Ailing Patriots: Limping Revere falls to English, turns page to Everett

By Dom Nicastro

The question these days for the Revere High School football team isn’t who’s playing. It’s who isn’t.

The Patriots, just like last year, have been snake bitten by the injury bug so badly that they’re down about 30% from their initial roster of more than 50. That depletion showed in the team’s 28-6 loss to Lynn English last week in Greater Boston League action at Lynn’s Fraser Field. The loss dropped the Patriots to 0-4, and they’ll limp into a game no one wants to limp into – at home against Everett Friday, Oct. 6 at 6 p.m.

“It’s worse than last year,” Revere coach Lou Cicatelli said. “It blows my mind. We’ve got a lot of younger kids as it is. We’re playing this week with a lot of freshmen and sophomores.”

Among the injured are starting center Joel Vasquez, defensive end Ethan Romagos, tailback and linebacker Abbas Atoui, backup quarterback and slot receiver Danny Hou and receiver Gabriel Paretsis. Even running back Giovanni Woodard, who has received a lion’s share of the carries and has performed admirably this season, has been sick in practices this week and hopes to be on the field against Everett.

“All we can do is show up and give the kids a chance to practice, do their best and give some guys a chance to shine and play varsity football,” Cicatelli said. “We’ll see where it goes, and we’ll do our best.”

Revere did all it could with a depleted staff last week in Lynn. But the Bulldogs were ahead the entire game, taking a 21-0 lead at halftime and a 28-0 edge into the last quarter. Lynn English’s Limbert Thomas and Isaiah Goorahlal had rushing touchdowns, and Cody Richardson had two interceptions. Thomas found Mitchell Purter for a 15-yard score and tossed to Zamari Omosefe for a 56-yard English touchdown. Revere quarterback Carlos Rizo plunged into the end zone on a 2-yard quarterback sneak to break up the shutout, but it was far too late to make it a competitive game.

“I think offensively we did OK,” Cicatelli said, “but we still can’t get any continuity going. Our offensive line is very young. They’re all sophomores.”

Once again, Revere looked good at times and moved the ball but usually had a setback in the form of a penalty or long loss of yardage. Rizzo made a beautiful connection with Hou for a 30-yard gain, for example, but that drive stalled in the first half.

Felipe Maia, the team’s punter and kicker, continues to be a bright spot with some booming kicks. Cicatelli had nothing but praise for the Patriot with the strong boot. “He’s been a bright light,” Cicatelli said of his kicker. “He’s just been really good for us. Another bright light was Gio [Woodard], but he can’t do it on his own.”

Everett has been playing Everett-like football. The team is 3-1 and on a three-game winning streak, beating Somerville (59-0), Lynn English (35-0) and Boston College High (35-34).

“We’re going to play the game and try to get out of Dodge, hopefully, somewhat healthy,” Cicatelli said. “That’s all you can do. If we lose any more guys it’s going to be tough. Everett has very strong ball control, and they’re very, very physical.”