RHS Hockey Team Wins, Ties; Now 2-0-1

The Revere High hockey team improved to 2-0-1 on the season with a 5-0 triumph over Swampscott last Wednesday and then scored a goal in the final 11 seconds of their game with Lynn Saturday evening to earn an exciting 3-3 tie.

The contest with Lynn saw a dramatic turn of events in the closing minute for both teams. Lynn initially took a turn to celebrate when the visitors lit the red lamp with 1:13 to play to break a 2-2 deadlock.

However, the Patriots refused to fold. RHS head coach Joe Ciccarello pulled goalie Adam Comeau at the first opportunity in favor of a sixth skater, Joe Ristaino. As the clock ticked down to  the final seconds, Patriot Rich Polignone had control of the puck in the corner and sent a centering pass to Ristaino. The sophomore made a nifty move around two Lynn defenders and tucked the puck  past the Lynn goalie for the equalizer, setting off Revere’s moment of jubilation, with just 11 ticks left on the clock.

“It was one of those bad-game, good-game scenarios,” said Ciccarello. “It was not a good thing that we had a 2-1 lead in the third period and let Lynn take the lead, but it was quite an achievement to refuse to quit and come back the way we did.”

Revere had led for most the contest, taking a 1-0 advantage in the opening period on a goal by Marco Mazzarelli and, after Lynn tied it in the second frame, regaining the lead early in the third on a lamplighter by Steve Noel. However, a flurry of penalties, 10 in all, prevented the Patriots from sustaining their momentum, as Revere often found itself shorthanded, including one 5-on-3 situation and another for a four-minute major.

“We have to stop taking unnecessary penalties,” said Ciccarello. “There are some penalties that are just part of the game, but others that we classify as stupid. We’ve had too many of the latter category and it’s going to catch up with us unless we play smarter.”

In addition to the goal-scorers, others who made major contributions to the Revere effort were Polignone, who assisted on all three Patriot goals to record three points on the night, and goaltender Comeau, who turned aside 26 Lynn shots.

In Wednesday’s 5-0 blanking of Swampscott, Mazzarelli potted two goals and teammates Cam Whalen, Polignone, and Noel scored a goal apiece.  Assist-makers on the night were Mazzarelli, Whalen, and Noel.

Sophomore Maxx Anderson recorded the shutout, making 20 saves, which at that point was the Pats’ second of the season, coming after the 4-0 win over Salem in the season-opener.

“Overall, everybody is making a nice contribution to the team,” said Ciccarelli.

Revere is now 2-0-1 in the NEC South Division and will face its three division opponents, Salem, Swampscott, and Lynn, two more times this season.

However, next up for the Pats are a quartet of non-league rivals. They were set to play at Everett Monday, December 23, and then will travel to Bourne Thursday evening, with the team staying overnight on the Cape after the game. They will return to the friendly confines of Cronin Saturday evening for a contest with Lowell (5:10 face off) and host Somerville New Year’s Eve afternoon at 3:30.

Boys track team rolls past English

The Revere High boys indoor track team claimed first place in six of the nine individual events to run away with a 51-35 victory over Lynn English last week.

Tarik Maddrey was a double winner for the Patriots, taking home first place honors in the high jump with a leap of 6-2 and in the 50 yard hurdles in a time of 7.1.

Other first place finishers for Revere were Anthony Destefano in the shotput with a toss of 40-6; Younes Hartout in the 50 yard dash with a sprint of 5.8; Salah Barhoum in the mile in 5:20.8; and John DellaRusso with a two mile run of 11:46.

Patriots who put three points onto the Revere side of the score sheet with second place performances were: Martin Keuchkerian in the shotput with a throw of 37-11; Joseph Gonzalez in the hurdles in 7.4;   Bryan Carbonell in the 300 in 42.6; and Frank Davidson in the 1000 in 2:59.1.

Third place finishers for Revere, whose efforts clinched the win for the Patriots, were: Lionel Forbes in the high jump with a leap of 5-0 and the hurdles in a time of 9.1; Mirza Liskovica with a shoput heave of 37-11; Bounlaing Chea in the 300 in 43.0; Richard Damiano in the 600 in 1:42.9; John Simonini in the 1000 in 3:22.4; Sebastian Mejia in the mile in 5:29.5; Keuchkerian, in the 50 dash with a clocking of 6.5; and Jay Mistri in the two mile in 12:18.

The Northeastern Conference’s Freshman and Sophomore Meet is this Saturday. The entire team will compete against Lynn Classical Monday morning at the local fieldhouse.

Girl tracksters roll past English, 67-15; Toglan sets dash mark 

The Revere High girls indoor track team won eight of nine individual events and swept three to cruise to an easy 67-15 victory over Lynn English last week.

Brenda Rudecindo was the top point-scorer for Revere with 10 points, winning the high jump with her leap of 4-6 and charging over the 50 yard hurdles in 8.3.

However, the other big news from the meet was the new school record set by Comfort Toglan in the 50 yard dash with a time of 6.5 seconds. Comfort now holds two Revere High School records, having established the school mark in the 300 last year.

The other first place finishers for Revere against Classical were: Janice Destefano with a shotput throw of 30-3; Vanessa Leone in the 300 in 53.4; Danielle Fortuna in the 1000 in 3:49.1; Suellen Guerreiro in the mile in 6:35.7; and Nikki Nelson in the two mile in 12:45.

Adding three points to the Lady Patriot scoresheet were: Lauren Hayes with a shotput toss of 24-0; Jacqueline Pisano in the hurdles in 9.0; Yesenia Arango in the 300 in 53.7; Victoria Guarino in the 600 in 2:10; and Jaclyne Dion in the mile in 6:44.7.

Third-place point-scorers for Revere were: Herlinda Fernandez in the shotput with a toss of 22-4; Noelle MacDonad in the hurdles in 9.1; Crisleydi Lithgow in the 50 dash in 7.0; Angelina Nguyen in the 300 in 54.9; Fiona Kerthi in the 600 in 2:11.3; Jennifer Matos in the 1000 in 4:11.5; and Joanna Severino in the two mile in 15:37.

The Lady Patriots also ran the relay uncontested to take the five points in that event to account for the 67-15 final score.

The Northeastern Conference’s Freshman and Sophomore Meet is this Saturday. The entire girls team will compete against Lynn Classical Monday morning at the Merullo fieldhouse.

RHS girls basketball defeats Classical, 33-30

The Revere High girls basketball team earned its first win of the season in exciting fashion with a come-from-behind victory at Lynn Classical Friday night, 33-30.

Although the Lady Patriots initially struggled on offense (1-for-17 from the field in the first quarter), their strong effort on defense, in which Revere played a half-court, man-to-man, kept Classical off the board as well, allowing the Lady Patriots to stay close and trail by only four, 14-10, at the half.

Revere’s offensive woes continued after the intermission, though a big three-pointer by Adanna Hector near the end of the third period kept Revere within striking range, 23-17, entering the fourth frame.

Revere’s hard work on defense to that point paid off, as the final eight minutes saw the Lady Patriot offense come to life. The Revere girls turned in their best offensive sretch of the season to put up 16 points on the scoreboard, while still playing a hard-nosed defense that limited their opponents’ offensive chances.

Down by six with about four minutes to go, Revere went into a full-court, man-to-man press after a made free throw. The defensive shift stunned Classical, forcing two turnovers and bringing Revere within two points.

Jen Fajardo, who had seen limited minutes through the first three frames because of early foul trouble, ignited the Revere comeback with some powerful drives to the basket, hitting for one hoop and then sinking three free throws.

Ally Hinojosa came through with some clutching shooting, nailing a pair of three-pointers, to move Revere into the lead. Hector contributed a magnificent drive-and-dish to Trisha Cheever for a big bucket.

With about 15 seconds to go, Tiphani Harris went to the line for a 1-and-1, converting on the front end, to make it a three point game, 33-30. Classical had a few looks at a game-tying trey on its final possession, but could not score.  Harris grabbed her 17th rebound of the game, sealing the victory.

“Tiphani Harris was an animal on the boards,” said RHS head coach Katelyn Leonard. “She crashed on every play and ended up with 17 total rebounds, really helping to limit Classical to one shot per possession.

“All season long, we’ve stressed to this team that we can never give up and that we are never out of a game — and if we play defense, our offense will come,” continued Leonard. “These girls did not quit on this game. I’m so proud of the way we were able to finish it off. We are looking for this to carry some momentum into our next game.”

Hinojosa led Revere in the scoring column with 11 points. Harris turned in a fine, all-around effort with eight points to go along with her 17 rebounds, four assists, four steals, and four blocks. Fajardo and Hector hit for six points each and Cheever added a pair of points and made four steals. Ivonne Zapata made a nice contribution with three steals and two assists.

The Lady Patriots had opened their season a few days earlier with a 52-25 loss to Peabody on Monday at the RHS fieldhouse.

Revere came out like gangbusters, taking a quick 8-0 lead. But that would prove to be the apogee of the Lady Patriots’ effort on the day. Peabody moved out to a 9-8 lead by the end of the first quarter, which the visitors extended to 28-16 at the half. Early foul trouble to key players Harris and Fajardo, both of whom picked up three fouls before the intermission, limited their playing time.

The third frame saw Revere score only two points, leaving matters at 44-18 entering the final period.  “Peabody was a very tough team to start the season,” noted Leonard. “They graduated no seniors and we are a primarily new team with only a few girls with major varsity experience. I think our nerves set in a little bit once we went cold from the field, and it made our whole game struggle. It was a learning experience for us and one from which we’ll improve.”

Harris scored seven points and snared nine rebounds to pace Revere in both departments. Other point scorers for the Lady Patriots were Hector with five points, Cassandra DiBella with four points, Hinojosa with three, and Fajardo, Cheever, and Meaghan Gotham with two apiece.

Leonard and her crew were set to host Salem this Monday (December 23) and then will play in their own holiday tournament starting Friday against Pope John. Tip-off is set for 5:00 at the RHS fieldhouse. The other preliminary will be played at 3:00 and will feature Wilmington vs. Bedford. The consolation and championship games will be played Sunday at 1:00 and 3:00.

Boys hoop team drops two contests

The Revere High boys basketball team came up on the short end of a pair of games last week, falling to  Northeastern Conference rivals Peabody, 69-53, and Lynn Classical, 56-43.

In last Monday’s contest at Peabody, the Patriots played well in the opening half, trailing by slim margins of 12-10 after one period and 28-23 at the intermission. However, Peabody outscored Revere 23-13 in the third frame to move out to a 51-36 advantage. Although the Patriots battled hard to the end, they were unable to overcome the double-digit deficit.

“Our offense struggled right from the get-go,” said RHS head coach Adam Rizzo. “Our shots weren’t falling from the outside against Peabody’s multiple zone looks. Whether they went 3-2 or 2-3, we were able to find open shooters for clean looks, but they just weren’t staying down for us. What killed us was the third quarter. We were  outscored by 10 after already trailing by five and that gave us an uphill battle in the fourth quarter.”

Revere managed to chip away at the 15-point Peabody lead in the final frame, at one point cutting it down to seven, but after a couple of empty possessions and timely free throws by Peabody, that would prove to be as close as the Pats would get.

“As frustrating as our shooting and turnovers (18 on the game) were, I have to give credit to my team for fighting hard to the very end,” added Rizzo. “It would have been too easy to give up going into the fourth quarter. Trailing by 15 on the road when you’re playing poorly is never a good spot to be in, but my team fought hard. Nothing has ever come easy for these kids on a basketball court. They have worked tirelessly to be where they are, as individuals and as a team, and the work won’t stop because of a couple of early-season losses.”

Mike Ciambelli and Ravi Ryland led the way for Revere in the scoring column with 12 points apiece. Jason Seigal hit for 10 and Doug Zingali added seven.

Revere’s scoring woes carried over to the end of the week in  the opening quarter of their next game when the Pats traveled to Lynn Classical Friday to take on a  potent Ram squad. Revere tallied only two points in the opening frame  and trailed 17-2 at the horn. However, the Patriots regrouped and settled to play a great second quarter, cutting into Classical’s lead and bringing the deficit within eight, 25-17, at the break.

“What really helped us win that quarter was our defense,” noted Rizzo. “We were finally getting chances to trap out of our 2-3 zone and Classical didn’t handle it well.  Of Classical’s 25 points, I would say about 20 of them came from either fast-break points or second-chance points from offensive rebounds. We knew they were going to pound the glass hard. They had a huge height advantage over us and they grabbed 20 offensive rebounds Wednesday night against St. John’s Prep, so rebounding was a definite concern for us going into the second half.”

However, the Patriots were unable to sustain their momentum when they came out of the locker room. Revere’s first few possessions weren’t very fruitful, resulting in either a turnover or a bad short. Classical’s lead soon ballooned back up to 15 before Jason Seigal and Mike Ciambelli began to carry the offense, scoring seven and five points in the quarter, respectively.

Revere played evenly with the Rams in the final period, but could not get back into the game. Ciambelli led Revere in scoring with 16 points, followed by Seigal with 11, Ryland with five, Doug Zingali with four, Ben DiGiulio with two, Dylan Kalloch with two, Mike Dreeszen with two, and Dante Lauria with a free throw.

“One bad quarter seems to have plagued us the past two games,” said Rizzo. “If we can put together four solid quarters in one game, we’ll be on our way to a better result.”

The Patriots were set to travel to Salem this past Monday (December 23) and will host Bedford in a non-league contest Friday for a 7:00 tip-off. They will trek to Winchester, another non-league foe, next Monday (December 30).