The Revere High football team had little trouble in keeping its perfect season intact Friday night, routing Northeastern Conference South Division rival Salem, 49-0, at Harry Della Russo Stadium.
In truth, this was a contest that was over almost before it began, much to the delight of the packed stadium full of Patriot fans who were on hand for Homecoming Weekend and Senior Night festivities.
The visiting Witches entered the contest winless at 0-6 and had been widely outscored in all of its games (by an average of 43-10) this season.
But any thoughts that Salem might have held of pulling off an upset vanished right from the opening kickoff when Billy Ginepra picked up a bouncing pigskin and returned it almost 70 yards for a touchdown and RHS placekicker Rayan Riazi booted the extra point (Rayan and the kicking unit were a perfect 7-for-7 on the night on PATs) for a quick-as-a-flash 7-0 Patriot lead
The Patriots proceeded to score four more touchdowns in the first quarter to build a 35-0 lead, a feat that must mark some kind of all-time RHS record for touchdowns and points scored in one period.
Mazer Ali blocked a punt on Salem’s first possession and recovered the ball, ambling toward the end zone before he was tackled on the one yard line.
Quarterback Calvin Boudreau then found Lucas Barbosa in the end zone to make it 14-0.
Salem’s next possession was equally disastrous when Patriot Joe Llanos returned an interception 25 yards for a pick-six. After the Patriot defense forced a three-and-out on Salem’s next possession, Boudreau connected with Zack Furlong (who was back in action after missing three weeks with a concussion) for a 52 yard TD pass.
The next Salem possession never took place — thanks to a recovered onsides kick by the Patriots — that eventually led to a 25 yard run by Llanos for his second score of the game to make it 35-0 by the end of the period.
RHS head coach Lou Cicatelli then began to use his reserves liberally throughout the rest of the contest. Jonathan Murphy, who also blocked a Salem punt, added a touchdown with a 50-yard run on a jet sweep in the third period and junior Attebi Adetayo capped the scoring with a 38-yard jaunt in the fourth period for the 49-0 finale.
“It was a total team effort,” said Cicatelli. “The defense was awesome, led by Mazer, Zach, Attebi, and Jon Tran. and our special team’s performance was fantastic. Everybody on the team got to play and that made it a nice night.”
The win assured the Patriots of at least a co-championship of the South Division of the Northeastern Conference. Revere is 4-0 in the NEC South, one game ahead of 3-1 Lynn English. A win over Winthrop on Thanksgiving Day will give the Pats an outright NEC South title.
RHS Football Team to Host Dracut in Tourney Quarterfinal
The Revere High football team will host Dracut in the quarterfinal round of the Division 4 North state football tournament this Friday evening.
The opening kickoff for the Friday Night Lights encounter at Harry Della Russo Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m.
Coach Lou Cicatelli and his Patriots enter the contest as the second seed in the D-4 North with a 7-0 record. Dracut is the seventh seed with a 3-4 mark. The Middies (short for Midshipmen, as historically, the town of Dracut was a place where U.S. Navy uniforms were created) started the season with a 3-0 record, but have been hammered in their last four contests in which they have been outscored 159-42 (an average of 40-10).
Although Revere and Dracut have not played any common opponents, they have played a once-removed common foe. Dracut was crushed by North Andover, 41-14, and No. Andover lost to Marblehead, 25-20. However, Revere defeated Marblehead two weeks ago, 31-27. So on paper, Revere would appear to be the favorite.
However, appearances can be deceiving and the Patriots know that they can expect a hard-fought battle from Dracut, which plays in Division 2 of the competitive Merrimack Valley League. Revere only has to look to last season’s state football playoffs for proof that Dracut, despite a lower seed, can be a problematic foe.
Dracut entered the D-4 North playoffs in 2018 as the eighth and final seed, but knocked off the number one seed, Marblehead, 28-14, in the quarterfinal round and then took Wayland to double-overtime in the semifinals.
“Dracut will be a strong opponent,” said Cicatelli. “They’re a solid team and they play in a very competitive conference. They went into Marblehead’s place last year in the playoffs and really took it to them, so we know we will have to be ready for a tough battle.”
If Revere defeats Dracut, the Patriots will host the winner of the matchup between third-seeded Wayland and sixth-seeded Wakefield next week at HDR.
Field Hockey Hosts State Tourney Game Tomorrow Night at HDR
The Revere High field hockey team will host a first round contest of the Division 1 North state field hockey tournament tomorrow (Thursday) evening at Harry Della Russo Stadium.
The opening face-off for coach Briana Scata and her crew against their opponent, Chelmsford, is set for 6:30. The Patriots enter the tourney as the fifth seed in the D-1 North, while Chelmsford is the 12th seed.
The Patriots completed the most successful season in the history of the RHS field hockey program with three wins last week that gave Revere a superb 12-2-2 record.
Last Monday Revere made the short trek to Saugus and came home with a 2-1 victory. “Although we believed we would struggle on their grass field, everyone showed up to play and put in the work necessary to take home the win,” said Scata.
Next up for the Patriots was Peabody, a team wth whom Revere struggled earlier in the season. Although Scata was missing a few of her starting players, the rest of the team picked up the slack in a 2-1 victory.
“We found the grit it that we needed to beat a stubborn Peabody team whose forwards often were pressing on our defense and would not let up.”
The final game of the skein was a hike to Haverhill, where once again the Patriots found their lucky number to be 2-1.
Katie O’Donnell and Julianna Raffa scored the two Revere goals for the second game in a row. O’Donnell’s marker tied her for the RHS record for goals in a season with former RHS great Jen Wells, who set the mark in the late 1980s.
Volleyball Team Wins GBL Title
The Revere High volleyball team claimed the Greater Boston League championship, the first league title in the program’s history, with a victory over GBL foe Malden this past week.
Last Monday evening, coach Lianne Mimmo’s squad celebrated Senior Night in fitting fashion with an exciting, come-from-behind win over Malden in five sets.
Seniors Valerie Moy, Brenda Bettero, Brianna Popp, and Olivia Windsor were honored prior to the match for their contributions to the volleyball program.
Isabella Martinez paced the Patriots’ attack with 15 kills. Olivia Winsor was a major contributor with 14 kills and Lynzie Anderson added seven.
David Del Rio delivered 24 assists to his teammates and Alexis Iacoviello served six aces in the win.
The victory gave Revere a 7-1 record in the GBL to clinch the league championship.
The following night the Patriots traveled to Lynn Classical, which is the top team in the Northeastern Conference. Revere started the match well, capturing the first set, 25-21. The Patriots then led in each of the next three sets, but could not hold the lead, as Classical won all three, 25-22, 25-17, and 26-24, to win the match.
Martinez led the Revere offense with 10 kills and Winsor added nine.
“We led several times in each of those sets, but we were not able to finish the sets strong and allowed Classical back in,” noted Mimmo.
Mimmo and her crew then wrapped up their regular season on Thursday, hosting one of the best teams in the state, Winchester, which is ranked #3 in the Globe poll.
“It was a great game to prepare for the upcoming state tournament,” Mimmo said. “Unfortunately we were not able to steal any sets, although the last one was only a two-point loss. In this match Olivia Winsor had nine kills. She has taken the leadership role to heart and has improved as a vocal leader, giving helpful feedback and encouraging her teammates.”
The Patriots finished up the season with an overall record of 13-7 and now will await word of their seeding and first round opponent in the upcoming state tournament.
Boys Cross Country Wins GBL Open Meet
The Revere High boys cross country team, the regular season champion of the Greater Boston League with a perfect, dual-meet record of 4-0, added to their laurels with a victory in last Wednesday’s GBL Open Meet.
The Patriots attained the lowest score, 28 points, among the five teams in the meet, to edge Somerville, their closest rival, which scored 33 points.
Leading the way for the Patriots was senior Fabio Tran, who came across the line in third place in a time of 15:01 on the course at Macdonald Park in Medford.
Fabio paced a three-pack of Revere runners, senior Christian Madrid (fourth place in 15:16) and sophomore Victor Pelatere (fifth in 15:20). Senior James Carpinelli grabbed eighth place in a clocking of 15:59 and Carlos Quintanilla clinched the Revere victory with an official ninth place performance in the same time of 15:59.
Senior Antony Arias turned in a strong performance (16th place in 16:29), as did junior Will Martinez (18th in 16:59), who was fighting through an illness that had sidelined him for three days prior to the meet.
Senior Michael Adolphus turned in a fine time of 18:03, good for 26th place among the 41 runners in the meet, to complete the varsity competition for Revere.
“I’m really proud of our team,” said RHS head coach Mike Flynn. “This is a big accomplishment. We ran well all season and the boys turned it on for the league meet. The entire team worked hard to improve their times and deserve to be the league champs.”
In the junior varsity race, Brayden Shanley took 1:30 off his previous best time at Macdonald Park to earn a fifth place finish. Miguel Leonard Garcia shaved a minute off his personal record on the course to come across in 11th spot.
The team was without the services of Vincent Nichols, a consistent performer all season, who was unable to race because of a broken arm.
Flynn and his top six runners will compete in the State Coaches Invitational Meet this Saturday at the state training facility in Wrentham.
RHS Girls Soccer is GBL Co-Champion
The Revere High girls soccer team defeated Malden last Monday night, 2-1, to become the co-champion of the Greater Boston League for the first time in the program’s history.
Carolina Bettero, assisted by Madeline Yanes, and Sofia Choqri scored the goals for the Lady Patriots.
“We had solid defense from Allison Calderon, Valeska Flores, Alisson Reyes and Gisselle Sepulveda and great goaltending from Camilla Perez,” said RHS head coach Megan O’Donnell. “We had great ball movement in the middle from Jackie Zapata, Maddy Yanes, Sofia Choqri and Luana Barbosa. Our two forwards, Carolina Bettero and Nahomy Martinez, have been a strong force up top all season.”
Last Tuesday the Lady Patriots observed Senior Night in appropriate fashion with a victory over Charlestown at which the team’s eight seniors, Luana Barbosa, Wissam Benzerdjeb, Allison Calderon, Oumaima Bahjy, Somaia Goaless, Sofia Gouriny, Maya Inzerillo, and Elsy Romero, were honored for their contributions to the girls soccer program. Elsy Romero and Wissam Benzerdjeb scored their first varsity goals.
“We had great play from all the seniors and they will be missed,” said O’Donnell.
Last Wednesday night Revere played Lynn Classical and came away with a 2-0 win. Goals were scored by Bettero and Martinez.
“We had another game of solid, mid-field play by Maddy Yanes, Jackie Zapata, Sofia Choqri, and Luana Barbosa,” said O’Donnell. “The defense stepped up big for us and didn’t let Lynn Classical score. Camila Perez had another solid day in goal.”
The Lady Patriots completed their busy week last Friday with a loss at Haverhill. “Haverhill was a very talented team and we just couldn’t find our rhythm to get the ball moving,” noted O’Donnell.
Revere was scheduled to conclude its regular season yesterday (Tuesday) at Lowell. O’Donnell and her crew then will await word of their seeding and first-round opponent in the upcoming Division 1 North Sectional of the state tournament.
“We are looking forward to our first-ever home playoff game next week,” O’Donnell said.
RHS Girls Cross Country Second in GBL
The Revere High girls cross country team turned in a strong performance in last Wednesday’s Greater Boston League Open Meet, finishing in second place behind only Medford.
“The team did well,” said RHS head coach Katie Sinnott. “We had two medal winners, sophomore Carly Bennett and junior Soleil Yuong. Carly ran a great race, finishing third. We ran a nearly-identical race at the beginning of the season (the GBL Open) and the improvement over the season is really impressive.
“Carly took nearly two minutes off her previous time, which at her already- impressive pace is very difficult. Soleil took off about a minute and a half,” Sinnott added.
Other notable improvements in the varsity race were turned in by senior Salome Gezehagn (faster by nearly 5:30) and sophomore Maajda Louaddi (by almost six minutes).
In the junior varsity race, freshman Butayna Amine finished second and junior Camila Sposito finished third.
“These newer runners improved tremendously over the season,” said Sinnott, “going from finishing close to the bottom at the beginning of the season to placing in the top three.
“Butayna, Camila, and freshman Maria Ferreira all took off at least four minutes from the GBL Open,” Sinnott added.
Varsity race results:
Carly Bennett – 3rd overall, 19:47
Soleil Yuong – 4th overall, 20:29
Yulissa Santana Baez – 11th overall, 22:40
Salome Gezehagn – 12th overall, 22:45
Maajda Louaddi – 20th overall, 23:52
Junior Varsity race
results (shorter course):
Butayna Amine – 2nd overall – 14:14
Camila Sposito – 3rd overall – 15:14
Keneisha Germain – 5th overall – 15:58
Maria Ferreira – 9th overall – 16:57
Guadalupe Alvarado – 13th overall – 22:41
Sinnott and her crew will compete in the State Coaches Invitational Meet this Saturday and then the EMass Divisional Race next Saturday, both of which will be held at the state training facility in Wrentham.
