Sports 01-19-2011

Halfway to perfection: Girls basketball team runs record to 10-0

Just like Ol’ Man River, the Revere High girls basketball team keeps rollin’ merrily along. Coach Diana DeCristoforo’s Lady Patriots remained undefeated and raised their record to a sterling 10-0 overall mark (8-0 in the NEC) with victories over a pair of Northeastern Conference rivals, Saugus and Marblehead, this past week.

Friday’s win over Marblehead, 60-32, was fairly typical of the manner in which the Revere girls have treated most of their NEC opponents this season. The Lady Patriots jumped out to a commanding 27-13 lead after the first quarter and increased the margin to 40-16 at the half thanks to a strangulating defense that held Marblehead to just three points in the second period.

By the end of the third period the margin was up to 52-25 with the final score standing at 60-32. Three Lady Patriots reached double figures, led by Morgan Jenkins with 19. Gena Restiano hit for 15 and Marissa Parent had 12. Caitlyn Caramello chipped in with five, Amy Rotger added three, and Kat Prince and Melissa Adreani scored two points apiece.

Last Tuesday’s win at Saugus, a 50-31 affair, saw Restiano lead the way with 18 points. Jenkins hit for 13 and Parent added 12 to account for the bulk of the RHS scoring.

“We’ve really been working on our defense,” said DeCristoforo, whose team has limited their eight NEC opponents to a average of about 35 points per game. “We’ve been breaking it down piece by piece. We had 14 steals in the first half against Marblehead which is an indication of our hard work.”

The coach also was pleased with the statistic showing that the Lady Patriots turned the ball over only three times in that same half against Marblehead. “We’re doing a much better job of protecting the ball and staying disciplined on offense than we were at the beginning of the season,.” DeCristoforo added.

With their campaign at the halfway mark, the twin wins not only solidified Revere’s hold on first place in the NEC, but also clinched a spot for the Lady Patriots in the post season state tournament, making them one of the first teams in the state to do so.

The girls bring their show on the road to Winthrop Friday and travel to Medford Sunday for a makeup of last week’s snowed out game. They will return home next Friday, January 28, to host Swampscott.

Boys hoop team tops Saugus, 75-53

The Revere High boys basketball team turned in what may have been its best effort of the season to post a 75-53 victory over Northeastern Conference rival Saugus last Tuesday.

“We played an unbelievable game,” said RHS head coach Rick Hayes. “Everybody contributed and did their job on defense. I could not have asked for anything more, especially in the second half when we turned the game around.”

The contest was a tight 16-15 affair in Revere’s favor after one quarter and at the half the Pats held a 32-27 advantage.

However, Revere began to open things up after the intermission, enlarging their lead to 54-45 at the third buzzer and then put the pedal to the metal in the final frame en route to an eventual 75-53 triumph.

“We had balanced scoring and that was the key,” said Hayes, whose Pats were led by Frank Colleran with 22 points. “Frank had a break out game for us,” noted Hayes.

Sean Quiroz was next on the point parade with 13. Greg Cabral (11) and Trae Weathers (10) also reached double figures. Alex Urena and Chris Palladino hit for six points each, D.K. Khalieng drained a trey and Dom Boyce and Paul Norton had two points apiece.

However, three nights later the Patriot team that showed up against Saugus was nowhere to be found in Marblehead, especially in the second half. “We simply did not play well as a team,” said Hayes. The game started out with the teams even at 13-13 at the first period mark and a still-close 29-23 in favor of Marblehead at the half.

However, that six point deficit soon mushroomed into a 49-29 Marblehead advantage after three frames and the Patriots’ hopes to reach .500 (they were 3-4 coming into the contest) were all but gone. The  final result showed a 62-42. Marblehead victory.

Cabral was the lone Patriot in double figures with 10. Weathers had nine and Norton and Palladino six apiece.

Khalieng registered five, Quiroz hit for four, and Colleran scored two.

“We need to figure out how to be consistent,” said Hayes, whose team the previous week similarly had shown different personalities in a win and a loss.

The Patriots will be back in action this Friday when they host Winthrop.

Boys track team runs past Beverly, 52-34

The Revere High boys indoor track team racked up another victory with a 52-34 win over Beverly last Monday.  The Patriots took first place in six of the nine individual events and added six second place efforts.

“The team did what we had to do,” said RHS head coach Jack Mosko. “On paper the meet looked like it could come down to the relay, but we stepped it up with a sweep in the 50 meter dash and then consecutive 1-2’s in the 300, 600, and 1000. Then Ernesto (Bonilla) put the exclamation point on the win with a first place in the two mile in 11:11, which also was a personal record for him.”

In addition to Bonilla, first place winners for the Pats were Devin Colon in the dash in 7.7; Breni Guzman in the 300 in 40.8; Michael Fitzpatrick with an easy win in the 600 in 1:30.3; Rawlings Toglon in the 1000 in 3:01.8; and Brahim Rhazi in the mile in 4:57.4.

Second place efforts were turned in by Vito Licata with a shotput toss of 40-5.5; Zack Primo in the 50 hurdles in 7.7 and the 300 in 41.7; Andrew Estrata in the 600 in 1:41; and Robert Rose in the 1000 in 3:02.3.

Adding single points to the Revere side of the scoresheet with third place finishes were Johnny Lopes in the high jump with a leap of 5-4; Vin DiChiara in the hurdles in 8.0; Joey Ritchie in the dash in 6.0; and Kristi Nushi in the mile in 5:19.7.

Mosko sent a large contingent to the Division 1 State Coaches Relay Meet held Sunday at the Reggie Lewis Center.

“We ran very well, but not well enough to beat out very strong competition at the relays,” said Mosko. “But we took 38 boys, which is a lot of learning and opportunities for the athletes.”

Among the highlights noted by Mosko, “Joe Ritchie continues to  shine and finished in the top 10 in the long jump. Our distance medley of Rhazi, Fitzpatrick, Toglon, and Bonilla cracked the top 15.”

The Patriots traveled to Gloucester this past Monday and hit the road to Marblehead next Monday.

Scata takes first for RHS girls track

Briana Scata continued to shine this indoor season for the Revere High girls track team with a first place effort in the shotput in last Monday’s meet with Beverly. Briana’s toss of 28 feet, five inches easily topped the field by nine inches over her nearest competitor.

Second place efforts for Coach Sam Ros’s Lady Patriots were delivered by Maggie DiPlatzi with a high jump leap of 4-4; Camden Sigouin in the 300 in 48.2; and Brittany Brown in the 600 in 2:00.8.

Adding single points to the Revere cause with third place finishes were Noelle Galli in the shotput with a toss of 24-10; Lindsay Gurska in the 50 hurdles in 8.6; Ha Nguyen in the 50 dash in 6.9; Alanna Pasco in the 600 in 2:02.5; and Nikki Nelson in the mile in 14:11.9.

Ros and his crew took on Gloucester this past Monday and will travel to Marblehead next Monday.

RHS skaters fall to Saugus, 5-0

The Revere High hockey team continues to look for its scoring touch after a 5-0 loss to Saugus Saturday night. The Pats now have scored just one goal in their past three games.

“It’s been a tough stretch for us,” said RHS head coach Jim Palumbo, whose squad now stands at 3-3 in the Northeastern Conference and 3-5 overall. “We’re getting good goaltending from Jeff (Redding), but we’re not going to win games unless we can put the puck in the net.”

Revere got off to a slow start. Saugus scored three minutes into the contest and again with just a minute to go in the period to skate into the locker room with a 2-0 advantage at the first horn.

Saugus outshot the Pats 14-2 in the first frame, but Revere came to life after the first break. The shots on goal were even at 16-16 the rest of the way, but the Pats were unable to dent the Saugus net, while Saugus added a marker in the middle frame and then two more in the third.

RHS back up netminder John Papsodero saw action late in the game.

The Patriots will try to get back on the winning track tonight (Wednesday) at Northeast Regional tonight. They travel to Beverly Saturday and will host Peabody next Wednesday in a makeup game at Cronin with a 4:30 face off time.

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