Revere Football Storms Past Medford, 48-32 in Finale

It wasn’t a masterpiece, to be sure, but the Revere High football team ended its season with a wild 48-32 victory over Medford High Friday night at Harry Della Russo stadium.

Like the passengers on the S.S. Minnow, the Revere High coaches and players set sail on a three-hour tour, but the weather never got rough and the game was never really close to being lost.

Revere kept Medford at a safe two-possession distance from the first period on and any chance of a Medford comeback was halted by senior Dillan Day’s block of a punt and recovery for a touchdown to put the game out of reach.

“It was a big win, another nice win for the kids against a feisty, no-quit Medford team,” said Revere head coach Lou Cicatelli.

“The good news was we were always up by two scores for the most part. It was the longest game (three hours) I’ve ever been part of.”

Revere, with its outstanding senior class, most of whom have been together since Revere Pop Warner, finishes with a 3-1 record, second to only Everett in their return to the Greater Boston League. It’s clear that Revere would have been heading to the MIAA playoffs if this season weren’t so greatly altered by the global pandemic. All told, Revere had a superb 27-6 record over the past four years.

Let’s take a look at some of the highlights of the season finale:

Dillan “Big Play” Day Scores Two Touchdowns

Dillan Day broke through the middle of Medford’s punt-blocking team, scampered past three separate Medford personal protectors, blocked the punt, and skillfully recovered the football for a touchdown to help make the score 41-24.

Day, whom Revere TV announcer Patrick Keefe lauded as Dillan “Big Play” Day following his touchdown, also caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Calvin Boudreau.

“They’ve been doing that since they were 10 years old,” said Donald Boudreau on the TV broadcast. “They’ve been teammates for a long time.”

It was great to the two seniors connect for a TD in their final appearance together at Harry Della Russo Stadium.

“Dillan was a great offensive weapon,” said Cicatelli. “A lot of teams this year and last year tried to double-team him and take him away, but if the football is near him, he’s going to come down with it.”

A ‘Pick Six’ by Number 6

Defensive end Cam Ventura made the most athletic play of the day when he jumped to intercept a pass (the play was so grand that Patrick Keefe wondered whether Cam had Stickum (adhesive) on his hands) and returned the football 47 yards for a touchdown with seven seconds left in the first half.

“We play our defensive ends in such a way that if a running back goes across their face, they peel off automatically,” said Cicatelli. “The Medford quarterback threw a flair pass and Cam just jumped the play and ripped the football. We were going wild, because we knew it was going to happen and we had told him to be patient. That was a big play in the game.”

Boudreau to Boudreau

Calvin Boudreau had accomplished virtually everything you can do offensively on a football field during his spectacular career but there was one important piece of business remaining: completing a pass to his younger brother, Dom Boudreau.

And thanks to a play call designed specifically to make it happen, the Boudreau-to-Boudreau connection became a reality. Dom caught the pass and fought off some tacklers to almost make a first down.

“That was huge,” said Cicatelli. “Dom is going to a be a good player. The coaching staff likes him a lot.”

As for Calvin Boudreau, he takes his place among the elite RHS quarterbacks such as Jim Del Gaizo, Karl Bussey, Derek Dick, Daniel Murphy, and others stars of the past.

The Curry Connection

Speaking of connections, Calvin Boudreau and Jarrod Natola combined on two touchdown passes in their final high school game.

Boudreau and Natola will both be continuing their football careers at Curry College, so Revere’s future Colonels may be reuniting in the end zone for years to come.

The Doucette Duo

Max Doucette almost recovered the blocked punt in the end zone, but perhaps he wanted to concede the honors to the senior, Dillan Day.

Max had an excellent season in the middle of the Patriots’ offensive line, paired with his older brother, Ryan Doucette, on the Big Five that opened the paths for Adetayo Atitebi and Billy Byrne-Ginepra during the season.

Max will be back for the Patriots this fall while Ryan, one of the team’s unheralded but most dependable players, will be attending Northeastern University, which happens to be the alma mater of head coach Lou Cicatelli.

Wilmer Mejia Boots Six PATs

Revere placekicker Wilmer Mejia was successful on six PATs versus Medford, which is a school record.

 Revere High’s former outstanding kicker Rayan Riazzi no doubt appreciated Mejia’s accuracy.

And Mejia was surely grateful for the right-on-the-money deliveries by long snapper Billy Byrne-Ginepra, a man of many talents on the football field.

Byrne-Ginepra had some key kickoff and punt returns all season.

“Billy has been a great hard-nosed player on offense and defense for us,” said Cicatelli.

Adetayo Atitebi Had 252 Yards Rushing

Adetayo Atitebi merits offensive star of the game consideration for rushing for 252 yards and two touchdowns.

Atitebi became the marquee back for the Patriots, following former All-Scholastic Joe Llanos. He had a productive season for the Patriots, who scored 110 points in four games.

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