Daily Item 2018 Thanksgiving Football Preview

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12 ESSEX MEDIA GROUP THANKSGIVING FOOTBALL 2018 Revere has had a ‘never-quit’ attitude By Harold Rivera ITEM SPORTS EDITOR When Revere football coach Lou Cicatelli reflects on the season his Patriots have had this fall, what stands out the most is how they’ve battled with top-notch opponents. At 6-4 on the season, three of the Patriots four defeats came at the hands of opponents who are still alive in the state tournament. “We’ve gotten better week by week,” Cicatelli said. “We’re 6-4 and two of the teams we played are (playing for) the Super Bowl; Swampscott and Gloucester. “For us, the most impressive thing is these kids have had a ‘no quit’ attitude,” Cicatelli added. “We had to play Gloucester twice, we played Swampscott at their place and Marblehead REVERE (6-4) 9/7................. Revere 6,Gloucester 29 9/14............... Revere 6, Marblehead 18 9/21............... Revere 19, Classical 16 9/28............... Revere 27, Peabody 25 10/5............... Revere 27, Medford 21 10/13............. Revere 7, Swampscott 27 10/19............. Revere 28, Somerville 8 10/26............. Revere 27, North Reading 21 11/2................ Revere 7, Gloucester 38 11/9................ Revere 32, Burlington 29 11/22.............. vs. Winthrop (10) was no walk in the park. Those three teams are 26-4 combined.” But a good season isn’t remembered in Revere unless it ends with a win over rival Winthrop at Thanksgiving. “It’s our Super Bowl every year,” Cicatelli said. “It’s a huge rivalry. It’s one of the bigger ones around here. We played them last year and beat them at their new stadium. They’ll be hungry. Our guys will be focused. They want to get to 7-4. We have one more to go. The kids know the importance of the game. Hopefully we play well. “We had a great year this year. I think as far as Winthrop goes, it’s the game. We have the trophy. We’ve beaten them the last two years.” The Vikings, 5-5 this season and winners of three straight, won’t be an easy task. “They’re a wing-T team,” Cicatelli said. “They have some size up front. They’re a solid football team. We’re going to have to bring our A-game to beat them. They’re at .500 this year, they’re having a solid season but we throw the records out the window. The games are always close. We know it’s going to be a tight game and my kids are excited to play in this game.” Offensively, the Patriots are led by running back Darius McNeil. A team captain, McNeil has come around nicely in the closing stretch of the season. He ran for over 200 yards in Revere’s non-playoff win over Burlington. Jonathan Murphy has done a solid job filling in at quarterback for injured starter Calvin Boudreau. Running backs Frank Sims and Zach Furlong, and receiver Eric Bua have also made key contributions. If it comes down to attempting a game-winning field goal, Revere might have the edge. Patriots kicker Rayan Riazzi has been clutch all ITEM FILE PHOTO Jonathan Murphy stepped in at quarterback during Week 2. season long and Cicatelli has nothing but confidence in him. “Rayan’s one of the biggest reasons we’ve had some of the biggest wins we’ve had,” Cicatelli said. Defensively, safety Furlong, defensive tackle Devin Mathhias, linebacker Zac Carifio and cornerback Lucas Barbosa have led the way. Kickoff for the Thanksgiving clash between the Vikings and Patriots is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Della Russo Stadium. HAPPY THANKSGIVING! “Why try to sell it when we’ll buy it!” Bring your used car to Bennett Street Auto 87A Bennett St., Lynn westlynnauto.com GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE TEAMS AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 1456 NORTH SHORE RD., REVERE • BOBSAUTOBODY.COM • 781-289-1300
THANKSGIVING FOOTBALL 2018 ESSEX MEDIA GROUP 13 Winthrop has made the most of its season Harold Rivera ITEM SPORTS EDITOR When the Winthrop football team found itself at 2-5 at the end of the regular season, the Vikings had two choices. They could’ve taken the easy way out by throwing the towel on the season. Instead, first-year coach Jonathan Cadigan and his players decided to turn things around and give themselves a chance at ending with a winning record. They’ve won three in a row and they’ll have a chance to reach their goal on Thanksgiving when they visit rival Revere. “We got to 5-5 which was our goal when we were 2-5,” Cadigan said. “We wanted to play for a winning season on Thanksgiving, so that’s a positive.” WINTHROP (5-5) 9/7................. Winthrop 12, Pentucket 27 9/14............... Winthrop 28, Medford 20 9/21............... Winthrop 6, Swampscott 40 9/28............... Winthrop 7, Lynnfield 6 10/5............... Winthrop 14, Salem 24 10/13............. Winthrop 14, Saugus 20 10/19............. Winthrop 13, English 41 10/26............. Winthrop 15, Shawsheen 0 11/3................ Winthrop 20, Arl. Cath. 6 11/10.............. Winthrop 15,Essex Tech 6 11/22.............. at Revere (10) MARR REAL ESTATE Over 50 years experience James H. Marr GRI, CRS, RECS Notary Public Owner Broker Realtor Emeritus Personal, Professional Service with Integrity Happy Thanksgiving — House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo 72 Crystal Cove Ave. Winthrop, MA 02152 617.846.3000 617.846.4444 fax jmarr@marrrealestate.com www.marrrealestate.com Bobby Hubert has been a leader for the Vikings. A former Vikings player himself, Cadigan knows firsthand what it’s like to be part of the Winthrop-Revere rivalry. Cadigan feels his players understand the tradition that comes with playing against Revere on Thanksgiving. “It’s the great thing about playing football, in Massachusetts especially,” Cadigan said. “Every year, no matter what our record is, we’re playing for a championship. They have it and it’s hard to talk about. I was able to win four straight against Revere when I was in high school. A lot of Winthrop players have been able to do that the last 20 years. It’s been hard seeing that go the other way the last few years. “This game is a big deal and it’s great,” Cadigan added. “It’s great to be involved in something like that and look forward to something like that every year.” Offensively, the Vikings are led by senior quarterback/running back Bobby Hubert. Senior running back Feedle Small has done the heavy lifting on the ground. Sophomore running back Austin Daigneault has come around nicely to round out the offense. Defensively, the Vikings received a boost when sophomore linebacker Brian Conceicao returned to action after missing a few weeks with a concussion. Senior defensive back Jonathan Applebee has recorded an interception in three consecutive games. Senior defensive lineman Chris Castro causes havoc in the trenches. Winthrop lost to Revere, 17-14, when the rivals met last fall in the first game played at the new Miller Field. Cadigan’s hopeful the Vikings will erase the sour memories from last year’s game with a victory Thursday. “It’s one of those things where you tell the kids you’re not looking past this opponent or that opponent,” Cadigan said. “I think they know the tradition that goes into it, especially around here. We had a lot of players come back and talk to the team. We wore throwback jerseys from the ‘90’s against Essex Tech. We have a tradition and we’re pretty well versed in it. They understand the tradition of the game and they want to get that trophy back.” Kickoff for Thursday’s game is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Della Russo Stadium. GO VIKINGS! HAPPY THANKSGIVING ITEM FILE PHOTO
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