Patriots shut down Belmont, 28-0

  If any team has a legitimate beef against the newly instituted state high school football playoff system, it’s the Revere Patriots. Coming off an unusual week in which they were idle, the six-win Patriots had nearly two weeks to accept their postseason slight and prepare to battle the Belmont Marauders last Thursday night at Harry Della Russo Stadium.

  Victory number seven came in convincing fashion as Revere shut down the Belmont offense and scored four touchdowns to coast to a 28-0 win. The triumph left the Patriots with a 7-2 overall record heading into the annual Thanksgiving Day clash against Winthrop.

  Due to an apparent weakness in their schedule, the Patriots were not awarded a spot in the Div. 3 postseason field of 16. They were ranked 18th after eight games despite having more wins than several other teams that made the tournament. The two Div. 3 semifinal games scheduled for this Friday are Marblehead against Westfield in Shrewsbury and Billerica against North Attleboro in Quincy. The winners move on to the Div. 3 Super Bowl game in December.

  As for the Patriots, they took care of business against 4-6 Belmont. Davi Barreto rushed for two touchdowns and Dominic Giordano hauled in a touchdown pass from quarterback Anwar Marbouh. Revere was coming off a 21-6 road win over Lynn Classical two weeks earlier. The Patriots didn’t appear to suffer any rust after the two-week layoff. Their losses came at home to Peabody (28-7) in the season opener and to Div. I powerhouse Everett (37-11).

  Next on the schedule is the traditional Thanksgiving battle against the Winthrop Vikings. The two teams did not play each other in last spring’s abbreviated season. Revere rolled to a 40-19 win in 2019. The location for this year’s Turkey Day contest has not yet been determined. Winthrop, now 5-5 on the year, made the Div. 6 playoff tournament and advanced to the quarterfinal round by trouncing South Hadley, 35-0, two weeks ago. The Vikings then lost a close 37-34 affair to Rockland in last weekend’s quarterfinal game.