By Pete Legasey
For the Journal
A week after pulling out an exhilarating overtime win over Northeast Metro, the Revere High Patriots struggled mightily against Medford High. The Pats were unable to conjure any of the magic they performed a week earlier against the Knights and wound up losing, 33-0.
“We just plain got beat up, in all areas of the game,†said a disappointed head coach Lou Cicatelli. “They were pushing us around, and we were out-hustled. The positive thing is that we did play a bit better in the second half, but it was way too late.â€
Revere kept the game close in the early going, though they struggled to gain much on offense. Medford took a 6-0 lead into the second quarter, which is where things began to spiral out of control for the Patriots. Revere committed a series of turnovers, most notably a fumble that Medford took back to the five-yard line before punching into the end zone on the following play. By the end of the half, Revere was in a 26-0 hole.
All told, there were few bright spots for the Patriots, with the exception being another solid performance from Trey Weathers, who rushed for close to 90 yards and made a handful of tackles on defense.
Cicatelli said the turnovers (seven in the first half alone) were unacceptable, and added the team will spend this week working on its fundamentals in preparation for its game against Danvers this Friday. Still, the head coach knows t there will be bumps in the road as the Patriots adapt to a different style of offense than the one they have preferred in years past.
In the pre-season, Revere began to practice an offense that would allow them to spread the field more by utilizing the strong and accurate arm of junior quarterback Paul Norton. He has yet to have the kind of outing that his coach hopes for, but the Patriots have high hopes that Norton will be able to make key throws to his main targets. Senior Scooby Magezca, senior co-captain and tight end Chris Adriani, senior Jesse Kielpinski and sophomore Drew Lauria will all be trying to get open and catch passes from Norton during the season.
Trey Weathers remains the team’s biggest weapon on the ground, but the running game will also feature Chyon Thy, Brandon Bones and Quintin Wesley on certain plays. Of course, both brands of offense will depend on the ability of the offensive line to buy time for Norton and make space for the running backs. The line has some experience in senior co-captain Will Weathers, but also needs steady development from sophomores Mike Ferrante and Rob Sasso for the offense to reach its full potential.
One thing that hasn’t changed from years past is Revere’s intention to make defense a major strong suit for the team. Thankfully, the defense is loaded with talented and experienced players, including the brothers Weathers, Adriani at linebacker and Magezca at defensive back, among others.
The group got off to a promising start after Game 1, but now must go back to the drawing board and correct a slew of mistakes that were made against Medford.
“We’ve got to go back to the fundamentals,†said Cicatelli. “We work on them more and more every day, with the ‘D line, the ‘O’ line, the QB – everything! That will be our big focus this week. Playing a whole football game, not just coming out in the second half or the first two quarters. We need to be focused and take care of business from the opening kickoff.â€