Sports 09-14-2017

Vikings fall to Falcons, 31 – 0 in season opener

By: Jim Lederman

The Winthrop Vikings opened the 2017 football season with a 31-0 loss at Danvers. The Vikings will play the Medford ‘Mustangs’ on Friday night (7 p.m.) at Hormel Stadium in Medford.

“We could not convert five fourth down plays,” said coach Sean Driscoll. The Falcons scored on their first three possessions and put up points five of the six times they were on offense. Danvers gave first-year head coach Ryan Nolan his first victory as head coach.

Junior Feedle Small rushed for 72 yards on 15 carries. The Vikings had 50 plays on offense. Quarterback Jake Adamson completed three of 7 passes for 50 yards and rushed for 22-7ards.

Junior middle linebacker Bret Sheehan had nine tackles to lead the defense. Senior Christian Lyons had five tackles. Senior Tyler Chiudina recorded 5 tackles, one sack and a tackle for a loss.

The Vikings trailed (8-0) after the first quarter. (21-0) at halftime and (31-0) after three quarters.

The Vikings played six freshman. Jaidon Brown returns to boost the offense on Friday night.

Halfback Bobby Hubert, Chris Ferrara, Tyler Rockefeller, Ryan Hovermale and Brian Concieo played their first varsity games for the Vikings. “We will improve every week,” said an optimistic coach Driscoll.

Salem defeated Austin Prep (27-13) for their first opening day victory since 2012. The Witches were (3-8) in 2016 but look to be very improved.

The Big Blue of Swampscott defeated Greater Lawrence (44-0). Quarterback Colin Frary tossed five touchdown passes. The Vikings play Swampscott next Saturday afternoon at the new Blocksidge Field. Medford lost (39-0) to the Lynn Classical Rams on Friday night at Manning Field. Coach Brian Vaughn had an auspicious debut as head coach of the Classical ‘Rams’.

 

WHS sports roundup

WHS girls soccer opens with 5-1 win

The Winthrop High girls soccer team kicked off its season on a winning note with a 5-1 victory over Revere Monday on the local field.

Senior captain Francesca Capone earned the honor of scoring the first Lady Viking goal of the season, assisted by Sofie Lafratta. Freshman Maura Dorr made it 2-0 before the end of the half with an unassisted tally.

The Lady Vikings pulled away after the intermission.  Emma Carleton reached the back of the Revere net, assisted by Dorr, as did Lafratta, also assisted by Dorr. Dorr then applied the coup de grace with her second goal (and fourth point) of the game for the 5-1 finale.

“Maura Dorr is one to be on the lookout-for over the next couple of years,” said WHS head coach Stacey Martucci.

Senior Kaitlin Singarella and freshman Gemma DiMento split the duties in net to share the victory.

“We dominated the game for the most part,” said Martucci. “We had about 40 shots on net. After graduating 10 seniors last year, but struggling to put the ball in the net with talented players, we’ve had a big turnover year, so  I really didn’t know how we would be. We are very young, but  we have a lot of talent.”

The 2017 edition of the Lady Vikings, which includes 14 eighth graders and nine ninth graders to form both a varsity and junior varsity squad, is led by a trio of senior captains, Jillian Kfoury, Gabby Hinchion, and Francesca Capone, as well as fellow seniors Micaela Grimes and Kaitlin Singarella.

“The upperclassmen have been nothing but great role models for the younger girls,” said Martucci. “They have been instrumental in keeping them involved and included in everything they do. Team chemistry is great this year and we hope to pull out some great wins.

The current year has brought about a full circle for Martucci on a personal level. Her daughter Mia, an eighth grader, is playing with the JV squad and scored a goal in the JV’s 6-0 triumph. The junior varsity is coached by former varsity coach Jerry Gigliello, who was head coach for the Lady Vikings when Stacey (Gigliello) Martucci was setting scoring records for the Lady Viking program more than 20 years ago.

Another pair of former WHS girls’ stars, Julie Dowson (who broke Martucci’s records) and Erin O’Leary are the varsity and JV asst. coaches respectively.

The Lady Vikings were set to play at Salem yesterday (Wednesday) and will entertain Everett tomorrow (Friday). They will travel to Malden this coming Tuesday.

 

Strong efforts for WHS boys, girls cross country teams

Camilla Miranda llovera and Cormac MacPhail both turned in performances that could propel them to cross country greatness in the past two weeks.

Two weeks ago Friday night, Camilla won the St. Mary’s pre-season X/C Invitational, completing the 2.6 mile course in 18:20. She then came back last Monday and won the Lady Vikings’ dual meet against Danvers in a personal record (PR) time of 17:53.

Last week, Camilla placed third against a strong Marblehead squad. Llovera was named team captain for her efforts, along with Kim McDuffee.

On the boys’ side, MacPhail shocked the NEC  by placing first against  the defending state champs, Marblehead. His time of 14:33 lowered the WHS school record by a second on the Deer Island course. Cormac also had back-to-back second-place finishes at the St. Mary’s Invitational and the dual meet against Danvers.

Cormac too, was named the WHS captain this week. Both Camilla and Cormac  have their eyes focused on qualifying for the All-States in November.

St. Mary’s notes:

Fiona MacPhail and Patrick Haskell both won the JV portion of the St. Mary’s race Fiona ran 14:30 and Patrick ran 12:11 over the 1.6 mile course. Will Lawton and Ari Hain, both eighth graders, ran awesome races, placing in the top five with times of 13:10 and 13:26 respectively.

Marblehead results:

Boys: Marblehead 18-Winthrop 36

1. Cormac MacPhail 14:33
2. Patrick Haskell 16:48
3. Michelangelo Marcoccio
4. Ari Hain 18:33
5. Will Lawton 20:15

Girls: Marblehead 17-Winthrop 38

3. Camilla Miranda llovera 17:39
4. Fiona MacPhail 21:45
5. Carolina Zuffanti 24:13
6. Zara Powell 25:12

29.Emma Turner 26:00

30. Kate Thano 27:10
31. Katherine Zuffanti 29:15
32. Mary Texeira 29:31

Heather Buccine, Kim McDuffee, Ashley Miles, Liz Mcduffee, and Grace Carlton all crossed the line in 29:40 together.

Danvers results:

Boys:  Danvers  24-Winthrop 32

2. Cormac MacPhail 14:36
3. Patrick Haskell 16:10
4. Michelangelo Marcoccio.
5. Mark Amatucci 18:14

13.Will Lawton 18:18

14. Ari Hain 18:30

Girls: Danvers 18-Winthrop 36

1. Camilla Miranda llovera 17:53
2. Carolina Zuffanti 22:50
3. Fiona MacPhail 23:00

11.Zara Powell 23:32

12. Emma Turner 24:25
13. Mary Texeira 27:32
14. Ruwan Albweib 27:44
15. Kim McDuffe 27:55
16. Heather Buccini 27:55

Both the boys and girls teams have a full week off before heading on the road to Malden.

 

WHS boys soccer drops opener, 6-1

 

The Winthrop High boys soccer team opened its season Monday, dropping a 6-1 contest at Everett.

The Vikings, who were playing without the services of senior captain Steve Tracy (who was out of action because of illness) played well through the first half of the match against a Division 1 Everett squad that annually is a qualifier for the state tourney.

Junior Pat Sennott took a nice crossing pass and put the ball into the back of the Everett net for a 1-0 Winthrop lead just seven minutes into the contest.

Everett brought the score back to level at the 15-minute mark, but the Vikings continued to create chances, while also playing well defensively.

Junior Jaylin Cordes had some nice opportunities that forced the Everett goalie to make a couple of good saves.

The score remained deadlocked at 1-1 at the half, but Everett took advantage of Winthrop defensive mistakes with some effective counterattacks in the second 40 minutes to pull away for the 6-1 finale.

“Fabricio, an international student, and Cordes had really good games,” said WHS head coach Kyle Gagin. “Sophomores Abdul Hamada and Kevin Dorr got the start and impressed. Freshman Gabe Pardinho came in as a sub and impressed as well. The game also marked the varsity debuts for Gabe and Abdul.”

Gagin and his crew were set to host Malden yesterday (Wednesday) and will travel to Salem tomorrow (Friday). They will entertain Lynn Classical Tuesday.

 

 

 

From the Press Box

The Mighty Fishermen

By Jim Lederman

The top Emass high school football teams in the 21^st century ranked by records included a Northeast Conference team.

Gloucester was ranked number five with a (150-46) record (76.5 percent). The n umber one team was Everett. The Crimson Tide had a (179-23) record (83 percent). Everett has won 11 super bowl titles and they are ranked number one in all the pre-season polls.

The Gloucester Fishermen opened the 2017 campaign with an impressive (29-8) victory over the Revere Patriots in Revere.

The Fishermen won the last two NEC South titles and are playing in the new NEC alignment with Revere, Somerville, Lynn Classical and Marblehead.

The ‘Mighty Fishermen’ had a huge rivalry with the Winthrop Vikings over a long period. Trips to legendary Newell Stadium on the banks of the Annisquam River, brings back many memories.

Dr. Bob Blatchford was a great host in the press box at Newell Stadium. Bob passed away a few years ago. ‘Doc’ Enos was a long time reporter for the Gloucester Times. He would bring his portable typewriter in the press box and finish his article for the newspaper. He would sit with Bob Remer, the 52-year Transcript sports editor.

The Vikings-Gloucester rivalry has ended and I can no longer look forward to a pre-game meal at ‘The Causeway Restaurant.”

Let the Games Begin!

 

 

Skimming the Sidelines

The Lynn English ‘Bulldogs’ kicked off the 2017 season with an impressive (26-20) victory over the defending Division 2 North champion Beverly Panthers (26-20).

Junior quarterback Matt Severance completed 15-of-26 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 46 yards.

Lynn English looks like a strong contender in tier three in the conference.

The Vikings travel to Manning Field to play English on Saturday, October 21^st at 2 p.m. English will travel to Somerville to play on Friday night at Dilboy Stadium.

Revere will play Marblehead on Friday night at Piper Field in Marblehead. The Magicians opened with a (16-9) victory at Triton. The battle was between the reining Division 2A Marblehead squad and the Division 3 North champions. Marblehead has captured four consecutive NEC titles and looks like a strong contender to win another title.

Winthrop will travel to play the Lynnfield Pioneers on Friday night, September 29^th at Pioneer Stadium. Lynnfield opened with an impressive (32-0) victory over Newburyport. The Pioneers had a (25-0) halftime lead.

St. Mary’s opened with a (54-21) victory over Saugus. Saugus has a new coach Anthony Nalen. The Sachems have 27 freshmen on the team. With a new high school and a new football stadium, the future looks bright in Saugus. Saugus plays host to North Quincy at Stackpole Field on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Winthrop Vikings have 18 freshmen on their team. Revere has 35 freshmen. Despite the number of players leaving football, with a new Miller Field believe the numbers will increase in Winthrop.

Swampscott will play their first football game at the ‘new’ Blocksidge Field on Saturday. The Triton Vikings invade Swampscott. There is a new press box at Blocksidge and lights are in the future for the legendary field.

Hormal Stadium in Medford is adjacent to Meadow Glen Mall.

The Vikings will be shooting for their first victory of the 2017 season.

Let the Games Begin!

 

WHS sports Years

10 years ago

Sept. 13, 2007

The Winthrop High football team dropped a 34-14 decision at Gloucester’s Newell Stadium in the season-opener for both teams. The contest, which marked the first game for new WHS head coach Sean Driscoll, who succeeds Tony Fucillo at the helm of the Vikings, proved to be a rough way to start the season for a young Winthrop team. Gloucester rushed for 328 yards and built a 20-0 lead in the second quarter. Chris Beranger, who accounted for 133 yards of total offense, scored both Winthrop TDs. Joe McDermott gained 92 yards on 12 carries.

New WHS girls soccer coach Tracey Martucci made a successful debut with a 2-0 victory over Gloucester Friday night under the lights at a steamy Miller Field. Julie Dowson scored the first goal of the season, assisted by Amber Miller, and Miller made it 2-0, assisted by Dowson. Dowson now has 32 career goals, seven shy of the WHS record held by Martucci herself (whose maiden name was Tracey Gigliello when she graduated from WHS in 1994).

 

20 years ago

September 18, 1997

Senior Paul Kirpichenkov split the uprights of the goalpost with just 18 seconds on the clock to give the Winthrop High football team a dramatic 9-8 victory over Hull in the season-opener Saturday afternoon before a capacity crowd at Miller Field. Joey Murray ran for 164 yards on 23 carries against the heavily-favored Hull squad, including a TD run of 26 yards.

Captain Pat Lally defeated his Marblehead opponent 6-3 to lead the WHS golf team to a 40-32 victory in the season-opener. Other Vikings who defeated their Marblehead counterparts included Ron Meryman, Joihn Dowd, Brian Frazer, Randy Raimondi, John Donohue, and Matt Merola.