Revere on the way up
Patriots plant seeds of success
The seeds for Revere’s 19-16 upset victory over Lynn Classical were sown a year ago.
The winless Patriots strode into Manning Field and gave the favored Rams all they could handle before succumbing in overtime, 12-6. Longtime Revere coach Lou Cicatelli walked out of there feeling that they certainly belonged.
“We felt after that game that we were just as good as them,” Cicatelli said. “Our kids felt the same way and that was the way we practiced this week. They were very confident and believed in themselves that they could win.”
Like last year, Revere entered this year’s game with an 0-2 mark, but they opened some eyes with their play against Northeastern Conference powers Gloucester and Marblehead. They hung in there against both despite missing four starters with injuries.
“We’re a young team, the nucleus of our team is sophomores and juniors,” Cicatelli said. “I think once we get everyone back, we’re going to be a good team.”
The confidence Cicatelli alluded to was there against a high-powered Lynn Classical team. The defense kept the Rams in check, while Lucas Barbosa and Jonathan Murphy combined to run for nearly 170 yards and two touchdowns.
As promising as the effort was, it looked like the Patriots were destined for another close-but-no-cigar loss. Trailing 16-13 with time running down, Revere had to go nearly the length of the field to earn a victory.
They got as far as the Lynn Classical 18 with 42 seconds left before Cicatelli called upon sophomore Rayan Riazi to send the game into overtime. A first-year kicker, Riazi calmly split the uprights to tie the score.
“I’m sure there were people in the stands wondering what the heck I was doing,” Cicatelli said with a laugh. “He’s young, but he’s got a strong foot and that kick would have been good from 45.”
In the extra session, Riazi got the call again. He proved to be up to the task, drilling a 31-yarder for what proved to be the margin of victory.
Wild night in Lynn
A few miles away from Revere, Manning Field was not kind to the Lynn faithful. St. Mary’s loss to No. 5 Catholic Memorial was expected, but no one outside the friendly confines of Malden Catholic could see what would transpire later that night.
Undefeated Lynn English figured to have its way with winless Malden Catholic, but the Lancers had other ideas. Will Ragucci threw three touchdown passes, while Leonard St. Gourdin hauled in a pair of TD strikes as well as a 90-yard kickoff return for a score in a 41-28 win.
A day later, the winning atmosphere was restored to the community as both KIPP and Lynn Tech emerged victorious.
Sweet 16
1. EVERETT (3-0): Big effort by Duke Doherty keeps the Crimson Tide rolling.
2. LINCOLN-SUDBURY (3-0): Interesting test this week against upstart Acton-Boxboro.
3. XAVERIAN (2-1): Hawks evened the score and then some against Archbishop Stepinac.
4. DUXBURY (3-0): Close call against Plymouth North certainly won’t make head coach David Maimaron too happy.
5. CATHOLIC MEMORIAL (3-0): Huge Catholic Conference test this week against Xaverian.
6. ST. JOHN’S PREP (2-1): Eagles not in the business of moral victories, but they showed Saturday that they belong with the best in the state.
7. NORTH ANDOVER (3-0): For all the talk about their offense, the Scarlet Knights showed they can play some defense in a pressure situation.
8. BROCKTON (2-0): After a week off, the Boxers return to the field against BC High this week.
9. BRAINTREE (3-0): Wamps will learn more about themselves when they take on a dangerous Natick squad.
10. NEEDHAM (3-0: Guess we know why Matt Smith was heavily recruited by Duke.
11. MANSFIELD (2-1): Hornets are holding community auditions for a quarterback.
12. KING PHILIP (2-1): Stop us if you’ve heard this before about the Warriors defense.
13. MASHPEE (3-0): Falcons keep on rolling against Coyle-Cassidy.
14. NATICK (1-2): Someone had to pay for two tough losses, and that team turned out to be Walpole.
15. TEWKSBURY (3-0): No time to celebrate the BC High win, as North Andover is next up on the docket.
16. HINGHAM (2-0): Harbormen will have to try and survive for a stretch without standout quarterback Jack Johnson, who was injured in the win over Whitman-Hanson.