Falling to .500: Pats Lose to Masco, Must Beat Winthrop on Thanskgiving to Finish 11 with a Winning Record

The Revere High football team played very well for most of their contest against  a formidable Masconomet squad (6-4 overall, 3-1 CAL/NEC 1) Friday evening under the lights of Harry Della Russo Stadium. The Patriots put together some nice drives on offense and overall played well on defense throughout the game.

However, as has happened in many of the Pats’ past few games, key mistakes and breakdowns that allowed the opposition to break away for long scoring plays proved Revere’s undoing.

The first such occurrence Friday night took place on the very first play of the game, the opening kick off, which saw the Masco kick returner take the pigskin 85 yards to paydirt for a quick 7-0 lead with the successful PAT.

Despite that initial jolt, the Pats settled down nicely, with the defense, led by senior captain and middle linebacker Rob Sasso, shutting down the Masco offense. The Revere offense meanwhile, went to work and put together an 80 yard drive before the half ended that was capped by a 10 yard TD burst by tailback Drew Lauria (85 yards on nine carries for the night). Jeff Simbert’s PAT knotted matters at 7-7 as the teams went into the locker room at the half.

“We were feeling pretty good about our chances at halftime,” said RHS head coach Lou Cicatelli. “Other than the opening kickoff, we played solidly on both sides of the ball.”

However, after the Pats were unable to move beyond their own 45 on their first possession after the intermission, Masco took over after the Revere punt and drove 70 yards to take a 14-7 lead.

Although the Revere offense moved the ball at times, they could not sustain a drive that got them into the endzone as the contest entered the fourth quarter. The Revere defense then yielded its only big play of the contest when a Masco runner broke loose for a 46 yard TD run to make it a 21-7 contest.

The Pats turned to their passing game to make up some points, but a Masco interception, the second of the day, which resulted in a 62 yard return for a score put the game away.

“We did a lot of good things, but in the end it was those big plays that made the difference,” said Cicatelli who praised the efforts of Sasso and nose guard Jimmy Domenici.

The loss dropped the Pats to 5-5 overall and 1-4 in the CAL/NEC 1. A winning season will be on the line Thanksgiving Day against traditional archrival Winthrop.

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