Sports 10-17-2018

RhS sports Roundup

RHS football takes on Somerville Friday night

The Revere High football team will seek to get back on the winning track when coach Lou Cicatelli and his Patriots trek down the Parkway to Dilboy Field to take on Somerville Friday evening. The opening kick-off under the lights is set for 7:00.

Revere saw its three-game winning streak snapped this past Saturday afternoon on the gridiron at Blocksidge Field in Swampscott with a 27-7 loss to the Big Blue.

Swampsscott opened the game with a long drive off the opening kickoff to grab a 6-0 lead, but the Patriots responded with a 70 yard drive of their own, capped by a run to pay dirt by halfback Lucas Barbosa.

The successful PAT kick by Rayan Riazi boosted Revere into a 7-6 lead, but the advantage proved short-lived in the face of a Swampscott squad that took control of the contest on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

“Swampscott is the best team we’ve faced this season,” said Cicatelli, whose offense could muster only 10 plays and no first downs in the second half. “They have an outstanding line and excellent talent at the skill positions. They simply outplayed us.”

Still, in addition to the opening drive, there were some highlights for the Patriots, most notably the strip-sack and fumble recovery by blitzing linebacker Cal Capozzi that thwarted a Swampscott scoring bid inside the Revere 10 and the fine punting of Riazi, which often pushed Swampscott back deep into its own territory.

“Rayan’s punting was a weapon for us,” said Cicatelli. “He flipped the field position in our favor throughout the game.”

Despite the defeat, the Patriots still appear to be in good position to qualify for the post-season state football tournament. Revere presently is the sixth seed in its division. A victory Friday night at Somerville would enhance the Patriots’ seeding and their chances to make a run in the post-season.

 

RHS golfers end season with victory over Everett

The Revere High golf team wrapped up its 2018 season on a positive note with a 46.5-25.5 victory over Everett Monday afternoon on the Patriots’ home course at Cedar Glen.

There were numerous highlights for the Patriots in the triumph. Senior Matthew Cravotta, playing at the No. 1 slot, birdied the fourth hole in a 5.5-3.5 loss to his Everett counterpart.

Senior Jillian Eaves played at No. 6 and concluded her high school golf career with her first tied match, 4.5-4.5. Other key contributors included junior Dante Raffa, who played at No. 2 and who tied his match as well. Dante’s match highlight was a 15-foot birdie putt to earn the Patriots a point.

Juniors Michael Marchese and William Ly, playing at No. 3 and 4 respectively, also contributed to the win. Marchese parred the seventh hole in his effort that earned six points for the Patriots. Ly parred the difficult 220-yard, par 3 third hole, in his match in which he delivered 4.5 points for the Revere cause.

Sophomore Kyle Gove defeated his Everett rival, 5.5-3.5, in the winning effort.

The triumph enabled the Patriots to finish the 2018 season with a final mark of 4-8.

 

RHS girls soccer

defeats two NEC foes

 

The Revere High girls soccer team earned a pair of victories this past week.

Lady Patriot Carolina Bettero scored all three goals to lead the way for Revere in a 3-2 triumph over Gloucester. Midfielders Jackie Zapata, Doaa Halty, and Madeline Yanes all played key roles in the victory. RHS head coach Meg O’Donell also lauded the solid defensive play of Luiza Gils, Ghizelane Guiesser, Salma Boakdad, Alisson Guevara, and Isabella Cuello.

Keeper Camila Perez saw 20 shots, making 18 saves. “Camila has been solid in the goal for us all season,” said O’Donnell.

The Lady Patriots also defeated Greater Lawrence, 6-0, in which senior Jackie Chavez scored her first varsity goal with an assist from Jackie Zapata.

Also reaching the back of the GL net for Revere were Luanna Barbosa, with an assist from Salma Boukdad; Isabella Cuello with her first varsity goal, assisted by Doaa Halty; and Ana Ferro and Carolina Bettero with one goal each.

Perez earned her first shoutout of the season.

“As we head into the last two weeks of the season, we’re looking to stay in the win column,” said O’Donnell. Revere was set to host Lynn Classical yesterday (Tuesday) and will entertain Lynn English tomorrow (Thursday) and Salem on Monday. The Lady Crimson Tide will make the short trek to Everett next Wednesday and conclude their season at home next Friday, October 26, against Malden.

 

RHS volleyball team

seeking tourney berth

 

The Revere High volleyball team is seeking to get back on the winning track after a pair of hard-fought losses this past week to Northeastern Conference rivals Beverly and Lynn Classical.

In the 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 27-25) loss at Beverly last Tuesday, senior Kiana Napolitano made 37 digs and served three aces. Teammate Gries Kasofo also turned in a fine defensive effort with 25 digs and led the Lady Patriots with five assists.

Gabriella Rotondo made 12 digs and served three aces. Teammates Lilly DelloIacono, Lynzie Anderson, and William Arias Rodriguez all made valuable defensive contributions with 10 digs apiece.

In a 3-1 contest last Thursday at Classical, the Lady Patriots captured the first set, 25-23, but dropped the next three, 25-12, 25-14, and 25-23.

Emily DiGiulio paced the Revere attack with six kills. Rotunda added three kills and made 27 digs. Napolitano was a demon on defense with 51 digs, while Kasofo pulled out 32 digs and dished out 10 assists.

Coach Lianne O’Hara and her crew, who stand at 8-5 on the season, need one more victory in their final five matches to punch their ticket for a Journey to the Tourney. The Lady Patriots were scheduled to host Lynn English yesterday (Tuesday) and will travel to Marblehead tomorrow (Thursday).

Next week they will trek to non-league foe Weston on Monday, entertain Beverly Tuesday, and host Medford on Thursday.

 

RHS girls run

against Beverly

 

The Revere High girls cross country team hosted Beverly, a perennial powerhouse in the Northeastern Conference, at the Belle Isle course on a very warm October Wednesday last week.

Although the Lady Patriots came up on the short end of the final score (which is cross country, is the long end), there were some bright spots for coach Katie Sinnott’s squad.

Several freshman, Maajda Louaddi, Dianne Mancio, and Gabriela Mogavero. ran their best home course times.

“These improvements over time add up and these girls are running faster and faster each week,” said Sinnott.

Scoring for Revere were the top five finishers, junior Erika Cheever, senior Leila Cesic, sophomore Soleil Yuong, senior Olivia Novoselsky, and freshman Carly Bennett.

The Lady Patriots were scheduled to run their final regular season meet today (Wednesday) against Marblehead and then will prepare for the Northeastern Conference Meet next Saturday, October 27.

Overall Results:

Revere = 48, Beverly = 15

Individual Results:

Erika Cheever – 7th overall, 21:50

Leila Cesic – 8th overall, 22:04

Soleil Yuong – 16th overall, 25:00

Olivia Novoselsky – 17th overall, 25:25

Carly Bennett – 19th overall, 26:15

Yulissa Santana Baez – 21st overall, 27:29

Gabrielle O’Brien – 25th overall, 27:58

Salome Gezehagn – 26th overall, 30:09

Maajda Louaddi – 28th overall, 32:07

Gabriela Mogavero – 27th overall, 32:07

Skyla McNamara – 29th overall, 32:53

Dianne Mancio – 30th overall, 33:06

Belma Mujic – 31st overall, 38:09

 

Boys cross country

runs into strong Beverly

 

Although the Revere High boys cross country was outmatched by a powerful Beverly squad, RHS head coach Mike Flynn was pleased with the race run by his squad.

“Beverly once again is one of the top teams in the Northeastern Conference, but our guys ran a solid race,” said Flynn.

Freshman Victor Pelatere was chief among the recipients of Flynn’s plaudits for his sixth place effort in a time of 17:13, which represents the fastest clocking on the Belle Isle course by a Patriot this season.

Captain Jonathan Nushi was next for Revere, coming across in 12th place in 17:53. Fabio Tran ran a personal record (PR) of 17:58. Captain Scott Montefusco was the next Revere runner in 18:34, followed by Christian Madrid in 18:41, Antony Arias in 18:46, captain Cristian Acuna in 18:58, James Carpinelli in 19:08, Kevin Nguyen in 19:14, Sam Gonzalez in 20:47, Marco Cerbone in 20:58, Hassan Gliel in 22:16, Joe Arias in 25:01, and Wellan Sok in 26:53.

Flynn and his crew are set to wrap up their dual meet season today (Wednesday) at Marblehead and then will get ready for the Northeastern Conference Meet next Saturday, October 27.

 

RHS field hockey plays

well against top NEC teams

 

Although the Revere High field hockey team came up on the short end of a pair of recent games against two of the top teams, Swampscott and Marblehead, in the Northeastern Conference, RHS head coach Brian Scata was pleased with her team’s performance.

In the contest with Swampscott, which had defeated the Lady Patriots last year by a runaway score of 7-0, Revere battled the Lady Big Blue to a 0-0 deadlock through most of the game. It was not until the 29th minute that Swampscott broke the ice and then 10 minutes later added an insurance goal.

“The game was a nail-biter the entire time,” said Scata. “The two teams carried the ball from one end of the field to the other all game. In years prior, even when I played for RHS, we never really stacked up very well against a team like this.

“Each and every member played the hardest I have ever seen during that game,” continued Scata. “100% was given across the board and everyone played their position well. At the end of the game I said, ‘This is a win,’ because that was the hardest I have ever seen my team fight. I could not have asked for more from them.”

A few nights later, the Lady Patriots took on a Marblehead squad that likewise has easily handled Revere in the past. However, the favored Lady Magicians managed only a 1-0 lead at the half. Marblehead scored two more goals after the intermission, but the Lady Patriots got one back when Joli Giuliano, assisted by Jenna Wells, rattled the backboard of the Marblehead net to close the gap to 3-1.

Although Marblehead added another goal for a final score of 4-1, Scata once again praised her team’s effort, in particular the duo of Giuliano and Wells.

“Joli and Jenna have been our offensive leaders all season long, both scoring goals and having many assists. They are truly an asset to the team and kept the mentality of the game together as leaders both on and off the field,” said Scata.

Scata and her crew were set to take on Peabody this past Monday and will host Haverhill today (Wednesday).

The Lady Patriots will entertain Saugus this Friday in a contest that will be highlighted by Senior Night festivities.

They will conclude their season next week with games at Malden on Tuesday and back home against Chelmsford next Friday.

 

Boxing’s Biggest Stage

Bay State star Mark DeLuca set for his big bout at the Garden

By Cary Shuman

Mark DeLuca grew up in the South Shore so he understands the boxing history of the TD Garden.

“This is the biggest stage and I’m honored to be fighting at the Garden where legends like Marvin Hagler and Tony DeMarco and Joe DeNucci fought,” says DeLuca, whose nickname is “The Bazooka.”

DeLuca, a former U.S. Marine will be fighting in the TD Garden on Saturday, Oct. 20 in a show that is being promoted by Ken Casey, founder of the Dropkick Murphys. DeLuca is Murphy Boxing’s biggest star.

DeLuca is well known among local boxing fans, including Chelsea City Councillor Calvin Brown, who was an amateur champion and considers DeLuca one of the rising stars in boxing and a world title contender.

“I’ll be at ringside,” said Brown, who rarely misses a big fight. “Mark is an exciting fighter who will have a ton of his supporters at the Garden. He always puts on a great show and the fans love his tenacity.”

DeLuca (21-1-0, 13 KOs) has been training under the tutelage of Hector Bermudez at the Bayshore Athletic Club in Braintree.  He just returned from California where he sparred with Demetrius Andrade, who will be fighting in the main event at the Garden.

Bazooka, 30, will be stepping in to the ring in a rematch against Walter Wright, who handed him the first loss of his career in a controversial 12-round decision.

“I’m going to try to revenge my defeat,” said Bazooka, a three-time national junior champion.

Bazooka will carry his family’s esteemed, pugilistic tradition in to the ring. His father, Mark DeLuca Sr., was a former amateur and professional boxer and Massachusetts state boxing commissioner who used to run the South Shore Police Athletic League gym in Quincy.

“My father used to take me to all the fights at venues like the Roxy in Boston and the Roseland Ballroom in Taunton,” said Mark Jr. “He’s been a great motivator for me throughout the years. My father did a lot for me, bringing me to the gyms and the fights. When you become involved in sports at a young age, your parents have to be just as dedicated as their children are.”

DeLuca, who is 5-foot-9, is hoping that a win at the Garden will move his closer to a shot at the world championship. “I’m happy where my career is right now. I’m progressing well, but we all want a world title shot.”

He is expecting a lot of friends and neighbors to be in his corner at the Garden.

“I’m getting a lot of messages on Facebook inquiring about tickets to the fight,” said DeLuca. “People love the atmosphere of the Garden and being in the city.”

Travis Mazic Gambardella, a Revere native, will also be fighting on the undercard.