Nearly a year and a half after the Revere High School football program completed a historic season, the Patriots will return to the field Friday (6 p.m.) against Lynn Classical at Manning Field.
Coach Lou Cicatelli’s 2019 contingent finished 10-1 with a fourth straight victory against rival Winthrop on Thanksgiving after advancing to the North sectional final and falling just one win shy of a Super Bowl berth.
Ryan Doucette.
But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the football season was postponed last fall and the Greater Boston League athletic directors, including Revere’s Frank Shea, decided to move football to the spring.
Cicatelli is just happy to have his team together again on the practice field and preparing for some real football games.
“I just want to play football,†said Cicatelli. “I’m just so happy we’re playing. I never thought we were going to get there.â€
In addition to Classical this week, the Patriots will play Lynn English (on Senior Night at Della Russo Stadium) and at powerful Everett before finishing the four-game slate against Medford.
The Captains Will Lead the Way
The captains of the Revere High football team are quarterback Calvin Boudreau, running back/ linebacker Adetayo Attebbi, defensive end/offensive guard, Ryan Doucette, and running back/linebacker John Tran.
Boudreau, who was an All-Star for the 2019 team and just wrapped up his basketball season, has very capable pass receivers in Marco Cerbone, Jared Natola running back Billy Ginepra, and tight end Dillan Day, a returning All-Star.
Patriots’ Defense Looks Strong
According to Cicatelli, the defense will be a strong point for his team. Alaa Attoui has emerged an All-Star-caliber talent at defensive tackle and offensive guard. Captains Tran and Attebbi will anchor the defensive unit at linebacker alongside Mark Galvez. Junior Augusto Goncalves and senior Ryan Doucette will be the starting defensive ends while Ginepra will double up as an outside linebacker and strong safety.
The versatile Ginepra will also serve as the team’s long snapper on punts, field goals, and PATs. Galvez is Revere’s placekicker.
RHS Coaching Staff is Ready
Lou Cicatelli’s staff of assistant coaches includes offensive and defensive line coach Vin Gregorio, offensive coordinator Paul Norton, defensive coordinator Scott Wlasuk, special teams coach Rob Sasso, running backs and defensive backs coach Jose Escobar, and kicking coach Danny DeCristoforo.
No Game With Winthrop
Revere High football fans will have to wait until Thanksgiving in November for the traditional game against Winthrop High.
Winthrop, who plays in the Northeastern Conference, is playing its football season right now and wraps up Saturday against Masconomet.
“We wanted to play Winthrop but obviously their season’s over this week and we’re just beginning so there’s no way it could have happened,†said Cicatelli. “We tried. I wanted to play Winthrop. The kids wanted to play Winthrop. But we couldn’t pull it off. We would have loved to play them. It’s a great rivalry.â€
Llanos Plans His Return to the Field
Joe Lllanos, the All-Scholastic running back on the 2019 team, has been taking classes this semester and is considering Framingham State and Endicott College. Llanos certainly earned his spot among Revere’s all-time great running backs – Joe Festa, Mike Mucci, Marc Silvestri, Jose Escobar, and Trae Weathers, to name a few.
