Patriots Top Rams but Don’t Make Playoffs

  The Revere Patriots did about everything they could last Friday night at Manning Field in Lynn when they defeated the Lynn Classical Rams, 21-6, to notch their sixth football victory of the season in a Greater Boston League (GBL) clash. It still wasn’t enough to earn them a spot in the Div. 3 playoff tournament.

  The Patriots came into the contest ranked 20th in the state in Div. 3, four positions short of the top 16. In order to make this season’s statewide tournament, a team had to place among the top-ranked 16 squads in its division. Revere’s win on Friday only moved them up two spots to 18.

  Head Coach Lou Cicatelli, whose Patriots improved to 6-2, said the biggest reason for not making the tourney was likely the fact that this year’s GBL, overall, was not as strong as in past years. “What hurts us is our league,” he told the press after Friday’s win. “It was down this year, so we don’t get as many points.”

  The switch to a statewide (instead of regional) format for all eight divisions this season also played a huge role. The change means that the total number of teams making the playoffs decreased by 40 from past seasons, which made it more difficult to get in.

  Seven teams that made the top 16 in Div. 3 had less wins than Revere after eight games. This included 13th ranked Stoughton, which sported a 3-5 record. Clearly, strength of schedule and point margins, not straight-up wins and losses, was the major factor in deciding who makes the playoffs.

  In the win over the Rams, running back Mark Marchese led the way with 106 yards rushing on 23 attempts (nearly a five-yard average per carry). Marchese scored two of the Patriots’ touchdowns. Kicker Wilmer Rodriguez-Mejia connected on all three PAT attempts. Marchese scored from three yards out to complete an eight-play scoring drive on Revere’s first possession of the game. He would later tally on a four-yard run in the second quarter to make it 14-0 at the half. The final touchdown came on a second-half quarterback sneak by Anwar Marbouh.

  The Patriots do not play this week. No game has been scheduled yet for Nov. 12. Revere’s next scheduled contest is the annual Thanksgiving affair against Winthrop on Nov. 25.