RHS Sports Roundup

New Coach, New Season for RHS Girls Basketball

The Revere High girls basketball team, under the direction of new head coach Chris Porrazzo, will open its 2022 season this coming Tuesday (December 14) when the Lady Patriots host defending Greater Boston League playoff champion Everett.

The opening tip is set for 6:00 at the Merullo Fieldhouse.

Porrazzo, a guidance counselor at the Rumney Marsh School who has helmed the highly-successful Revere Middle School boys basketball program, will be joined on the sidelines by a coaching staff consisting of long-time coach Michael Micciche; Ariana Rivera, a health teacher at Revere High School with lots of high school coaching experience who will be leading and developing the JV players; and Tommy Chea, a former RHS standout basketball player, who is on board as an assistant coach and scout.

“We were lucky to build such a strong coaching staff in such a short amount of time,” said Porrazzo, who was named to the post in November. “I truly believe all three coaches are capable of running a varsity basketball program and that’s what makes the future of our program so promising.”

The 2022 Patriots will be led by a trio of captains, senior Carolina Carvalho-Bettero, senior Skyla DeSimone, and sophomore Haley Belloise.

“More than anything, these three love the game of basketball,” enthused Porrazzo. “They are positive influences over their teammates and they communicate at a very high level. They made a quick impression on the coaching staff and earned the right to be named captains.”

The girls have not played any scrimmages to date, but will encounter Milton and Chelsea this week.

“We have pre-season scrimmages coming up against Milton and Chelsea,” noted Porrazzo. “Both games will be a good test for us to see where we stand before our first game against Everett on the 14th.”

Looking ahead to the coming season, Porrazzo said he has been impressed with his team’s focus.

“It’s striking how much our players on varsity and JV care about the game of basketball,” said the coach. “These girls want to work. They want to be challenged. They want to get better. They are willing to do whatever it takes to help the team.

“It is a really important mindset for some of our younger freshman players to have,” Porrazzo continued. “They might not be totally ready to contribute on varsity yet, but you can see the path ahead for them. They have a chance to develop and contribute to our program over the next four years.

“All the players truly value practice time,” Porrazzo added. “We preach that every second of practice time is meaningful and urgent. Our mantra is, ‘Tough, smart, and together.’ Everything we do revolves around those three things. We are still learning what those words mean to our team, but every day, every practice, every precious second we are improving and working hard.

“I can’t speak to what our results might be this year, but what I can tell you is that our effort, growth, and togetherness will be evident from game-to-game,” Porrazzo said.

The Lady Patriots will meet each of their seven GBL rivals (Chelsea, Everett, Medford, Malden, Somerville, Lynn Classical, and Lynn English) twice and will take on non-league foes Peabody, Waltham, Winthrop, and two opponents in the North Reading holiday tournament.

RHS Boys Basketball Readying for Season-Opener

The Revere High boys basketball team will open its 2022 season next Tuesday (December 14) when coach David Leary and his crew will make the short trek to Greater Boston League rival Everett.

“We’re looking forward to the upcoming season after a shortened season last year in the GBL due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Leary, who will be at the helm of a young squad that has only two players returning from the 2021 team.

“Senior captain Jack D’Ambrosio gives us versatility on both offense and defense with his athleticism,” said Leary. “Fellow senior captain James Clauto was the team’s leading scorer last season and will certainly have an intricate role in the team’s success this year.

“Our third senior captain, Ihssan Mourouane, a four-year player in the program, is a very intelligent player who makes all of his teammates better with his passing ability,” Leary added.

Leary will be counting upon senior big men Jean Saint-Dick, Hamza Ghoul, and Kenny Arango to give the Patriots toughness, scoring, and rebounding on the inside.

Senior swingman Ramadan Barry will provide Revere with three-point shooting and defense off the bench. Junior forward Domenic Boudreau will be a jack-of-all-trades with his ability to score, shoot, defend, and rebound.

“Junior point guard Alejandro Hincapie will drive other teams crazy with his on-ball defense, speed, and tenacity,” noted Leary, while  junior guard Sal DeAngelis will give the Pats a spark with his long-range shooting and scoring.

Junior forward Vincent Nichols also will provide energy off the bench with his athleticism and ability to get to the basket. Junior guards Vinny Vu and Chris Claudio will give the Pats long-range shooting off of the bench.

Leary will look to sophomore forwards Andrew Leone, Glenn Kule, and Luke Ellis to supply toughness and scoring for his young Patriot squad.

Leary and his crew played their first pre-season scrimmage on Sunday morning at Woburn High School, an encounter that Leary termed “a very competitive contest.”

Leary will head a coaching staff that will consist of JV head coach John Leone and freshmen head coach Bob Sullivan (who, along  with Leary, are entering their sixth season with the RHS boys’ program) and assistant coach Alex Green, who has been volunteering with the team for the past few years and who has been added to the staff this year.

Leary is cautiously optimistic about his young and inexperienced team.

“We’ll have some growing pains early on, but that will not be because of a lack of talent,” Leary said. “We just have a lot of guys who have never experienced the speed and strength it takes to play at the varsity level in the GBL.

“These guys have worked hard together all off-season, playing in two summer leagues, a fall league, and workouts,” Leary added. “I like the growth we have already shown and we look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together.”

Revere will host Melrose today (Wednesday) in a scrimmage at 4:30 in their last pre-season tuneup before the opener at Everett on Tuesday.

The freshmen will tip-off at 4 p.m., the junior varsity at 5:30, and the varsity at 7:00, all at Everett High School.

The Patriots will take on all of their seven GBL rivals (Chelsea, Everett, Medford, Malden, Somerville, Lynn Classical, and Lynn English) twice each and will play four games in two holiday tourneys. They also will meet non-league foes East Boston and Hamilton-Wenham to round out their 20-game schedule.

The contest with Hamilton-Wenham on January 16 at 8:30 p.m. will be a sure highlight of the season for the Pats because the  encounter will take place at the TD Garden.