RHS sports Roundup
Lady Patriots win three, now 10-1
The Revere High girls basketball team crunched three more opponents this past week, raising their record to a sterling 10-1 and in the process qualifying for the post-season state tournament.
The Lady Patriots opened their week last Monday with a 53-39 triumph over former Greater Boston League rival Medford. The Lady Mustangs, who are in first place in the GBL, came out on fire from the outset, utilizing a pressure defense that rattled Revere in the opening period. However, by the end of the first half, the Lady Patriots had turned the momentum in their favor and then took control of the contest after the intermission.
“Medford started fast, but we showed a lot of fight and character in responding to their challenge and then picked up our intensity in the second half, especially on defense,” said RHS head coach Diana DeCristoforo. “When we play full-court, man-to-man defense and force turnovers, it gets our guards running and creates opportunities for us on offense.”
Senior captain Tiphani Harris led the Lady Pats with 18 points. Maritza Scott with 13 points and Adanna Hector with 11 also reached double figures, followed by Meaghan Gotham with six points, Valentina Pepic with two, Pamela Gonzalez with two, and Natasha Iacoviello with a free throw.
The Lady Patriots were back in action the following night, trekking to Danvers. Once again a slow start bedeviled the Revere squad, which found itself in a 14-0 hole after the opening four minutes.
“It was our second game in two nights and our legs were a little tired,” said DeCristoforo. “Danvers is quick and has some good shooters and we allowed them to take control of the game. But after they gave us their best shot, we responded with guts and toughness.”
Indeed, after a Lady Patriot timeout, the Revere girls soon asserted total command of the situation. A little arithmetic shows that with a final score of 51-34 showing on the scoreboard at the end of the game, the Lady Patriots outscored their Lady Falcon rivals by the wide margin of 51-20 over the remaining three and a half periods. Adanna Hector topped the Revere scoresheet with 10 points of the nine Lady Patriots who contributed to the Revere offensive production. Pepic and Gonzalez hit for eight points apiece, Harris stuck for seven, Scott added six, Gotham and Tatianna Iacoviello chipped in four each, and Ally Hinojosa and Natasha Iacviello both scored two points.
Friday evening’s match with Swampscott saw the Lady Patriots reverse the opening trend of the previous two contests as they took the initiative from the outset. Revere sprinted to a 9-0 lead to start the game and never looked back en route to a 48-26 runaway victory. Once again, the Lady Patriots received balanced scoring throughout their lineup, led by Scott with 12 points and Harris with 11. Pepic added six, followed by Gonzalez with five, Natasha Iacoviello and Hinojosa with four each, and Gotham with two.
“My goal as a coach is to have every member of the team contribute, whether it be scoring, rebounding, passing, or defensively, and we have been doing that,” said DeCristoforo. “Every girl knows that she is an important part of the team and every girl knows that she is expected to play a role in our success.”
With their 10th win, the Lady Patriots now have attained the first goal that DeCristoforo had set for them, qualifying for the post-season state tournament. Next up is an NEC North Division title and after that, a deep run in the state tourney. “Our goal is not just to be a good team, but to be a great team,” said the coach. When asked the inevitable question of comparing this squad to her now-legendary 20-0 Lady Patriot contingent of a few years ago, DeCristoforo said, “Obviously there are differences, as there always are with every team each year. But the one common denominator between that team and this one is that they compete as hard in our practices as they do in the games.”
The Lady Patriots were scheduled to play Winthrop yesterday (Tuesday), but the blizzard had other plans for DeCristoforo and her crew. They will host a good Peabody team Friday and then travel to Lynn Classical Monday.
Junior Lady Patriot teams off to fine start
The Revere junior varsity, freshman, and middle school teams have been emulating their varsity Lady Patriot counterparts, as all three are off to fine starts at the midpoint of the season.
The Revere High JV squad, under the direction of coach Kristin Ciappina, presently sports an 8-3 record. The junior Lady Pats have been playing well defensively, working together to secure over 35 rebounds a game. Offensively, they are working as a whole with everyone contributing points to the scoresheet.
“Captains Elizabeth Lake and Tia Fichera are a strong and aggressive defensive unit, working together to pressure our opponents as both girls are leading the team in steals and assists,” said Ciappina.mantha Woodman and Victoria Puopolo are a tough duo in the post, communicating well together in ripping down rebounds and feeding each other the ball to score.
“Gianna Berkowitz, Karen Malpica, and Teanna Cruz-Prince complement the team’s defense. Hanadi Kobilic and Wafaa Meliani contribute in grabbing rebounds,” added the coach.
Injured teammate Vanessa Puopolo has been on hand to cheer on her teammates.
Freshman coach Elizabeth Leonard’s freshman squad has achieved a sterling 9-1 mark at the halfway point, with their only loss coming to Peabody by a slim three-point margin.
“The intensity and dedication of these young ladies have proven to be the keys to our success,” said Leonard. “With only eight members on the team, each one has contributed to our strong season thus far.”
Victoria Correia, Alena Giuliano, Toni Scearbo, and Jasmina Mujic each are averaging eight points per game. The defense is held down by Emily Wykes and Correia, who are averaging six steals per game.
The Middle School team, which is comprised of seven sixth graders, two seventh graders, and six eighth graders, stands at 4-2 on the season with wins over Marblehead, Salem, and Saugus and losses to Gloucester and Swampscott.
“The girls work really hard in practice and have already seen great improvements in their individual skills and team play,” said coach Erin Parker.
Damiano, Cevallos win
for RHS boys track team
Richie Damiano and Nelson Cevallos won their respective events for the Revere High boys indoor track team in the Patriots’ meet with Peabody last week.
Damiano captured the 1000 dash with a time of 2:51.9, while Cevallos took the high jump with a leap of 5′-8″.
Bounlaing Chea grabbed second place for Revere in the 600 in a clocking of 1:34.5. Edi Mujan and Anthony Berry tied for second (and thus split the second and third place points for Revere) in the 300 dash in 40.5.
Lionel Forbes added a point to the Revere total with a third in the 50 hurdles in 7.2 and Danny Murphy took a third in the 50 yard dash in 5.9.
Revere also won the 4 x 400 relay in a time of 3:59.2, handily defeating their Peabody counterparts by 14.5 seconds, to finish with 24 points compared to Peabody’s 62.
The Revere squad now will compete in the Northeastern Conference All-League Meet Friday at the Reggie Lewis Center.
RHS hockey team
still in the doldrums
The Revere High hockey team came out on the short end of both of its contests this past week, dropping a 2-1 decision to Somerville last Wednesday and then falling by a 6-0 margin at Gloucester Saturday.
“We’re playing hard and giving it a good effort, but the bottom-line is that we’re younger and smaller than the teams we’re going up against,” said RHS head coach Joe Ciccarello. “We’re having trouble scoring — we have only 18 goals in 14 games — and you can’t win many games with that kind of offense.”
 The Patriots grabbed a 1-0 lead in the opening frame in their encounter with former Greater Boston League rival Somerville on a goal by Joe Ristaino, assisted by Rich Polignone, but Somerville knotted matters before the period ended.
Somerville then lit the lamp in the middle period for what would prove to be the eventual game-winner. “We had our chances to tie Somerville, but we couldn’t finish our opportunities,” said Ciccarello.
In Saturday’s encounter at Gloucester, defensive lapses allowed the Fishermen to have three break-ins on the RHS net. “Gloucester is one of the fastest-skating teams we’ve played, but that’s no excuse for allowing the breakaways that we did,” said Ciccarello.
“This is a great group of kids,” added the coach. “They work hard and have excellent character, but we need to get bigger and more experienced if we’re going to compete against the caliber of teams on our schedule.”
The Pats suffered a setback in the Somerville contest when Polignone, their senior captain, left the ice with a concussion and will be out indefinitely.
Ciccarello and his crew will host Swampscott tonight (Wednesday) at 6:30 and will entertain Peabody next Wednesday at 5:30.
RHS girls track
competes vs. Peabody
The Revere High girls indoor track team ran into one of the top teams in the Northeastern Conference Saturday and came out on the short end of a 72-14 decision to Peabody.
Among the highlights for the Lady Patriots was a second-place finish by Danielle Fortuna in the 1000 meter dash in a personal record (PR) time of 3:47. Suellen Guerreiro ran her season-best time of 14:10 in the two mile run to take second place in that event.
Sophomore Monica Posada ran a PR for the third straight meet in the mile with a clocking of 6:28. “Monica is one of the hardest workers on the team and she approaches every race with a positive mindset and a numerical goal in mind,” said RHS head coach Antonio LaBruna. “It has been a great season for her to this point and she is still getting better.”
Angelisa Nguyen ran a strong 49.8 in the 300 meter dash, the first time that Angelisa has run in that event this season, to capture third place. Jasmine Zelkanovic also earned a point for the Revere scorebook with a third place finish in the 50 hurdles in 9.3.
The Revere 4 x 400 relay quartet, comprised of Monica Posada, Danielle Fortuna, Nadia Lerari, and Yesenia Arango, handily defeated their Peabody counterparts. The Revere foursome came across in a time of 5:08.8, almost 20 seconds faster than the 5:28.2 clocking for Peabody.
The Lady Patriots’ will compete in the Northeastern Conference All-League Meet Friday at the Reggie Lewis Center.
Chea hits for 27 points,
but Patriots fall to Big Blue
Revere High boys basketball captain Tommy Chea poured n 27 points, but the Patriots came out on the short end of a 68-59 decision to Swampscott Friday evening.
The contest was a nip-and-tuck affair throughout a fast-paced first half, which ended with the teams deadlocked at 34-34, as both squads put on an offensive show. The Revere side was led by Chea, who hit for 20 of his points in the opening two periods.
“Tommy was absolutely outstanding for us tonight, as he has been all season long,” said RHS heard coach Adam Rizzo. “Watching him in the first half was just a show of what he is capable of on a nightly basis. I’m not sure there is a player in the league that does more for his team than he does. We are asking our point guard to cover the opposing team’s big men. He also is our best rebounder, scorer, passer, defender, decision-maker, and probably shot-blocker.
“There isn’t an area of the game that Tommy doesn’t contribute to,” continued Rizzo. “The coaching staff and I knew coming into the season that he would be a very good player, but right now I would have to say he is one of the league’s best.”
However, as has happened in many of their games this season, the third quarter continued to be the Patriots’ Achilles heel. Bad decisions on the offensive end and the inability to make defensive stops allowed Swampscott to move out to an eight-point advantage at the third buzzer, a lead that Revere never was able to dent the rest of the way.
Janard Jones, who sank a trio of three-pointers, joined Chea in the double-figures club with 11 points.
Last Tuesday night the Patriots took on Danvers, one of the true powerhouse boys’ basketball programs in the state that is ranked fifth in Massachusetts by ESPN High School Sports, and fell by a score of 94-49.
“We knew it was going to be an uphill battle,” said Rizzo. “Our plan was to slow the game down and work to get the best shots possible. This worked for half of the first quarter as we held onto a slight lead, but then the Falcons turned it on and started clicking on all cylinders. They got hot from three, they pounded it inside to their 6’8″ and 6’5” big men, and there wasn’t much we could do about it.
“I’ve been coaching in the NEC in some capacity for the past seven years and have had the privilege to watch some very talented basketball teams,” added Rizzo. “What I saw on Tuesday night was the best team that the NEC has ever had in Danvers. They’re going to be a contender for the state title this year, and with their combination of size and skill, they can beat anybody in the state.”
The Patriots had been scheduled to play Winthrop last night (Tuesday), but that contest was snowed-out. Rizzo and his crew will trek to Peabody Friday night and will host Lynn Classical next Tuesday.
RMS sports Basketball
 Middle School Girls fall to tough Swampscott squad
 The Revere Middle School girl’s basketball team ran into a buzz saw last Tuesday when Swampscott invaded SBA gymnasium. The Big Blue, who had NEVER beaten the Lady Patriots showed up with a juggernaut unit, including 6′ 2″ 8th Grader Faye Parker (23 points and numerous blocks) and put a lickin’ on the young Revere team. Our girls went don 16-1 after 1 period and though they outscored their opponent 34-33 the rest of the way just couldn’t make up the deficit and ended up on the short end of a 49-35 score.
 Emily DiGiulio (12) and Erika Cheever (13) led the way for their team scoring 25 points between them. Olivia Novoselsky had 4, and Alana Nelson, Chloe Giordano, and Catherine Woodbury all chipped in with 2. Revere now stands at 3-2 and plays at Salem on Friday.
Boys Middle School Hoopsters Bury Swampscott
 The Boys Middle School basketballers won their 4th straight contest by dispatching a weak Swampscott group 51-18. The Jr. Pats raced out to a 27-4 1st quarter advantage and never looked back as Coach Erik Maloy cleared the bench early and cruised to the victory.
 Sebastian Vanegas led all scorers with 14 points followed by Marcus Brunson who had 10 (all in the 1st stanza)# Pats had 6 Scott Montefusco, Andres Mejia, and Dorion Andrews. Erick Mariona dropped 4, Harvey Lemus struck for 3, and Yussuf Ali-Buda finished with 2. Mike Hayes, Adam Harper, Eric Bua and Dillon Day all saw action for the victors. The Boys are now 4-1 and head to Salem to take on the Witches this Friday .