Football Patriots blank Tornadoes, make postseason

Face Plymouth South High School away on Friday

  With a playoff berth on the line, the Revere High School football team came through with a strong performance against the Malden Golden Tornadoes in Greater Boston League action last Friday night at Macdonald Stadium in Malden. The Patriot defense stepped up big and shut down the Malden offense in an eventual 23-0 victory.

  Revere built a 10-0 lead after one quarter and never looked back. The Patriots then added 13 points over the final two quarters to secure a comfortable margin. While the defense was stymying the Tornadoes attack, the offense produced enough to get the job done.

  Running back Giovanni Woodard ran for touchdowns of 25 and four yards while receiver Sami Elarsi hauled in an eight-yard TD pass from quarterback Carlos Rizo. Kicker Felipe Maia also booted a 25-yard field goal to account for all the scoring.

  The win also represented Revere’s third shutout victory this fall.

  The win evened Revere’s overall record to 4-4. But, most importantly, it earned the Patriots a berth in the Div. 3 state playoff tournament. Despite losing a tough 20-14 decision to Lynn Classical in a key league clash the week before, the Patriots earned enough ratings points to get over the hump.

  Revere received the 14th seed and will take part in a first-round game against the third-seeded and unbeaten Plymouth South Panthers. It will mark the second time the two schools have played each other this season. Back in September at Harry Della Russo Stadium, the Panthers stormed out to a 28-0 lead at the break.

  But the complexion of the contest changed significantly in the second half as the Patriots would outscore the visitors by a 20-7 margin in a 35-20 loss. That second-half showing back in September no doubt has head coach Lou Cicatelli and his squad confident that it can pull off a surprise victory. This week’s playoff game is scheduled to kick off Friday at 7 p.m. at Plymouth South High School.