Sports 10-26-2016

RhS sports Roundup

RHS football team defeats Salem, 28-23; playoff opener Friday

The Revere High football team rolled to its third straight victory and a berth in the Division 1A North state playoffs with a 28-23 victory over Salem before a wet but delighted hometown crowd Friday evening under the lights at sparkling Harry Della Russo Stadium.

Coach Lou Cicatelli’s crew is the sixth seed in the D-1A North and will trek to Chelmsford, the third seed, for a contest Friday evening at 7:00.

The win over Salem was not as close as the final five-point margin might indicate, although the visiting Witches did their best to pull some tricks in the final quarter to narrow what had been a seemingly-comfortable 28-7 Revere lead.

The Patriot offense dominated the contest from the outset, piling up more than 350 yards of total offense on the evening. Revere drove deep into Salem territory on its first possession, but a fumble was scooped up by a Salem defender who scooted 70 yards for a touchdown.

However, despite that inauspicious beginning, the Patriots shook off the momentary adversity, taking the ensuing kickoff and marching to paydirt. Senior captain Anthony DeStefano scored the first of his four touchdowns on the night, going in from six yards out. Senior captain Victor Rivera provided most of the big yardage on the drive with a pair of scampers of 30 and 40 yards, as he got untracked early in a contest in which he would run roughshod over the Salem defense for 180 yards.

After the Patriot defense held firm on Salem’s next possession, quarterback Eddie Sullivan went back to work and launched an 80 yard foray for a touchdown. DeStefano went over from two yards out and Badr Haou kicked the second of his four extra points to make it 14-7. A key play in the drive was a pass from Sullivan to senior captain John DeSimone.

Revere’s last offensive possession of the half was another long drive that culminated with DeStefano going in for a TD from short yardage with 0:02 left in the half. A 30 yard pass connection from Sullivan to Haou was the key play in the Revere drive that left matters standing at 21-7 at the intermission.

“We played extremely well on both sides of the ball in the first half,” said Cicatelli. “It was awesome two-way football. Our defense was rock solid, with senior linemen Gianni Hill and Gabe Martinez dominating the line of scrimmage. Victor Rivera came up from his cornerback spot and made some nice tackles that dropped their ball carriers for losses.”

The Patriots continued to maintain their dominance after the intermission. Revere extended their lead immediately after the break to a seemingly-commanding 28-7 advantage with a 70-yard march that absorbed almost the entire third period. DeStefano, who ended up with 105 yards on the night from his fullback slot, got the call once again, this time going in from eight yards out.

However, the Salem offense finally got its act together and found the end zone to slice the Revere lead to 28-13 at the start of the fourth quarter. A Patriot fumble that was recovered by the Witches at the Revere 30 then made things interesting. The Witches took advantage of the turnover to turn the game into a suddenly-uncomfortable 28-21 affair with about two minutes to go.

The Patriots then did themselves no favors by drawing a pair of yellow flags on successive plays on their ensuing possession, pushing themselves back to inside their own 10 yard line.  Cicatelli at that point opted to take a safety to give his kicker a clean shot at a free kick. The strategy paid off well, with Salem unable to mount a meaningful offensive threat in the final minute.

“Salem made a game of it and we got a little bit sloppy at the end, but all in all the team did a great job,” said Cicatelli. “We have been improving every week and have been working hard in practice, and it’s paid off. I’m so proud of the way the team has played these past few weeks. The boys could have thrown in the towel when we started out at 0-4, but they never gave up and now we’re in the playoffs.”

If the Patriots prevail at Chelmsford, they will face the winner of the #2 Reading vs. #7 Malden Catholic matchup. Lincoln-Sudbury is the top seed in the D-1A North, with Westford Academy at No. 4,  Peabody at No. 5, and Cambridge at No. 8.

RHS girls cross country team defeats Salem

The Revere High girls cross country team ran to its second straight victory with a 21-34 win over Salem last Tuesday.

Almost all of coach Katie Sinnott’s Lady Patriots  pushed themselves to earn personal record (PR) times on their home course at Belle Isle, as well as PR race paces, en route to the triumph.

“Despite having an injury to a scoring runner, the team pulled together and won,” said Sinnott.

Among the Lady Patriots who posted PR times were: Monica Posada (senior), Hawa Barry (junior), Hannah Fitzpatrick (junior), Somaya Laroussi (sophomore), Olivia Novoselsky (sophomore), Manal Dembri (freshman), Salome Gezehagn (freshman), and Gabrielle O’Brien (freshman).

“Though she is not a scoring runner, Manal Dembri had a break-out race, running strong throughout the course and taking almost three minutes off her overall time from last week,” noted Sinnott. “Junior Hannah Fitzpatrick is a true talent who is seconds away from the Revere course record. Monica Posada continues her streak of personal improvement over the season.”

Sinnott and her crew will compete in the Northeastern Conference Meet this Saturday at Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield.

Individual Results

Hannah Fitzpatrick – 1st overall, 19:29

Monica Posada – 2nd overall, 20:46

Leila Cesic – 3rd overall, 21:22

Olivia Novoselsky – 7th overall, 24:52

Lani Stevens – 8th overall, 25:02

Gabrielle O’Brien – 12th overall, 26:42

Somaya Laroussi – 15th overall, 29:09

Salome Gezehagn – 16th overall, 29:09

Hawa Barry – 17th overall, 34:41

Manal Dembri – 18th overall, 37:55

Fine showing by RHS boys cross country

Although the Revere High boys cross country team dropped its final dual meet of the season to Salem, 19-38, last week, 11 of the 13 Patriots who competed achieved personal records (PR) on their 2.85 mile course at Belle Isle.

The first Revere runner across the line with a fourth place finish was Zack Gentile, who set a PR  of 17:30. Sebastian Mejia took fifth place with a PR of 17:31, followed by Arthur LaCerda in eighth position with a PR of 18:06, Jonathan Nushi in 11th with a PR of 19:22, and Kevin Nguyen in 12th in 19:23.

Other Patriots who competed were Bryan Gutierrez with a PR, by more than a minute, of 19:22; Brandon Nguyen, with a PR, by more than eight minutes, of 21:37; Ryan Sarmanian, with a PR by more than two minutes, in 21:52; Fabio Tran with a PR, by 1:14, of 21:58; James Carpanelli with a PR, by 1:52, of 22:00; David Phan in 23:00; Ahmed Nahtar with a PR, by more than one minute, of 23:58; Brendan Christopher in 24:30; and Wellan Sok in 26:55.

Although the Patriots will not be competing in this week’s NEC All-League Meet because members of the team have commitments with the Junior ROTC, coach Mike Flynn and his crew will compete in the state meets in the weeks thereafter.

Volleyball team wins to reach state tourney

The Revere High volleyball team punched its ticket for a Journey to the Tourney with a 3-0 shutout victory over Northeast Regional Vocational School Monday.

Last Tuesday, the Lady Patriots defeated Malden in three sets, 25-22, 25-20, and 25-14. Seniors Hailey Poole and Samantha Myrtil turned in impressive serving performances in the triumph.

Coach Brenna Suslak and her crew, who now stand at 10-6 on the season, were set to host Lynn Classical yesterday (Tuesday); entertain Lynn English tomorrow; (Thursday), and then wrap up their regular season at home against Peabody Monday.

RHS sports Through the Years

10 years ago

October 25, 2006

The RHS boys cross country team defeated Winthrop, 18-48, to claim the championship of the South Division of the Northeastern Conference. Mario Herrera was the first Patriot across the line in a time of 14:37, followed by teammate John Cacaviello in 14:40. Steven Armstrong, Maurizio Turco, and Bryan Coniglio completed the scoring for the Patriots.

Asley Barrios scored three goals to lead the RHS boys soccer team to a 4-3 win over Saugus.

The RHS football team dropped a 24-8 decision to Beverly Friday evening at a rain-soaked Harry Della Russo Stadium. RHS quarterback Steve Ennamorati scored the lone Patriot TD on a 27 yard run. Matt Gasparini rushed for 79 yards on 19 carries.

Freshman Colby Hough was the top Lady Patriot runner, taking first place in this past week’s meet with Winthrop for the RHS girls cross country team.

Coach Jen Wells’s RHS field hockey team earned ties with Swampscott and Beverly this past week. Jenna Matera  and Stephanie Bruno scored the goals in the 2-2 deadlock with Swampscott. Bruno scored the RHS tally in a 1-1 duel with Beverly.

20 years ago

October 23, 1996

A tri-meet for the RHS cross country team with Somerville and perennial GBL power Cambridge featured a battle between the league’s two top runners, the Patriots’ Sam Ros and Cambridge’s Rhett Taylor. Revere defeated Somerville, but fell to Cambridge, with Taylor narrowly edging Ros.

The RHS golf teram prepared for the upcoming state tourney with a 39.5-32.5 win over Everett. Patriot Kevin Gilberti shot the best round of the day, a 35, to defeat his Everett opponent 5-4.

30 years ago

October 29, 1986

The RHS football team remained winless with a 24-7 loss to Everett. RHS quarterback Joe Galvin scored the lone Patriot TD on a nine yard run.

The RHS field hockey team set a school record for wins for the program with a 3-1 triumph over Arlington, the Lady Patriots’ third victory of the season. Sophomore Jennifer Wells scored her sixth and seventh goals of the season to set a new school record. Kristen Stiles accounted for her 222nd steal of the season, almost doubling her previous RHS record of 116 steals from last year. Diane DiGiovanni scored Revere’s third goal in the victory.

The RHS boys soccer team shut out Everett, 3-0, to improve to 6-10. Patriot keeper Gary Fusco recorded his first varsity shutout. Joe Santinello scored two goals and Jaron Frieden added another for the Patriots.

Kim Kelley scored one goal and assisted on two others to lead the RHS girls soccer team to a 4-1 win over Melrose. The contest marked the first home contest for the girls’ program, which is playing as a club sport this year in its inaugural season as a program. More than 200 RHS fans were on hand for the contest. Other goal-scorers for Revere were Toni Marotta, Raela Ripaldi, and Dottie Page.

40 years ago

October 20, 1976

The RHS football team fell out of contention for a possible Super Bowl bid with a 20-7 loss to Malden Saturday afternoon. Revere held a 7-0 lead midway through the third period with a TD pass from Mike Lentz to David MacDonald accounting for the Patriot score.

50 years ago

October 27, 1966

Ron Ferullo tossed a 26 yard pass to Mike Mucci for a touchdown to give the RHS football team a 6-6 tie with Malden.

60 years ago

October 25, 1956

The Immaculate Conception High football team defeated St. Patrick’s of Watertown, 7-0, Sunday. Kevin Hegarty scored the lone TD of the game on a three yard run.

70 years ago

October 24, 1946

Revere and Saugus battled to a 6-6 tie in a game played at the Manning Bowl in Lynn Monday evening with an estimated 10,000 fans in attendance.

The Immaculate Conception High football team dropped its first game of the season, 7-0, to St. Clement’s of Somerville Sunday.

 at Dilboy Field.

A large crowd is expected for Sunday’s battle at Paul Revere Stadium between the Revere High and Immaculate Conception High football teams. This will be the fourth annual clash between the intra-city rivals. Revere High has won the previous three contests.

 

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