RhS sports Roundup
Gloucester proves too much for Revere football in semifinals
For at least one half of Friday night’s Division 4 North semifinal matchup in the MIAA state football playoffs, Revere High football fans could be forgiven if visions of Super Bowl glory danced in their heads.
Their Patriots came into the contest as the decided underdogs against a Gloucester team that had defeated Revere in the opening game of the season, 29-6.
But as the teams headed into their respective locker rooms at the intermission, the scoreboard showed the Patriots holding a 7-6 lead. Moreover, Revere’s hard-nosed play in the first two quarters had given every indication that they had come primed for an upset of the vaunted Fishermen.
Revere had scored on its opening possession of the game, marching 70 yards behind the hard running of senior captain Darius McNeil, who burst for a 46 yard gain during the drive and then went in from eight yards out for the touchdown. The successful extra point by Rayan Riazi made it 7-0.
Gloucester responded with a TD drive of its own on the ensuing possession, but the defenses on both sides stiffened for the remainder of the half, leaving the Pats with a slim 7-6 advantage at the half.
However, any hopes harbored by Patriot Nation for a possible berth for their heroes in the Super Bowl for the first time for a Revere team since 1973 soon were dashed by a powerful Gloucester ground attack that relentlessly took control of the game from the outset of the second half.
The Fishermen took the opening kickoff and marched to paydirt to move out to a 14-7 lead and then, after a three-and-out for Revere, took advantage of a 52 yard run from scrimmage to make it 22-7. After another three-and-out for the Patriot offense, a 46 yard burst by a Fishermen halfback led to another score and a 30-7 deficit for the Patriots.
A late score by Gloucester accounted for the 38-7 finale.
“Hats off to Gloucester, they were the better team and they took control in the second half,” said RHS head coach Lou Cicatelli. “They utilized their experience to make some adjustments in their schemes. We fought as hard and as best we could. I’m very proud of the effort that my guys gave.”
A key blow for the Patriots early in the second quarter was the loss to injury of junior tailback Lucas Barbosa, who was forced to leave the game with a pulled hamstring. “Lucas is a huge part of our offense,” said Cicatelli. “He is our main outside threat on jet sweeps, so losing him really narrowed our options offensively. Hopefully, he’ll be able to play against Winthrop on Thanksgiving.”
McNeil enjoyed a fine game, running for over 100 yards from scrimmage and scoring the lone Patriot TD.
RHS quarterback Jonathan Murphy, who had success on the opening drive with a pair of completions to Eric Bua, finished at 7-for-13 for 90 yards.
The Patriots, who stand at 5-4 on the season with their four losses — to Marblehead, Swampscott, and now two to Gloucester — having come against teams with a combined 24-3 record, will host Burlington this Friday evening on which Senior Night festivities will be held.
Burlington was the number four seed in the D-4 North (Revere was the sixth seed), but the Red Devils were smacked by fifth-seeded Wayland, 42-16, in the quarterfinals.
“This is a very important game for us, because a victory will assure us of a winning record and give us a lot of momentum heading into the Winthrop game on Thanksgiving,” said Cicatelli. “It should be a good high school football game.”
The opening kick-off is set for 6:30 under the lights at Harry Della Russo Stadium.
Post-season accolades for RHS field hockey; Scata named top coach
The Revere High field hockey team wrapped up its regular season last week, finishing with a 5-11-2 record, the team’s best in many years, in the highly-competitive Northeastern Conference.
Coach Briana Scata and her crew are set to hold their annual post-season banquet tonight (Wednesday) when players will be recognized for their achievements and contributions to the RHS field hockey program.
A number of Lady Patriots have been awarded post-season accolades. Senior captains Jenna Wells and Joli Giuliano were selected for the Northeastern Conference All Conference Field Hockey Team. Senior captain Jessica Vo and senior Jannel Mercado were selected as all-stars of the North Division.
In addition, Scata was named the NEC North Coach of the Year.
RHS girls, boys compete at NEC Meet
The rain threw a wrench in the Northeastern Conference Meet last Saturday at Bradley Palmer State Park, forcing postponement of the meet to this past Sunday at a new venue, Stage Fort Park in Gloucester.
“Despite the rescheduling, thankfully several members of our team were able to participate in the make-up date,” said RHS girls head coach Katie Sinnott, for whose squad Stage Fort Park was a brand new course.
Erika Cheever, Leila Cesic, Soleil Yuong, Carly Bennett, and Yulissa Santana Baez participated in the very competetive varsity race.
“Freshmen Maajda Louaddi and Gabriela Mogavero participated in the equally challenging junior varsity race and each of them ran personal bests,” noted Sinnott.
Varsity race results (girls)
Erika Cheever – 24th overall, 21:50
Leila Cesic – 29th overall, 22:23
Soleil Yuong – 41st overall, 23:44
Carly Bennett – 47th overall, 25:04
Yulissa Santana Baez – 49th overall, 25:39
Junior Varsity results (girls)
Maajda Louaddi – 36th overall, 27:24
Gabriela Mogavero – 42nd overall, 29:02
On the boys’ side, the change of date left the Patriots with a depleted complement of runners.
However, five Revere boys competed in the meet, led by captain Jonathan Nushi,
who was the first Patriot across the line in a clocking of 19:13, which placed Jonathan in 38th place among the large field of 72 runners.
He was followed by teammates Fabio Tran (45th in 19:41), James Carpinelli (49th in 19:49), Antony Arias (56th in 20:38), and Will Martinez (63rd in 21:21).
“The team ran well,” said RHS head coach Mike Flynn. “I’m very proud of the effort they made.”
Both teams will compete this Saturday in the Eastern Mass State Meet in Wrentham.
RHS teams fall in state tourney
The three RHS athletic teams who had qualified for the state tourney dropped their opening round matches this past week.
Coach Meg O’Donnell’s girls soccer team came up on the short end of a 5-2 decision at Andover last Friday. The Lady Patriots, who finished the season with a 9-9 record to qualify for the tourney for the first time since 2012, were the 10th seed in the Division 1 North Sectional. Andover, which sported a 9-7-2 record during the regular season, was seeded seventh.
The RHS volleyball team, the seventh seed in the Central-East D-1 Sectional with a 12-6 record, fell by a 3-0 score to 10th-seeded Arlington (10-10 in the regular season) last Thursday in a match played at Revere High.
The RHS boys soccer team, the 12th seed in the Division 1 North Sectional with a 10-5-3 mark, lost a 1-0 heartbreaker in overtime to fifth-seeded Somerville (13-1-4) last Friday at Dilboy Field.
Ironically, Somerville then went on to meet East Boston in the quarterfinal round and fell by a similar 1-0 decision in OT.
Revere Pop Warner teams advance in state playoffs
Two Revere Pop Warner teams advanced to the Eastern Mass. finals as a result of victories in playoff games on Saturday.
The Revere ‘B’ team scored on its opening drive and played tremendous defense the rest of the way in a 13-0 victory over Mission Hill.
Defensive tackle William Rosales had five quarterback sacks to lead the Junior Patriots’ defense.
“He was the defensive player of the game,†said Assistant Coach Patrick Keefe. “He played the game of his life.â€
Santiago Quienceno and Doug Goodwin scored the Revere touchdowns. Quinzano had a 15-yard run while Goodwin, the Revere quarterback, scored on a 30-yard bootleg run.
Chris Cassidy rushed for more than 150 yards in the game in a terrific performance.
The ‘B’ team will play at Mattapan in the Eastern Mass. championship game.
The Revere ‘D’ team rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat Mission Hill, 7-6. Trailing by a 6-0 score, Revere marched down the field and scored on a Cam Manley run for a touchdown. Quarterback Ethan Day connected with Isaiah Llanos for the conversion point that proved to the be the game-winner.
The ‘D’ team will also play at Mattapan in the Eastern Mass. championship game.
The Revere ‘C’ squad fell to Mission Hill, 25-0, in a first-round playoff game.
Pop Warner cheerleaders qualify for the Nationals
Three Revere Pop Warner cheering teams have qualified for the National Cheer Championships.
The Revere B, C, and D teams will compete for the national title in Lake Buena Vista, Florida in December as a result of their high finishes in league and regional competitions.
The B team coaches are April Delaney, Jenn McCarthy, and Britney McCarthy. The C team coaches are Bianca Donati and Anna llingworth. The D team coaches are Amanda Deveau, Brianna Walsh, and Adrianna Keefe.
The cheer director is Jenn Keefe.
