The Revere High football team put it all together for the third successive week of the young season on offense, defense, and special teams to cruise to its third victory with a 43-26 gashing of Lynn Classical in another successful episode of Friday Night Lights at Harry Della Russo Stadium this past Friday evening.
The Patriots asserted control of the contest from the outset, racking up 20 points in the first quarter.
Revere took the opening kickoff and marched the length of the field in nine plays, the capper coming on a 10-yard jet sweep by captain Jonathan Murphy.
After the Patriot defense forced the Ram offense into a three-and-out, the offense went back to work under the capable direction of junior quarterback Calvin Boudreau, who engineered another scoring drive that culminated with a 10-yard bolt into the end zone by captain Zack Furlong.
When the Revere defense forced a fumble on Classical’s next possession, Boudreau and Co. wasted little time in taking advantage of the turnover, with Calvin hitting captain Lucas Barbosa for a 22-yard TD pass.
With RHS place-kicker extraordinaire Rayan Riazi hitting on 2-of-3 PAT kicks (Ryan’s first miss of the season hit the cross-bar), the Pats and their fans were in a festive mood with a 20-0 lead against a Classical team that at one point this season had been ranked in the top 20 after knocking off Brockton.
Classical finally got on the board in the second period to cut the margin to 20-7 at the half and then threatened to make things interesting when the Rams scored another TD on their opening drive after the intermission.
However, the Patriots — specifically, their star running back Joe Llanos — soon put to rest any thoughts of a Classical comeback. On Revere’s ensuing possession, Llanos broke off a 54 yard jaunt to pay dirt to increase the Patriot advantage to 26-14.
The Revere defense then forced its second fumble of the contest, setting the stage for Riazi to boot a 44 yard field goal that boosted the Pats into a comfortable 29-14 advantage.
“Rayan’s field goal was huge,” said RHS head coach Lou Cicatelli. “It gave us a 15-point cushion late in the game and put a lot of pressure on them.”
Classical refused to quit however, and responded with a touchdown to slice the lead 29-20. But once again Llanos (200 yards on 23 carries), who to this point in the season has been putting up All-Scholastic and Conference MVP numbers, proved once again to be the main man for Revere.
Joe burst through the Classical defense for a 35-yard TD run that, with Riazi’s PAT, boosted the Pats into a healthy 36-20 lead.
Classical struck back with a few minutes left in the game to draw within 36-26, but then one of the most bizarre plays a fan could witness on a gridiron took place when Classical attempted an onside kick. Riazi was johnny-on-the-spot to make the recovery, but then decided to take off downfield, outrunning the entire Ram team for a 50-yard touchdown scamper.
“Rayan is a very smart player both on and off the field,” said Cicatelli of Riazi, who is on the high honor roll. “He has a high sports-IQ and when he saw the opportunity, he made the most of it.”
Riazi’s run to glory, and his subsequent PAT, put the icing on the Patriot victory cake for the 43-26 final score.
“Everybody who took the field for us contributed to the victory,” said Cicatelli. “The offensive line did a great job protecting Calvin (8-for-15 passing for over 100 yards) and the defense once again was solid against a very fast and dangerous Classical team that put up 48 points against Brockton.”
Defensive ends captain Mazer Ali (who recovered a fumble) and Augusto Goncalves once again anchored the D-line on either side, with interior lineman captain Jaryd Benson (who had a key sack that ended a Classical drive) and junior Dom Reed (who pounced on a fumble) holding down the fort in the middle.
Cicatelli also lauded his assistant coaches for the work they put into the winning game plan.
“Any head coach is only as good as his assistants and I have a great staff,” said Cicatelli of offensive coordinators Paul Norton and Jose Escobar (both of whom played under Cicatelli), defensive coordinator Scott Wvlasic (former Peabody head coach), offensive line coach Vin Gregorio (who played wth Cicatelli at RHS in the early 1980s), and defensive line coach Rob Sasso (another of Cicatelli’s former players).
The lone negative for Revere was the loss of Furlong to a concussion that will sideline Zach for two weeks.
The Patriots’ next opponent is Saugus this Saturday afternoon with the opening kick-off set for 2:30 p.m. (because of SATs) at Stackpole Field. The Sachems are 0-3 and are coming off a 47-0 loss to Marblehead this past week.
RHS Girls Soccer Tops Three GBL Foes Record Now at 7-0-1
The Revere High girls soccer team completed a perfect week against three of its rivals from the Greater Boston League this past week, defeating Medford, Malden, and Everett.
Carolina Bettero continued her offensive onslaught against Lady Patriot rivals, scoring all four Revere goals in a 4-2 triumph over Medford.
Capt. Luana Barbosa (2), Wissam Benzerdjeb, and Sofia Choqri all earned assists on Bettero’s goals.
Last Wednesday, the Lady Patriots defeated Malden, 3-1. Freshman Gisselle Sepulveda reached the back of the Malden net twice for the first two goals of her career. Bettero assisted on both markers. Madeline Yanes scored the third Revere goal.
RHS head coach Megan O’Donnell was effusive in her praise of her team’s overall performance vs. Malden.
“We had great play in the goal by our keeper, Camila Perez, and superb defense from Allison Calderon, Valeska Flores, Alisson Guevara, Wissam Benzerdjeb and Sofia Gouriny,” said O’Donnell. “Our offense was paced by our midfielders, who were led by junior Jackie Zapata, who has been a force for us this season.”
The contest with Everett last Friday was a scoreless duel for the first 74 minutes until Bettero found a wide-open Sofia Choqri for the winning goal with a beautiful crossing pass that caught the Everett defense flat-flooted.
“It was a hard-fought game where the whole team played great,” said O’Donnell.
O’Donnell and her crew took on Lynn English this past Monday and emerged with a 4-2 triumph in which Bettero scored the hat trick.
“We have had great play by the whole team all season,” added O’Donnell, whose team is off to a 7-0-1 record through the first third of the season. “We have had so many different players step up this season, whether it be at scoring or making one or two defensive stops for our team.
“This team is very special,” O’Donnell continued. “We have great leadership with senior captains Luana Barbosa and Elsy Romero, who are every coach’s dream players. They both work hard in the classroom and on the field. They have shown the underclassman that hard work will pay off.”
The Lady Patriots will travel to Boston International on Friday. They will entertain East Boston next Tuesday.
Volleyball Team Defeats Three GBL Rivals, Now at 5-0
The Revere High volleyball team ran its record to 5-0 with a trio of victories over Greater Boston League rivals this past week.
Last Monday the Patriots defeated Medford in straight sets, 3-0. Among those who led the way for Revere were David Del Rio, who earned 11 assists and served three aces, and Isabella Martinez, who dominated the middle hitter position with 10 kills.
Two nights later, Revere battled back from a 2-0 deficit to claim a 3-2 triumph. Del Rio set a whopping 29 assists for his teammates, while Martinez continued to be a dominant presence in the middle hitter position with 17 kills and taking part in three blocks.
Other Patriots who made immense contributions in the come-from-behind win were Lynzie Anderson, who had 11 kills; Olivia Winsor, who smacked 16 kills and made four blocks; and Tracy Gutierrez, who added two kills, assisted in three blocks, and served four aces.
On Friday the Patriots got to play their first home game of the season on the newly resurfaced RHS gym floor and defeated Everett in a contest in which many Revere players contributed to the winning effort.
“One player who is starting to stand out is Gianna Mahoney,” said RHS head coach Lianne Mimmo. “This is her first year playing volleyball. In this time she has served 20 aces and is developing as a defensive specialist, having 37 playable digs and 31 passes in serve-receive.”
Mimmo and her crew were scheduled to take on Saugus yesterday (Tuesday) and will travel to Christo Rey this Monday. They will host Lynn Classical next Tuesday and trek to Somerville next Wednesday.
Girls Cross Country Cruises Past Somerville
The Revere High girls cross country team ran to its second straight victory of the young season, defeating Somerville last Wednesday.
“Somerville has a shorter course, which led to some faster running,” said RHS head coach Katie Sinnott. “Four of our girls ran their personal best paces and nearly every girl ran a faster pace than last week.”
Running personal-best paces were senior Salome Gezehagn, junior Camila Sposito, freshman Butayna Amine, and freshman Maria Ferreira.
“Butayna was also our overall most improved runner from last week,” noted Sinnott. “She is showing great promise as a young runner.”
Overall results:
Revere – 15, Somerville – 50
Individual results:
Soleil Yuong – 2nd, 18:49
Carly Bennett – 3rd, 19:27
Yulissa Santana Baez – 4th, 22:24
Salome Gezehagn – 5th, 22:31
Butayna Amine – 6th, 22:44
Maajda Louaddi – 7th, 25:08
Camila Sposito – 8th, 25:21
Keneisha Germain – 9th, 26:01
Maria Ferreira – 10th, 26:26
Guadalupe Alvarado – 11th, 34:34
Sinnott and her crew have a bye week and will face Medford next Wednesday.
“Medford looks to be quite a challenge,” Sinnott said. “Medford is a team that has depth and some real speedy runners. Our girls are looking forward to working hard, training hard, and giving that race all they have.”
Boys Cross Country Team Races to Win
The Revere High boys cross country team improved to 2-0 with a 22-34 victory at Somerville last week.
Christian Madrid was the top finisher for the Patriots, crossing the line in second place in a time of 14:09 over the 2.49 mile course. He was followed by teammates Fabio Tran in third place in 14:11; Victor Pelatere in fourth in 14:18; Will Martinez in sixth in 14:29; and James Carpinelli in seventh in 14:43.
“James ran a really strong race,” said RHS head coach Mike Flynn of Carpinelli’s performance . “He beat the Somerville runner (who finished in eighth place) by two seconds in the GBL pre-season meet, but this time beat him by 14 seconds.”
Carlos Quintanilla added to the Revere victory margin with a 10th place finish in 15:09 to displace a Somerville runner.
Antony Arias (13th in 15:27), Michael Adolphus (15th in 16:57), Vincent Nichols (17:35), and Brayden Shanley (20:23) completed the team’s effort.
“I’ve been very happy with the way that the team has been running,” said Flynn. “Depth has been the key to our success. We’ve had three different boys finish in first place for us in three races. We’re also running as a pack, which is a necessary strategy for winning races.”
After a bye this week, Flynn and his crew will host Medford next Wednesday.
