RHS Sports Roundup

RHS Boys Basketball Plays at the TD Garden Sunday

The Revere High boys basketball team will have the thrill of a lifetime when they will get the chance to play on the fabled parquet floor of the Boston Celtics at the TD Boston Garden this Sunday, January 30, against Hamilton-Wenham High School.

The Revere v. Hamilton-Wenham contest is the concluding game of an all-day schedule of boys and girls basketball games starting at 7:15 a.m. to support the Andrew James Lawson Foundation, a not-for-profit organization established in Andrew’s memory by his family to advance and improve the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities by funding, developing and promoting programs, projects or individual scholarships that encourage and support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and help foster inclusion in their community.

“The team is very excited to be playing in the Garden,” said RHS head coach Dave Leary. “We were actually invited to play in the Andrew Lawson Invitational at TD Garden last season, but because of COVID, it got pushed to this season.”

Spectators are welcome at the game. However, all guests 12 years and older will be required to show proof of vaccination to be allowed entry to TD Garden. Proof of negative COVID-19 tests will no longer be accepted for entry.

In addition, the City of Boston Mask Mandate will continue to be in effect — regardless of vaccination status — requiring all guests two years-old and over to wear a mask while indoors, unless actively eating or drinking.

RHS Boys Play Well in Battle With Everett

The Revere High boys basketball team gave league-leading Everett all it could handle for three quarters.

But in the end, the Crimson Tide had too many weapons and pulled away for a 59-47 victory over the Patriots last Wednesday.

Revere entered the contest with a three-game winning streak and trailed Everett, which is undefeated in the Greater Boston League, by just one game in the GBL standings.

Although the Patriots had come up short in their first meeting with the Tide, coach David Leary and his crew overcame a slow start in the rematch — the Patriots trailed 10-0 after the first four minutes — and soon showed that they were going to give Everett a tough battle.

After the initial shock of the 10-0 Everett run, Revere adjusted to Everett’s man-to-man pressure and soon began to climb out of that early hole.  Senior captain Jack D’Ambrosio (six points, seven rebounds) finally got the Patriots on the board with a tough, contested layup.

The Patriots relied on their defense as well, keeping Everett close and frustrating the Tide with a zone defense. Revere soon got another nice driving basket from junior guard Alejandro Hincapie (five points, four rebounds). When RHS junior swingman Domenic Boudreau (12 points) swished a sweet, mid-range jump shot, the Patriots had sliced the Everett lead to six, 12-6, at the first buzzer.

Revere opened the second quarter with some great contributions off the bench. Senior forward Ramadan Barry sank a three-pointer at the top of the key and junior sharp-shooter Sal DeAngelis also drilled a trey to cut into the Everett advantage.

Revere senior center Hamza Ghoul (six points, six rebounds) made two nice post-up baskets in the paint and then Hincapie made a tough lefty runner in the lane and got fouled. Alejandro sank the free throw to give the Patriots their first lead of the night, 24-23, with just under two minutes remaining in the half.

Everett closed out the half with a 5-0 run to take a 28-24 lead into the locker room.

“We battled back, which was encouraging, but we lost our focus for a minute to end the first half and Everett took advantage and stole the momentum,” said Leary.

Still, the Patriots came out on fire after the intermission, and appeared to regain the momentum. Boudreau connected from three-point land and DeAngelis (11 points) made a nice move to the basket to tie the game at 31-31 with 4:03 remaining in the third quarter.

However, Everett responded with a few baskets, thanks mainly to offensive rebounds, as the Tide’s size advantage was evident on the court. Revere would struggle to score for the rest of the period and Everett picked up their defensive pressure to close out the third quarter with a 42-34 lead.

The theme in the final quarter remained the same. Revere would score a basket or two to get close, but then Everett would make a big shot to extend the lead and keep the Patriots at bay. Domenic Boudreau made a three-pointer, D’Ambrosio sank two free throws, and Ghoul made a nice sweeping hook shot underneath to make it a five point differential with over three minutes remaining, but that would prove to be the apogee of the Patriots’ comeback effort.

Revere could not muster much offense after that final surge and the Crimson Tide shooters were money from the charity stripe down the stretch to hold off the Patriots, with the final score of 59-47 ending the Revere winning streak.

“We had our opportunities, but in order to beat a good team like Everett, you have to be locked-in and focused on every possession,” said Leary. “But we just had too many breakdowns throughout the game.

“They were not going to just give it to us, so we needed to go and take it, but unfortunately that was not the case,” Leary added. “We just need to keep grinding.”

Leary and his crew, who now stand at 3-2 in the GBL and 4-3 overall, have a busy week ahead. The Patriots were scheduled to travel to Lynn Classical yesterday (Tuesday) and to Lynn English tomorrow (Thursday). They will meet non-league rival Hamiton-Wehham Sunday evening at Boston Garden at 8:30 and return home to host Medford on Monday at 7:00.

Bettero Hits for 23 as RHS Girls Basketball Edges Everett, 45-44

The Revere High girls basketball team maintained its hold on second place in the Greater Boston League with a pair of victories over GBL rivals Everett and Somerville this past week.

Last Tuesday, the Lady Patriots knocked off defending GBL champ Everett for the second time this season with an exciting 45-44 triumph on the Lady Crimson Tide’s home floor.

Carolina Bettero was immense for Revere, pouring in 23 points, including a trio of three-pointers, and making three steals.

Teammate Elaysia Lung also knocked down three treys to finish with 10 points and two steals.

“This was a close battle against a much-improved Everett team from our first meeting when we won 62-39,” said RHS head coach Chris Porrazzo.

With five seconds left, Everett’s Kaylee Rossi dribbled up the court and narrowly missed sinking a game-winning three-point field goal while covered by Bettero and Lung.

“We executed as a team down the stretch to pull off the win,” noted the coach.

Two nights later, Porrazzo and his crew trekked to Somerville and brought home a 32-14 victory in which spectators were not allowed at the game.

Leading the way for Revere was Skyla DeSimone with a superb all-around performance that included nine points, six assists, six steals, and four rebounds.

“Skyla works so hard as our point guard and the six assists were a season-high,” said Porrazzo. “She is constantly looking to set up her teammates for easy shots and that was on full display against Somerville.

Bettero once again reached double figures with 12 points and freshman Belma Velic had a solid outing with six points, five rebounds, and one blocked shot in limited minutes.

Porrazzo’s squad now stands at 6-4 overall and 5-1 in the GBL. They were set to take on undefeated, first-place Lynn Classical last night (Tuesday).

“This by far will be our biggest test of the season,” said Porrazzo. “We left a lot on the table the last time we played them (a 52-23 loss in December)  and we are hoping for a different outcome this time around.”

Revere will host Lynn English tomorrow (Thursday) and will travel to Medford next Tuesday.

Two More Wins for RHS Girls Track

The Revere High indoor girls track and field team enjoyed a successful week with a pair of victories over Greater Boston League rivals Chelsea, 40-38, and Lynn English, 42-31.

Liv Yuong was the top scorer for the Lady Patriots in both meets, placing first in both the 50 yard hurdles and the high jump.

Liv recorded two personal records (PR) in the Chelsea meet with a time of 8.76 in the hurdles and a leap of 4’-4” in the high jump.

Other first-place finishers against Chelsea included captain Jerelys Canales in the 50 yard dash with a PR sprint of 6.84; Jessie Jones in the 300 meter dash with a clocking of 49.5; Yasmin Riazi in the 600 meter dash with a time of 2:06.3; and Rocio Gonzalez in the 1000 meter run in 3:57.4.

Second place finishers included Yara Belguendouz in the 50 yard hurdles in 9.7 and Natalia Lopez in the shot put.

Contributing crucial third-place points for Revere in the closely-fought contest were Canales in the high jump with a leap of 4’-2”; Lynberlee Leng in the hurdles with a time of 9.8; Raquel Class in the 50 yard dash with a time of 8.1; and Tiffany Esteves in the 300 meter dash with a time of 53.4. 

In the meet versus Lynn English, the RHS girls achieved many first-place finishes and PRs.

Jessie Jones grabbed top spot in the 300 meter with a PR time of 49.2. Other first-place finishers included Rocio Gonzalez in the mile with a PR of 6:44; Yasmin Riazi in the 600 meters with a time of 2:05.2; and captain Alannah Burke in the 1000 meter event with a clocking of 3:40.4.

Second-place performers included Belguendouz with a 9.7 in the hurdles, captain Canales in the 50 yard dash in 7.0, and captain Fatima Hartout in the one-mile with a PR run of 6:50.2.

Third-place points were contributed by Natalia Lopez in the shot-put, Lynberlee Leng in the 50 yard hurdles, and Kyra Delaney in the 300 meter dash.

Coach Racquel MacDonald and her crew will entertain GBL foe Malden this evening (Wednesday) at the Merullo Fieldhouse.

They will face GBL rivals Lynn Classical and Somerville in a tri-meet next Wednesday.

Twin Wins for RHS Boys Track

The Revere High boys indoor track and field team defeated a pair of Greater Boston League opponents, Chelsea and Lynn English last week.

In a 52-33 win over the Chelsea Red Devils, the Patriot trio of Tom Desir, JV Cunha, and Javan Close got Revere off to a running start with a sweep of the nigh jump, led by Desir’s leap of 5’-6”. Cunha and Close both achieved the height of 5’-2”.

Cunha was among a host of Patriots who took first place in their individual events: JV won the 600 dash in a time of 1:37.2; Ricardo Goncalves took the 50 yard hurdles in 6.93; Mark Marchese sprinted to victory in the 50 yard dash in 5.89; Victor Pelatere won the 1000 in 3:19.4; Kenan Batic captured the mile in 5:30; and Keny Guerrero won the 300 dash in 41.9.

Scoring three points for the Revere cause were: Elmahdi Eikamazebi in the shot-put with a toss of 34’-10”; Close in the 50 hurdles in 8.8; Allen Hou in the 50 dash in 6.17; and Mohamed Ouakani in the two-mile in 12:23.8.

Desir added a point with a third-place effort in the 300 dash in 44.6.

Coach Sam Ros and his crew had an easier time in their contest vs. English with a 64-13 victory.

First-place points were won by: Desir in the high jump (5’-4”); Goncalves in the 50 yard hurdles (6.9); Guerrero in the 600 (1:46.7); Ouakani in the 1000 (3:24.7); Pelatere in the mile (6:11); Batic in the two-mile (12:37.6); Hou in the 50 dash (6.0); and Marchese in the 300 (43.6).

Adding three points to the Revere total with second-place finishes were Desir in the 300, Jonathan Samuel in the two-mile; Besmir Collaku in the mile; Close in the hurdles and high jump; Kenneth Le in the 1000; and Mudathir Hussein in the shot-put.

Scoring single points with their third-place efforts were: Felipe Maia in the 50 dash; Adrian Grunion in the 300 dash; and Matthew Pereira in the 600.

Ros and his squad are scheduled to host GBL rival Malden this evening (Wednesday) and will take on GBL foes Somerville and Lynn Classical next Wednesday.