Sports 02-21-2018

RhS sports Roundup

Fitzpatrick medals at D-1 State Meet

Revere High track star and senior captain Hannah Fitzpatrick finished seventh overall in the 1,000 meter race at the Division 1 State Meet that was held last Friday at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston. Hannah’s effort earned her a medal, which is awarded to the top eight finishers in each event.

“Going into the race, we weren’t even thinking about scoring and making the podium,” said RHS head coach Antonio LaBruna. “It was a great way to culminate the season for Hannah. She always has running on her mind and it would be difficult to find a kid that works harder and cares more about their performance than she does.”

With the winter season now a wrap, thoughts of the coming spring season, which is about a month away, will begin for Fitzpatrick and her teammates.

“After a week or so of rest, we’ll begin to goal-set and turn our attention to the spring,” noted LaBruna. “Hannah will be competing primarily in the mile, 800 meters, and triple jump. I have no doubt she’s going to have another special season.”

On the boys’ side at the D-1 Meet, Patriot sophomore Lucas Barbosa competed in the 55 meter hurdles and turned in a time of 8.58.

 

RHS hockey team needs two points to reach tourney

 

The Revere High hockey team inched closer to securing a berth in the post-season state tournament with a 2-2 tie with Essex Tech this past Saturday at Cronin Rink in a contest that was was highlighted by Senior Night festivities before the game.

Although the Patriots controlled the play and had the better chances for most of the contest, they were unable to find the back of the Essex net until midway through the second period when Mike Goroshko lit the lamp for a 1-0 Revere lead. However, Essex brought matters back to level before the second horn and then took a 2-1 lead five minutes into the third period.

Goroshko notched his second goal three minutes later to bring about the deadlock that prevailed until the final horn.

“We played well enough to win, but it was one of those games where we just couldn’t seem to finish our chances,” said RHS head coach Joe Ciccarello.

The four seniors honored at Senior Night were captain Rob Stoica, assistant captain Mike Goroshko, Mike Giordano, and Ken Uminski. A presentation was made before the game with the players and their families at center ice.

Last Wednesday, the Patriots come out on the short end of a 6-1 decision to Beverly in a contest that was much closer than the final score would indicate. After battling the heavily-favored Panthers through two periods in which Beverly could muster only a 2-1 lead — with both Beverly goals coming on power plays — a pair of Panther markers early in the final period put the game out of the Patriots’ reach.

“This was one of our best games of the season against a strong team,” noted Ciccarello. “We fought hard all the way and gave it our best.”

Mike Giordano scored the Revere goal.

Ciccarello and his crew now stand at an even-steven, 7-7-4 record for the season and need two points in their final two games — either a win or two ties — to punch their ticket for a Journey to the Tourney.

The Patriots will begin their quest to secure a spot in the post-season MIAA state hockey tournament tonight (Wednesday) when they host Amesbury at Cronin. They then will entertain Peabody at Cronin on Friday. The opening face-off for both games is at 4:30.

 

Boys basketball team battles well at Chelsea;defeats Danvers, 56-45

 

Last Monday the Revere High boys basketball made the short trip up Broadway to face their arch-rival, the Red Devils of Chelsea. The Patriots had lost a tough one to Chelsea at home to open the season and were hoping to return the favor on Chelsea’s Senior Night.

Revere, playing in front of a packed house and hostile crowd, played their best basketball of the season. Chelsea led 15-14 after the first quarter, with Patriot senior guard George Quintana scoring seven points. The pace in the second quarter slowed down and Chelsea took a 28-23 lead at the intermission.

Revere switched into a full-court press with a taller lineup to start the second half and it made a huge difference. Behind the solid play of juniors Marcus Brunson-Perez (11 points), Nick Ciciulla (six points, six rebounds), and John Leone (11 points with three three-pointers), the Patriots surged to a 45-39 lead at the third buzzer.

The fourth quarter started slowly for both teams, but Revere still was hanging on with a four-point advantage with 2:23 left in the game. However, the young Patriots missed the front ends of a pair 1-and-1 opportunities at the foul line, leaving the door open for Chelsea to mount a comeback

The Red Devils took advantage of the opportunity, hitting a trio of treys down the stretch and making their free throws to pull out a 58-53 triumph.

“That was a state tournament-type atmosphere,” said RHS head coach David Leary. “Every possession was critical.  Very similar to our first loss of the year to them, our inexperience was evident in the final quarter. A couple of bad turnovers, shot selection, and missed free throws were the difference in the game. We learned a lot about ourselves and will learn from this one.””

The following evening the Patriots traveled to Beverly to take on the young and talented Panthers. The first quarter looked promising for Revere, as junior guard Marcus Brunson-Perez (11 points) made some tough, contested shots.

Revere trailed by a manageable 19-13 score after the first quarter, but the final three periods  did not go as well. Revere trailed 38-22 at halftime en route to a 69-42 loss.

“No excuses, but I could see early in the second quarter that we had no legs after the tough battle with Chelsea the night before,”  said Leary.

However, two positives came toward the end of the game, as recently-promoted sophomore guard Derek Avery drained a pair of three-pointers and freshman Dylan Day made a strong drive to the basket, earning the first varsity points for both players.

Friday night Revere made the trek to Danvers for the Patriots’ final Northeastern Conference game of the season. The Falcons, who were celebrating their Senior Night, have been playing well of late and are a young team as well.

The Patriots’ John Leone was a one-man show in the first quarter, as the junior forward (14 points) had 12 of Revere’s 15 points in the frame, boosting the Pats into a 15-11 advantage at the first buzzer.

The second quarter saw Revere clamp down on defense, holding Danvers to just three points. RHS guards Marcus Brunson-Perez (11 points) and EJ Leone (13 points, eight rebounds) got going offensively to push the Patriots into a 26-14 lead at the half.

The second half was back and forth, but Revere got solid defensive play from junior guard Donato Colarossi (four points, seven assists) and a presence around the basket by junior forward Nick Ciciulla (10 points) to close out with a 56-45 win. “We are proud of these guys,” said Leary. “We are playing our best basketball right now and playing as a team. We had four players in double figures in the Danvers win and we are averaging more then 14 assists per game over our last five games. It’s been a tough year, record-wise, but we can see the improvement every day.”

Leary and his squad were set to conclude their 2018 campaign during the vacation week in the Hamilton-Wenham Tournament.

RHS Swim team wraps up successful season with impressive post-season finishes

After completing a 5-3 regular season the Revere High swim team began its post season with the NEC Championship Meet at Salem State College.  Swimming on separate nights the boys and girls had many best times and impressive races.  The boys got things started with a great race in the 200 medley relay.  The team of senior Aaron Rondon, juniors Andrey Carvalhais, William Arias and freshman David DelRio took second place overall and qualified for the state North Sectional meet.  The boys continued their great swims and racking up a number of best times, including senior Duy Tran in the 500 free and the 100 breast.  The boys ended up in 6th place out of 13 teams.

The next day was the girls turn, and Revere kept up the great swimming.  The relay team of junior Leila Cesic, sophomores Sonia Salazar, Olivia Winsor and freshman Isabella Veraldi scored a huge number of points in the 200 medley and 400 free relays.  Both teams qualified for the North Sectionals, to go along with the 200 free relay they had already qualified for.  The girl’s team showed great depth by scoring points in every event.  They finished an impressive fourth out of 13 teams.  It is one of the best finishes ever for Revere swimming.

Last weekend, the team wrapped up the season at the North Sectional meets at MIT.  The girls had qualified for all three relay events and with junior Stephanie Carvalho joining the medley the team had their three best times of the season.  Cesic had also qualified as an individual in the 200 free and the 500 free, two of the most grueling events in high school swimming.  In tough and competitive races she had season best times in both.  Veraldi also earned an individual berth, in the 100 backstroke, and swam her best time of the season.  Quite an accomplishment for the freshman!  The boys only had one event, the 200 medley relay, but they made the most of it by besting their old mark in an exciting race.  Overall Revere swam seven races and came away with seven best times.

 

Fantastic Finish

Pepic hits winning free throws as Revere takes Spartan Classic title in OT

By Cary Shuman

You hesitate to use Yogi Berra’s most famous and most repeated quote of all time, “It ain’t over till it’s over,” but it certainly applies to the Revere-Billerica girls championship game in the Spartan Hoop Classic

Just when Billerica thought it had won the game on Haley Reinold’s three-pointer with 3.5 seconds left in overtime, something quite unusual happened. The Billerica players started celebrating on the court while Revere was inbounding the basketball, and the Billerica team was assessed a technical foul.

Revere coach Lianne O’Hara chose Revere senior co-captain Valentina Pepic to shoot the technical free throws and Pepic coolly connected on both shots in a dramatic 44-42 victory, giving the Lady Patriots the Division 1 title in the tournament Tuesday at St. Mary’s High School.

O’Hara knows the rules extremely well, and amidst the bedlam on the court, she began signaling to the referees for a technical foul. Billerica coach Chris Doneski did not dispute the referees’ call.

“We thought it was the game clock [that had expired], and it was the shot clock,” said Doneski. “It was the right call, absolutely.”

Revere was able to send the game into overtime because of Tatianna Iacoviello’s clutch three-pointer with 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter after Billerica’s Madison Watford had hit a three-pointer to make it 34-31. Iacoviello, who had two crucial assists in overtime, was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Emily DiGiulio had a key three-pointer in the fourth quarter and Revere’s first basket in overtime. DiGiulio also helped out well on the defensive boards.

Sophomore guard Erika Cheever also had a big three-pointer that gave Revere a 39-36 lead with 1:15 left in overtime.

“I can always rely on Erika to do the right thing at the right time,” said O’Hara. “She’s a solid player and always consistent. She works hard all the time.”

Billerica’s Reinold followed with a three-pointer to the game but Pepic finished off a pass from Iacoviello to give Revere a 41-39. Reinold struck again from three-point land, and that appeared to be the game-winning basket.

Billerica began celebrating but Pepic, who had a game-high 23 points and was named the Tournament MVP, went to the foul line at the other end of the court and delivered on both technical free throws for the dramatic victory.

Was there any doubt that Pepic would make Billerica pay for its too-early celebration?

“I practice free throws a lot and I was just focused on making them,” said Pepic. “I didn’t know how it worked for the technical foul for a team celebrating, but it helped us. It’s nice to be MVP but I’m really proud of my team, though. They played so hard and our defense locked them down.”

“Last game Valentina was 8-for-8 from the line so I knew she’d hit them,” said O’Hara.

Freshmen Caroline Stasio and Ayah Harper also played well for Revere, who had defeated Arlington, 64-58 in the semifinal. Pepic had 28 points and 14 rebounds while Cheever contributed 14 points.

Revere finished the regular season with a 16-4 record and now awaits the State Tournament pairings that will be drawn Friday.

Iacoviello shows her experience in Revere victory

By Cary Shuman

Senior guard Tatianna Iacoviello must enjoy the shooting angles at the Tony Conigliaro Gymnasium because two of the biggest and toughest shots of her excellent career have been at the St. Mary’s High School facility in Lynn.

In last year’s season opener, Iacoviello hit a last-second three-pointer to give Revere a victory over St. Mary’s. The Patriots won their next 17 games in a row and became the No. 1-ranked team in Massachusetts.

In Tuesday’s Division 1 Spartan Classic final against Billerica, Iacoviello hit another dramatic three-pointer to help Revere force an overtime session. The shot that came from well beyond the three-point arc in fact might have been more difficult than her previous game-winner.

“Coach O’Hara told me if I was open to shoot the ball and I shot the ball,” said Iacoviello. “This was a great way to get ready for the State Tournament. We all feel positive about the tourney because I feel we can win and go far. We just have to come out and play our hardest.”

O’Hara said Iacoviello has become one of the team’s best playmakers this season, but her three-point shooting has always been an asset.

“She hadn’t taken many shots in the game, so that was huge for her to drop a three-pointer like that,” said O’Hara.

Tournament MVP Valentina Pepic said she and Iacoviello have been playing basketball together since elementary school, and that she wasn’t surprised that Iacoviello came through in the clutch.

“I’m so proud of Tatianna – we needed someone to hit a three and she stepped up,” said Pepic.

Iacoviello is looking forward to the State Tournament.

“We all feel positive about the tournament,” said Iacoviello. I think we can go far. We just have to come out and play our hardest.”

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