RHS Football Team Smothers Saugus; at English Saturday

The Revere High football team rolled to its fourth straight victory to remain undefeated with a runaway 40-13 romp at Saugus Saturday afternoon.

The Patriots asserted control of the contest from the outset — the first play from scrimmage, to be precise — with senior captain Jonathan Murphy taking a pitch-out on a jet sweep and rumbling 55 yards for a touchdown to make it 6-0 just seconds into the game.

Revere reached the Saugus end zone on the Patriots’ next possession, with Murphy once again running to pay dirt, this time on a 35 yard inside isolation play.

Before the first quarter ended, Revere put together a long scoring drive, keyed by passes from quarterback Calvin Boudreau (who turned in another stellar effort with 10-for-16 passing for 130 yards) to captain Lucas Barbosa and Dillan Day, that was capped by a five yard TD burst by Joe Llanos.

The Patriots upped their advantage in the second quarter when Llanos — who once again turned in a monster game that added to his credentials for the NEC’s Player of the Year honors — ran back an interception 80 yards for a pick-six. The INT was set up by a big hit by RHS linebacker Bill Ginepra on the Saugus quarterback just as he was releasing the football. Llanos made a nice grab of the floating pigskin to stay inbounds and then scooted the length of the field up the sideline.

The Patriot defense accounted for its second touchdown of the game before the half ended when, after a sack by RHS linebacker Jonathan Tran put Saugus in a hole inside its own 10 yard line, Ginepra burst through for another hit on the Sachem quarterback, forcing a fumble that was recovered in the end zone for Revere’s fifth touchdown.

Saugus’ lone moment of glory in the first two quarters occurred when a Sachem returned a kickoff for a touchdown, leaving matters at 34-7 at the intermission.

The second half proved more of the same. The Revere defense forced Saugus to turn the ball over on the initial possession of the second half and the offense embarked on a long drive, paced by strong running by Barbosa and Adetayo Attebbi, that culminated with Llanos scoring his third touchdown of the day from a few yards out.

RHS head coach Lou Cicatelli then turned to his reserves for the remainder of the contest. Saugus scored a meaningless TD late in the game for the 40-13 finale.

“Our offense put a lot of points on the scoreboard, but it was our defense that  dictated the tempo of the game,” said Cicatelli of his defensive unit that controlled Saugus in every respect, creating four turnovers and scoring two defensive touchdowns.

Defensive tackle Ala Attoui was awarded the Defensive Player of the Game by the RHS coaching staff for his eight tackles, including a sack and forcing a fumble. “Ala was awesome,” noted Cicatelli. “He was an immoveable force in the middle.”

Defensive ends Augusto Goncalves and captain Mazer Ali set the edge, allowing the Patriot linebackers to zero in on the Saugus ballcarriers. Marco Cerbone accounted for a turnover with an interception.

Cicatelli and his crew — who rank among the top 20 teams in the state in some polls — now turn their attention to what looms as their biggest game of the season when they travel to Lynn to take on Lynn English Saturday afternoon.

English has emerged as the Patriots’ chief rival for first place in the South Division of the Northeastern Conference. The Bulldogs also have been ranked in the top 20 in the state and now stand at 3-1, with their lone loss coming to Beverly, which is in the NEC’s North Division.

“Lynn English is an excellent team,” said Cicatelli of the Bulldogs, who are coming off a 42-0 pasting of Gloucester this past week. “They have an outstanding quarterback who is very fast and a powerful fullback, as well as size on the line.”

The kick-off for Saturday’s contest is set for 1 p.m. at Manning Field.

RHS Girls Soccer Wins Two More to Remain Undefeated

The Revere High girls soccer team added two more victories this past week to raise their record to a sterling 8-0-1, the best-ever start to a season in the history of the RHS girls soccer program.

Last Monday the Lady Patriots defeated Lynn English. Nahomy Martinez and Carolina Bettero provided the offense, reaching the back of the English net, while defenders Alisson Guevara and Valeska Flores played solidly on the back line.

Goal keeper Camila Perez turned in another solid game in between the pipes.

This past Friday, Revere defeated Boston International, 4-2. Senior Captain Luana Barbosa scored two goals and Sofia Choqri and Martinez both added one goal apiece.

“We had great teamwork from Krya Delaney, Yaritza Ganoza, Somaia Goaless, Sofia Gouriny, Angela Huynh, Maya Inzerillo, Tiffany Martinez, Kyara Rodriguez, Elsy Romero, Minnah Sheikh, Imane Douane, and Oumaima Bahjy,” said RHS head coach Megan O’Donnell. “Camila Perez and Gisselle Sepulveda both spilt time in the goal and did a great job.”

O’Donnell and her squad have a busy week ahead. They were scheduled to host East Boston yesterday (Tuesday) and will play at Somerville tomorrow (Thursday). They will entertain Medford next Wednesday.

RHS Golf Team Edged by Malden

The Revere High golf team turned in a fine effort in their match with Malden on Monday, coming up short by a slim margin, 38-34. The top performers for the Patriots were Ryan Willett at number five and Alexio Trichillo in the number six slot. Both defeated their Malden counterparts, 5.5-3.5. Revere’s number two player, William Ly, halved his match, 4.5-4.5, as did Michael Marchese at number four and Steven Leone at eight. Revere’s top player, Dante Raffa, scored four points at number one. Kyle Gove, playing at number seven, also added four points to the Revere cause. Michael Hayes contributed 1.5 points at number three. The Patriots also took on Saugus this past week and dropped a 55-17 decision. Willett was Revere’s top performer, defeating his Saugus counterpart, 5.5-3.5. Marchese was the next Patriot in scoring with three points at number four. Leone (2.5), Triciclo (two), Raffa (two), Ly (one), Hayes (.5), and Gove (.5) also contributed to the RHS total. Coach Brandon Pezzuto and his linksmen were scheduled to play at Lynn Classical yesterday (Tuesday) and will trek to Salem today (Wednesday). They will wrap up their season next Wednesday at Classical.