By Cary Shuman
What better way to honor your seniors than with a nearly flawless performance against your longtime GBL rivals from Somerville.
Taking control from its opening possession, the Revere High football team rolled to a 43-14 victory over the Highlanders on “Senior Night” at Harry Della Russo Stadium.
Quarterback Danny Hou (3 TDS, 155 yards rushing), Geo Woodard (215 yards rushing, 2 TDs), and Mario Ramirez (101 yards, 1 TD) powered the Revere offense to an impressive win against the 3-3 Highlanders.
Coach Lou Cicatelli and his staff made a major adjustment, going from a shotgun-style offense to Hou operating directly under center.
The result was a streamlined ground game, with Hou perfectly executing handoffs and pitchouts and scoring on touchdown runs of 2, 78, and 30 yards.
Woodard showed his speed and power on touchdown runs of 26 and 28 yards. Ramirez, a two-way standout, rushed for a 12-yard touchdown. Seniors Hou and Woodard, and Ramirez, a junior, were named Boston Globe Stars of the Week for their stellar performances.
“The offense played very, very well,” said Cicatelli who earned the 98th victory of his coaching career. “Everybody was blocking on the line and on the edge. And it resulted in a nice, big win.”
Cicatelli said the Revere offensive line was crucial to the dominating offensive performances.
“When the line plays to that level of excellence, you can run traps and inside plays, and it opens up the whole outside and that’s what happened,” said Cicatelli.
The Big Five of Cesar Herrera, Joel Vasquez, Silvio Neto, Walter Franklin, and Louis Forte received high grades from Cicatelli for controlling the line of scrimmage. Jose Fuentes made a key block to open the hole for Woodard on his 26-yard touchdown run, with Yousef Benhamou completing the play with a powerful block downfield.
“It was a great night,” summarized Cicatelli. “We had over 475 yards rushing.”
The head coach also singled out the two-way effort of Mario Ramirez. “He had a great game on offense and was a beast on defense,” said Cicatelli, adding that Joel Vasquez was immense on the offensive line and at defensive tackle and Darian Martinez was a key contributor at linebacker.
Freshmen continue to excel
Freshman Reda Atoui picked off a Somerville pass that led to a Revere touchdown. The other members of the Class of 2028 – safety Jose Fuentes, Anthony Pelatere (17-yard pass reception and three blocks that sprung touchdown runs), and defensive end Charles Pobre (second-leading tackler and two fumble recoveries) – all played outstanding football. With four freshman starters making a huge impact this season, the future looks extremely bright.
But there is still much more football to be played and wins over Lynn Classical (Friday at 6 p.m. at Della Russo Stadium) and Malden (Oct. 24) would boost the Patriots into playoff contention.
“Hopefully, we can put a few wins together,” said Cicatelli. “The GBL is very well-balanced this year. It’s very competitive.”
