Sports 11-30-2011

Youth baseball: Revere Pals win league title 

Jeff Medeiros knows baseball talent when he sees it – and he sure saw it on his Revere Pals 16-under baseball team this fall.

The Revere traveling team, managed by Medeiros and coached by Dr. Craig Costanza, Mark Maloney and Gary Kalloch, showed the deep reservoir of talent in the city’s 16-under age division by winning its league championship, capping the season with a come-from-behind 8-7 win over East Boston.

Medeiros has coached many of the players since their days in the St. Mary’s Cal Ripken League. They’ve stayed together for the past four years and high school baseball programs, notably Revere High and St. Mary’s of Lynn -  where the talented Costanza brothers, Alec and Matty are students – are about to realize the fruits of their dedication to the game.

“It’s an exceptional team, one that could compete and excel at the AAU level,” said Costanza, a Revere dentist who’s enjoyed helping his sons develop their baseball skills as a coach of the Pals.

Medeiros has three sons on the team – Jeffrey, Tyler, and Matt.

Jeffrey Medeiros and Dylan Kalloch were a potent 1-2 batting and catching combination for the Pals. Medeiros batted over .500 and was a leading RBI producer. Kalloch, an excellent defensive player, also exceeded .500 in average and hit the team’s lone home run in the fall league, a towering shot that cleared the fence at the Chelsea High field.

Matt Medeiros and Tyler Medeiros made major contributions at outfield positions. Robbie Farrington, nephew of the manager, played well as an outfielder.

The Costanza brothers had “a fabulous fall season,” according to Medeiros. Alec excelled in the middle of the Revere infield, alternating between shortstop and second base. Matty showed his versatility by excelling at second base, third base, and in the outfield.

“Alec and Matty are both outstanding players,” said Medeiros.

Mark Maloney was one of the ace pitchers for the Revere contingent. Kyle Norton also showed a lot of potential on the mound while John Papasadora, Dario Santiago, T.J. McDonald, Alex Costanza, and Matty Costanza bolstered the pitching staff.

“John Papasadora and T.J. McDonald alternated at first base and are phenomenal defensive players,” said Medeiros.

The Pals’ skipper is predicting a bright baseball future for the high school team. “I think a lot of our players will make a strong impact at the high school level,” said Medeiros. “The future at Revere High looks very bright.”

Thanksgiving football: Patriots can’t keep up with the Vikings

The Revere High football team ended its season on a down note with a 33-0 loss to Winthrop in the season finale on Thanksgiving Day.

As expected, the grass at Winthrop’s Miller Field was a mess after the rains the previous day, but what was unexpected was Revere’s inability to match up against their archrival Vikings.

Revere took the opening kickoff and punted after a three-and-out. Winthrop then started at its own 45 and proceeded to march the 55 yards into the endzone, setting the tone for what would be a difficult day for the Patriots and their fans.

“We had hoped to be more competitive, but Winthrop simply outplayed us,” said RHS head coach Lou Cicatelli. “They pushed us off the line of scrimmage and were able to run at us all day.”

Indeed, highlights proved few and far between for the Pats who, unlike in almost all of their games this season, were able neither to mount anything on offense nor find an answer on defense for a Winthrop team that was bigger along the line.

Winthrop scored twice more before the end of the half for a 21-0 bulge at the intermission and then added two more TDs for a 33-0 scoreboard reading at the final whistle.

“They definitely were bigger than us up front and they got the push off the line of scrimmage,” noted Cicatelli, whose Patriots were hoping to make it two Turkey Day wins in a row over Winthrop for the first time since 1973-74. “They played ball control offense and didn’t make any mistakes.”

Revere also was seeking its first winning season since 1981, but ended up 5-6 for the 2011 campaign.

“It’s never fun to lose the last game, but overall we had a good year,” reflected Cicatelli. “We had some nice wins this season and the team gave 100 percent every week.”

With many of the Patriot gridmen now headed to their winter sports, the football season will wrap up with the annual awards banquet in January.

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