud of how we came out and started to put things together that we’ve been working on since last season.

“Our offensive attack was balanced and point guards Adanna Hector and sophomore Tatianna Iacoviello created offensive opportunities for our post players,” continued Finn. “They showed patience and maturity to make good decisions and be the generals of the offense on the court.”

After grabbing a 12-7 lead at the first quarter mark, the Lady Patriots zoomed to a 40-27 advantage at the half which they enlarged to a 60-37 bulge after three frames.

“We cut down on our mental mistakes and were disciplined on the defensive end of the court against a Beverly team that looks to shoot the three and does so with consistency,” added the coach. “I’m proud of our team’s defensive effort.  We are looking ahead to Lynn Classical on Monday night and English on Wednesday before school vacation.”

Sophomore Pepic forwarded another double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Junior center Meaghan Gotham scored 13 points and grabbed eight boards.  Senior Ally Hinojosa reached double figures with 11 points to go with her four steals. Gonzalez and Hector were just shy of the double-figure mark with nine points apiece. Senior Maritza Scott chipped in five points, followed by Natasha Iacoviello with four and sophomore Tatianna Iacoviello with three.

Finn and her crew were set to take on Lynn Classical this past Monday and will play at Lynn English tonight (Wednesday). They are off through the Christmas break until January 4 when they will host Medford in a non-league contest.

RHS girls track team edges Danvers

The Revere High girls indoor track team engaged in yet another close meet, of which there have been many in the past two seasons, but this time it was the Lady Patriots who emerged victorious, defeating Danvers, 45-41.

Unlike their season-opener, the outcome of which came down to the final event, the 4 x 400 relay, Revere held a 45-36 advantage coming into the relay and thus already had clinched the meet before the 4 x 400 was run.

Leading the way for Revere were the three Lady Patriots who took first place in their individual events: Angelina Nguyen in the 55 meter dash in a time of 7.8 seconds; Jessica Cambraia in the 300 dash in a clocking of 49.7 (which paced a Revere sweep in the 300); and Hannah Fitzpatrick in the mile in 6:07.9.

Although the Lady Patriots garnered only those three first-place finishes, which was good for 15 points, Revere’s superior depth allowed the Lady Patriots to take second place in eight of the nine events: Claritza Vasquez with a leap of 4’-6” in the high jump and a 300 dash of 50.4; Helen Perez in the 600 in 2:02.9; Tricia Cheever in the 1000 in 3:48.5; Rachel Shanbar with a shotput toss of 28’-11”; Rayanna Benzohra with a time of 11.0 in the 55 hurdles; Angelina Nguyen with a sprint of 8.1 in the 55 dash; and Suellen Guerriero in the two mile run with a clocking of 14:03.

The six RHS girls who added vital third place points that put Revere over the top were: Carol Lopera with a high jump of 4’-4”; Justine Pennachio with a shotput throw of 23’-5”; Rania Bensadok in the 55 hurdles in 11.5; Joseline Argueta in the 300 dash in 50.7; Monica Posada in the 1000 in 3:52.9; and Joanna Severino Perez in the two-mile in 14:44.

“It was a complete team win as we got points from 16 different girls,” said RHS head coach Antonio LaBruna. “It showed the great depth that we have. We outscored Danvers 17-1 in the sprinting events (50M and 300M) and kept it close throughout the middle distance, distance, and field events.

“Our high jumpers had great meets,” continued LaBruna. “We had four girls clear opening height, including Claritza Vasquez, a freshman who cleared 4’-6”. Claritza has a natural leaping ability and once she develops some form and technique, she’s going to be really good.

“Angelisa Nguyen, our senior captain, is off to a great start this season, as she won the 55M dash decisively with a time of 7.8,” added LaBruna. “The state qualifying time is 7.7, so we’re really hoping to get her qualified by season’s end.”

The Lady Patriots competed in the Winter Festival Track Meet at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston this past Sunday. LaBruna brought about 20 girls and it was a day full of personal records (PRs). Rachel Shanbar finished third overall among a field of 38 in the shotput and qualified for the D-2 State Meet with a throw of 29’-7.25”.

“Rachel’s goal going into this meet was to qualify for states and she delivered in a big way,” said LaBruna. “She’s worked hard to improve and I am extremely happy for her.”

Another Revere standout in the meet was sophomore Hannah Fitzpatrick. Hannah ran a 5:58 mile last spring and topped that time with a time of 5:49 on Sunday.

“Hannah started her kick with about 200 meters to go and her conditioning did not let her down,” said LaBruna. “Hannah works hard during workouts and is extremely dedicated to the sport. It was nice to see her hard work pay off with a great time.”

Revere’s next dual meet is set for Wednesday, December 30, at home vs. Lynn English.

The Northeastern Conference Freshmen/Sophomore meet is set for Saturday, December 26, in Beverly.

RHS hockey team

opens season with tie

The Revere High hockey team opened its 2016 season last Wednesday at Lynn’s Connery Rink, dueling the home team to a 0-0 deadlock.

RHS goalie Maxx Anderson, a returning Northeastern Conference all-star, earned the shutout for Revere.

“It was a very tentative start by both teams,” said RHS head coach Joe Cicarelllo. “In the second period they were all over us, but in the third we had the better of the chances. Both goalies, Maxx Anderson for us, and Stafford for Lynn, played well. Overall, we were pretty happy getting at least a point on the road in a place we don’t usually get points.”

Three nights later the Patriots trekked to Gloucester and came out on the short end of a 5-2 decision. Anthony Cecca and Cam O’Neil score the goals for the Patriots.

“We didn’t play well,” said Cicarello. “I felt we played a bit scared and timid at times and we were not as hungry as we need to be. We don’t have gifted goal scorers, so it has to come by way of hard work and scrappiness. We were neither too many times.”

Gloucester grabbed a 2-0 after one period, but Cecca scored soon into the second stanza to close the gap to 2-1. However, a Revere defensive lapse allowed a Gloucester player to slip up the middle for a breakaway, which negated the possibility of the Patriots maintaining the momentum.

Beverly then added a shorthanded goal with two minutes left in period to make it 4-1. O’Neill scored early in the final frame to make it 4-2, but Gloucester responded immediately for the 5-2 finale.

“I believe we have more in us, and I am hoping that with more experience we can find our zone,” said Cicarello.

The Patriots will entertain Northeast Regional Vocational School this evening (Wednesday) in their home opener with the face-off set for 6:30. The team then will trek to the Cape this Saturday to meet East Boston with a stay overnight.

Murphy, Tran, Murjan

triumph in Danvers meet

Revere High indoor trackmen Dan Murphy, Edi Murjan, and Phuc Tran took first places for the Patriots in their respective events in last week’s meet with Danvers.

Murphy sped to victory in the 55 meter dash in a time of 6.8 seconds; Murjan grabbed first in the 300 dash in 41.0; and Tran topped the field in the shotput with a throw of 36’-9”.

Second-place finishers for Revere who put three points onto the Patriot scoresheet were: Nelson Cevallos in the high jump with a leap of 5’-10”; David Sinatra in the 55 hurdles in 9.7; Zachary Gentile in the 600 dash in 1:33.9; Abubakir Aldarazy in the 1000 in 3:13.3; Zakaria Attioui in the mile in 5:02.4; and Sebastian Mejia with a two-mile run of 11:28.

Adding single points for their third place efforts were: Andre Amato with a shotput toss of 31’-10”; Andy Em in the 55 hurdles in 10.1; and Amine Maihouane in the 1000 in 3:28.9.

RHS boys hoop team

opens with two losses

The Revere High boys basketball team came out on the short end of a pair of contests to open the season this past week.

The Patriots hosted Danvers, the defending Division 2 state champion that is ranked ninth in the state by ESPN Boston, last Tuesday and dropped a 69-40 decision.

Although Revere fairly-matched Danvers in the rebounding department (the Patriots grabbed 31 rebounds to 35 for Danvers), turnovers and foul trouble plagued Revere. The Falcons scored 29 points off turnovers (compared to just nine for Revere) and were 20-of-28 from the free throw line (compared to six-for-15 for the Pats).

“We started out slowly and can’t afford to do that against a team like Danvers,” said RHS head coach Adam Rizzo. “They are very athletic on the wings and took advantage of a couple of bad passes to start the game with a quick 8-0 run. From there we were playing catch-up.”

Though trailing by 16 at the half, Rizzo’s crew came out strong after the intermission and began to click. However, early in the third quarter three Revere  starters — Marvin Urdaneta, Gerald Charles and Mass Joof — all picked up a pivotal fourth foul.

Although the Revere defense held Danvers to just nine points, the Pats struggled to score with Charles and Urdaneta on the bench and put up only seven points in the frame.

By the fourth period, Danvers already was in the double bonus. Between free throws and getting hot from deep (the Falcons drained four of their five treys in the final eight minutes), the Patriots were unable to mount a challenge to the Danvers’ lead.

“We made two mistakes that need correcting immediately, turnovers and free throws,” said Rizzo. “They scored 29 points off our 25 turnovers. Not only does the turnover not allow us a shot attempt at the rim, but it guaranteed them points going the other way. We can’t afford that against a great team. The free throws are inexcusable and need to improve if we are to win any games.”

Janard Jones led the Pats with 13 points and Will Bell reached double figures with 10. Urdaneta hit for seven points, followed by Marcus Brunson with six, Joof with two, and Charles and Jordi Palma with a point apiece.

Friday evening the Beverly Panthers came to town and the Pats dropped a 63-49 decision. The contest was a close affair through the first frame, with the visiting Panthers holding a slim 16-14 lead, but Beverly opened up a 35-20 advantage at the half which they maintained to the final buzzer.

Revere got off to a fast start thanks to the offensive prowess of Urdaneta, who scored the first four buckets of the game. However, the Patriot offense sputtered for the rest of the half, netting only 12 more points until the intermission.

“We were getting good looks in our half court sets that just weren’t falling,” said Rizzo. “After Marvin scored a quick eight, we kept going back to him, but his jumpers were in and out and his post moves stopped going down. They started to press us and once we broke it, we didn’t look to attack the paint at all, rather settling for long-range jumpers or floaters instead of attacking the basket and forcing them to either foul us or give us a layup. That really came back to haunt us as we got beat in the second quarter, 19-6. That was the difference in the game right there.”

The Patriots proved unable to chop into the Beverly lead in the second half, as the teams essentially traded baskets over the final 16 minutes of play.

“We played straight man defense the entire first half, but we just weren’t getting it done,” noted Rizzo. “Our defensive intensity has been non-existent in the first two games of the season and that’s going to have to change if we are going to win games. We came out and played a 1-3-1 zone defense in the second half to try to stop their dribble penetration, something we have never practiced before. We just threw it in on the fly because we thought it would give us the best chance to slow them down. Giving up 28 points compared to 35 in the first half was an improvement. With more practice this could be a defense we look to use full-time.”

The Revere offense was led in the second half by junior guard Gerald Charles, who scored 14 of his team-high 20 points after the intermission with 10 of them coming in the fourth quarter. “When Gerald is playing under control and being aggressive at the same time, he’s hard to keep out of the lane,” said Rizzo. “We need his offense to keep us from going into those offensive lulls like we had in the second quarter.”

Urdaneta reached double-figures with 10 points, followed by Bell with eight and Brunson with three. Josh Flanders, Jovan Salcedo, Joof, and Palma all chipped in two points apiece.

Rizzo and his crew played at Lynn Classical this past Monday and trek to Lynn English tonight (Wednesday). They are off through the holiday break until they return to action January 5 at Peabody.

RHS sports Through the Years

10 years ago

December 21, 2005

Three years of frustration came to an end for the Revere High girls basketball team thanks to a thrilling 47-46 win over New Mission High in the opening round of the Massport tournament. Christina Polsonetti led Revere with 15 points and sister Lisa and sophomore Christina Cavagnaro hit for 10 points each. Point guard Alex DeMattia added six points for coach Pam McDonald’s squad. However, the Lady Patriots dropped their first encounters with their new rivals from the Northeastern Conference, falling to Salem and  Gloucester.

The RHS boys basketball team lost its NEC opener to Salem, 80-38. Eddie Mahoney and Marc Adessa led coach Chris Kingston’s squad with 12 points apiece. In a 57-40 loss to Gloucester, Mahoney led the way with 12 points.

The RHS hockey team won its first game as a member of the Northeastern Conference with a 5-3 win over Salem. Marcus Dow had two goals and Anthony DelloIacono, Gerard Salvati, and Pat Webber had one goal each.

Peniel Muteba defeated opponents from Marblehead and Lynn English in the hurdles with a time of 8.9 seconds, Courtney Lyons did likewise in the 1000 in 3:38, and Julie Paul topped all foes in the shotput with a toss of 26’-11” for the RHS girls track team in a tri-meet in which the Lady Patriots defeated Lynn English, but lost to Marblehead.

 

20 years ago

December 20, 1995

The Revere High hockey team defeated Waltham, 6-1, after bombarding the Waltham net with 46 shots. Scott Mallett notched a hat trick for the undefeated Patriots.

 

30 years ago

December 25, 1985

The RHS girls basketball team opened the season with a 48-40 win over Quincy. Sophomore Diana Odoardi led Revere with 17 points and backcourtmate and fellow soph Kim Kelley added 13 for coach Ed Leydon’s team.

The RHS basketball team fell to Quincy, 52-46. Sal Bottari led the Pats with 13 points.

A young RHS hockey team, coming off an 0-19 season, lost its season-opener, 7-2 to Quincy. Merek Franklin and Bill Gulla scored goals for Revere.

40 years ago

December 24, 1975

 

The RHS hockey team opened its season with a 7-2 win over Peabody and a 4-4 tie with Everett. Steve DiCarlo had four goals and two assists in the Peabody victory. DiCarlo, Kevin Dunne, John Festa, and Bruce Piazza all scored goals in the Everett contest.

60 years ago

December 29, 1955

The Revere High hockey team, winless and scoreless thus far in its first four games of the seasons, dropped decisions of 5-0 to Marblehead and 13-0 to Lynn English.