‘I HEARD…’ ARMY: Malden High Football has most college football student-athletes of all teams in the GBL

Revere High hosted a classy, well-run Holiday Basketball Tournament last week; Everett Boys Basketball has a spectacular pregame ‘intro’ show

By Nico Toscani

The start of a New Year brings out the best of a lot of things, including a full muster of the “I Heard…” Army, who trade ALL kinds of tall tales, gossip and scuttlebutt all day, every day whether it’s true, untrue or somewhere in between! Here it goes:

I HEARD THAT…

…Malden High School, for the first time in recent memory, has the most former Golden Tornados players on college football rosters this past fall than ANY other team in the Greater Boston League: Kevin Exilhomme (WR, Central Connecticut State); Jerell Calixte (OL, American International College-AIC); Aidan Brett (QB, Westfield State); Nathan Moreira (WR-DB, Westfield State); Christopher Da Silva Breguez (LB, Fitchburg State); Karl Lange (LB, Fitchburg State); Xavier Coulanges-Blaise (DB, Framingham State); Andrew Louis (TE, Framingham State). That’s EIGHT former MHS players on the list (please take a bow, hard-working MHS Head Coach Witche Exilhomme and his staff!), and the only other team in the GBL that’s close is Lynn English with SEVEN and for Malden, there is a ninth, James Hyppolite, a freshman linebacker at Bridgewater State College who is still rehabbing from a high school injury and is expected to join the Bears on the field this Fall 2026 season.

…Revere High School Boys Basketball Head Coach Dave Leary and his staff and the Patriot Athletic Department ran a classy, well-attended Holiday Basketball Tournament over the school break last week that was won by Stoneham High School, which beat East Boston and then knocked off host Revere in the Championship final.

…Malden High Boys Basketball won its first game of the season, 57-51, over East Boston at the Revere Holiday Tournament after a rough, 0-4 start.

…Malden High Boys hoop chances are certainly not helped by the absence of 6-5 senior “big” and three-year starter and captain Kaua Fernandes Dias Valadares, who re-injured his back in a loss to Somerville 10 days ago and has been out the past three games.

…That despite there were some reports of people “shocked” around the region with the abrupt resignation and departure of acclaimed (now former) Malden Catholic Boys Basketball Head Coach John Walsh just before the start of this 2025-2026 season, the rumors of such a move have been bubbling at the top of the gossip pot literally days after the Division 2 State Championship loss to Somerset-Berkley in the finals last just under a year ago in March 2025.

…Coach Walsh is one of the most successful coaches — of any sport — in Massachusetts history (and probably #1 in Boys Basketball) with a 266-58 overall head coaching record over 14 seasons at Danvers (123-24, three state titles, 2012, 2013, 2015), Central Catholic (51-16) and Malden Catholic (94-18, 3 state titles, 2022, 2023, 2024). Coach Walsh’s teams had an overall winning percentage of .821. Find another one higher in Mass. history — good luck on that one!

…The Saugus-Peabody-Swampscott Boys Hockey co-operative team is on a nice roll as of late: winners in three straight games heading into the New Year, over Everett-Malden-Revere co-op 7-1 on December 23, 5-2 over Lynn on December 26 and 3-2 over St. Bernard’s on December 27.

…The win over the St. Bernard’s team was the Championship Final and won the Lynn Christmas Tournament, thanks to goals from Artie O’Leary and John Morello, strong play from Jake Kelley and a standout performance by goalie Dom Pappalardo.

…Discussions are underway on planning for the 2026 Malden Baseball Legacy Hall of Fame banquet and induction ceremony, which is tentatively set for Thursday, March 5 at 6:30 p.m. at the Malden Moose Hall (562 Broadway, Malden). The inaugural MBL Hall of Fame drew over 200 people in March 2024, and its top inductee was the late Bob Rotondi, his third Hall of Fame honor.

…According to reports, discussions are full on in plans to restructure the Greater Boston League into tiered divisions, opening up the probability of opportunities to play fewer league games and to be able to schedule more non-league games. Such a change would give GBLers the choice to be able to improve their MIAA Power Rankings in multiple sports.

…Masco and Beverly top the Northeastern Conference Boys Basketball standings in the Dunn Division; in the Lynch Division, where the Saugus Sachems and Head Coach Joe Bertrand are looking for their first Conference win (0-3 NEC, 2-3 overall), Swampscott (3-0 NEC, 5-0 overall) rules the roost.

…Everett High Boys Basketball and Head Coach Gerry Boyce have put together definitely the most elaborate pregame “intros” for the Crimson Tide, complete with a darkened, no-lights gym, music and spotlights on the introduced, entering players. You gotta see it!

…Somerville and Medford have raced out to the lead in the GBL Girls Basketball race at 3-0 each, but the Revere Patriots and Malden Golden Tornado girls are right behind them at 2-1 each in league play. Revere dropped a close one to Medford, and Malden, likewise, led three quarters against unbeaten Somerville before running into a lid on the basket and lost, so it looks like it might be a close battle moving forward with those “Top 4.”

…Former three-sport (football, basketball, baseball) Saugus High School standout (and captain of all three) Mike Mabee Jr. is on the Northeast Vocational Technical High School Girls Basketball coaching staff this season. A Worcester State University grad and former WooState Lancer collegiate baseball player, Mabee formerly was a History teacher at Melrose High School for two years but now is on staff at Northeast.

…A surprise in GBL Boys Basketball is the undefeated start of the Chelsea High Red Devils (3-0 GBL, 3-0 overall). They hustle, they defend… and they’re winning. As expected, Lynn Classical is also off to an unbeaten GBL start (3-0), and with wins on the road at Everett and also on the road at Lynn English, quite frankly, the Rams have had a tougher schedule. Classical’s third GBL win was also on the road.

…That no one brings more enthusiasm to the Revere High home basketball games than Joy Leone, wife of Revere High assistant basketball coach and Revere Recreation Dept.’s John Leone and mother of five present and former Revere High School student-athletes. Happy New Year, Joy!