Sports 09-25-2014

Big Blue Goes Down

Vikings score impressive win, 28-12 ; season record now at 2-0

By Jim Lederman

Three interceptions played key roles in the Vikings 28–12 victory over Swampscott. The win improved the Vikings record 2-0. The Revere Patriots invade Miller Field for a 7 PM kick off Friday night.

Reise Turransky’s 78 – yard interception return for a touchdown, gave the Vikings a 21–0 lead at halftime. “I was happy with the first half but we must fix our breakdowns in the second half” said coach Sean Driscoll.

The Vikings took the opening kickoff and a 10 – play, 69 – yard drive produced the first Winthrop score. Jake Chiudina’s one yard TD gave Winthrop a 6–0 lead at 6:01 of the first quarter.

The Big Blue gambled on fourth down at midfield and the Vikings wasted no time to get on the scoreboard. Chiudina blasted up the middle for 46 yards to the Swamscott 4 yard line. Dylan Driscoll scored at 8:37 and Turransky rushed for the two point conversion and a 14–0 Vikings

Five minutes later Turransky intercepted a Devin Conroy aerial at the

Winthrop 22 and took it to the house for a spectacular 78 – yard

score. Jake split the uprights, 21–0 Vikings.

Swampscott drove 65 yards to the Winthrop eight but a fourth-down pass

fell incomplete and the Vikings headed to the locker

room with a 21–0 advantage.

The Big Blue had a 43 – yard drive with the second half kickoff before

another key play from the Vikings defense. Zach Deeb intercepted a

pass at the Winthrop 3 yard line.

Swampscott received a big play from halfback Mike Faia on a 50 – yard

run that led to his 3 yard touchdown 21–3 Winthrop.

The Vikings opened the fourth quarter with Dylan Driscoll connecting

with Jake Chiudina  19 – yard touchdown. Jake added the extra 28–6

Faia would add a 17 touchdown run to cut the lead to 28–12. Riese

Turransky blocked his second extra point of the game and the final

score was 28–12 Vikings.

Dylan only attempted eight passes with Deeb, and Junior Matt Feely on

the receiving end. Dylan has four touchdown passes for the season.

Reise added 69 yards on the ground. Jordan Atkins rushed for 18 yards

and sophomore John Gonzalez added 17.

SKIMMING THE SIDELINES

Revere (1-1) lost to Malden (3-0) 14-7 Friday night. The Vikings

defeated Malden 21–6 in the scrimmage at Everett Memorial Stadium.

Kaleb Silva is the player the Viking defense must contain. Silva had

three touchdowns in the 35–34 victory over Medford.

Peabody (2-0) defeated Somerville 34–6. Junior Doug Santos leads

division one in scoring with 48 points. The Tanners travel to play

Danvers (0–2) Friday night. Marblehead (3–0) defeated Salem 40–20. The

Magicians are number six in the Boston Herald poll.

Lynn Classical (1-1) please Salem at Bertram Field Friday night.

Garrett Keough kicks extra points for the undefeated (3–0) Marblehead

Magicians. Garrett is the son of X Viking Jamie Keough an NEC all star

on the 1978 Viking NEC championship team. Jamie played at the

University of Pennsylvania.

Rob Debonis plays end for the Lynnfield Pioneers. His dad Bob played

tackle for the Vikings and at Umass. Bob is a member of the WHS Hall

of Fame.

Luke Boyle is the leading scorer at Triton Regional. He is the

grandson of the late Matty Boyle, former Assistant Principal and coach

at Winthrop High School.

EXTRA POINTS

The first MIAA Power Ratings are out. Winthrop, Lynnfield, Saugus,

Stoneham and North Reading are the top five in division four. The top

eight teams make the playoffs. “We want to win our league title” said

coach Driscoll. We will not have two worry about the power ranking.

The teams get points for the victories from the teams they defeated.

Peabody is in Division I, when classical in 2,   Revere, Danvers and

Salem are in division 3.

In 1982 when Winthrop was undefeated (11–0) and captured the NEC

title, St. John’s Prep and Whitman-Hanson played in the Super Bowl.

There were no playoff games under the old Super Bowl formula.

The last game the Vikings and Revere patriots played with thanksgiving

day 2013. Final score Revere 13 – Winthrop 7. The Viking seniors

remember that day Go Vikings!

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

WHS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Golfers drop first matches of season

The Winthrop High golf team dropped its first matches of the season this past week, falling to Northeastern Conference rival Danvers and non-league foe Malden Catholic.

In last Thursday’s contest with Danvers at the Winthrop Golf Club, the Vikings fell by the narrow margin of two holes (of the 72 that are played among the eight golfers on each team), 37-35.

Winthrop captain Mike Rich shot a superb round of a one under par 34 to defeat his Falcon counterpart, 6.5-3.5. “Mike is playing as well as anyone I’ve ever coached,” said WHS head coach Peter Lyons. “He’s really locked-in in all facets of the game — driving, chipping, and putting. He’s also been a great leader. Mike is not very vocal, but when he says something, the rest of the team listens and follows what he says.”

Brandon MacDonald defeated his Danvers counterpart at No. 6, 5-4, to record the other victory of the day for Winthrop. Jack Wallace at No. 2, Harry Floyd at No. 4, and James Gillis at No. 7 all halved their matches, battling their Falcon opponents to 4.5-4.5 standoffs.

Sean MacDonald at No. 5 and Ryan Duyon at No. 8 won four holes each and Cody Boudrow at No. 3 contributed two points to the Winthrop cause.

“It was a close match all the way,” said Lyons. “If we had won one more hole, or tied two, we would have drawn with them.”

Monday saw the Vikings take on always-strong Malden Catholic and come up short by a score of 38.5-33.5 in another tightly-contested match.

Wallace was the big winner for Winthrop in his No. 2 slot with a 7.5-1.5 triumph over his MC opponent. Wallace and Rich, who halved his match, shot team-best rounds of 37 on the day. Duyon won his contest  at No. 8, 5.5-3.5 and Sean MacDonald halved his match.

“We’re still in the running for the NEC division title,” said Lyons, whose squad now stands at a sterling 8-2 on the season. “We have seven of our last nine matches on the road, which will be more difficult, but will better prepare us for the upcoming state tourney.”

The Vikings were set to host Revere yesterday (Wednesday) and then will play five matches every day next week starting Monday at non-league opponent Wakefield; Tuesday at Tedesco Country Club vs. Marblehead in a match with huge implications for the league title; and Wednesday at Salem. Lyons’s crew then will return home to host Gloucester Thursday and non-league opponent Newburyport Friday.

Girls soccer team defeats Classical

The Winthrop High girls soccer team earned its second win of the season with a 3-1 triumph over Lynn Classical  last Thursday evening under the lights at Miller Field.

Lady Viking sophomore Flora English reached the back of the Classical net twice, the first coming in the opening half when she received a nice crossing pass from junior Holly Benson. After Classical tied the score shorty after the intermission, English delivered the ultimate game-winner on a beautiful strike from just inside the 18 that beat the Classical keeper to the top corner. Nikki Tsiotis earned the assist.

Senior Regina Garufo added an insurance tally later in the half, driving home a rebound of a shot by Benson.

“The entire team played well,” said WHS head coach Tracey Martucci. “It was a nice win.”

The victory was sandwiched between a pair of hard-fought losses to Northeastern Conference powers Peabody and Beverly. Although her Lady Vikings came up short in both matches (3-0 to Peabody and 2-0 to Beverly), Martucci was pleased with her team’s effort.

“The Peabody game saw us catch a couple of tough breaks early,” said the coach, referring to two penalty kicks that were awarded to the Lady Tanners in the first half. “In the Beverly match, the score was 1-0 at the half and they didn’t get their second goal until late in the game. These are two schools that are in higher divisions than us and that traditionally are very difficult for us to match up against. But the team played extremely well and we more than held our own.”

Martucci was high in her praise of junior sweeper Mackenzie Chiudina, whom Martucci said, “has been playing superbly for us. Mackenzie has great speed and she’s able to do so much for us on the back line.” The coach also lauded the performance of WHS senior keeper Poli Tsiotis, who has been immense for the Lady Vikings in net. “Poli worked really hard over the summer and has brought her game to a new level,” said Martucci. “She’s always been a strong player for us, but right now she’s playing as well as anyone in the league.”

Martucci and her crew, who now stand at 2-6-1 on the season, will host Salem this coming Tuesday at 5:00 and travel to Lynn English next Thursday.

WHS volleyball team in

tough battle with Beverly

Although her Lady Vikings came out on the short end of an intense 3-2 decision at Beverly Tuesday afternoon, WHS head volleyball coach Christy Scott was enthusiastic in her praise of her squad.

“We played as well we ever have,” said Scott, whose volleyball program is in only its second season as a varsity sport at Winthrop High. “For us to take a Division 1 school to five sets on their home court shows that we have arrived as a program.”

Winthrop took the opening game, 25-22, only to have Beverly take the next two games, 25-18 and 25-22. However, the Lady Vikings battled back in the fourth game, winning it by the narrowest of margins, 25-23, to force a fifth and deciding game.

“Although Beverly won the fifth game (15-9), we battled them evenly for the entire two hours of the match,” said Scott. “It was very exciting to see our girls respond so well to the pressure. It was an intense match, but we showed we can play with the top teams in our league.”

Freshman Lacey Scott was a standout for the Lady Vikings, earning 22 assists at her setter position. Sophomore Haley Holden also excelled, delivering five service aces, while fellow sophomore Maddie Fainga’a came through with 20 digs. Nina Bartlett did her usual fine job at the net, including a powerful kill that reverberated throughout the gym (as well as off the face of a Lady Panther).

“This was a huge, confidence-building match for us because we showed ourselves that we can play with top teams such as Beverly,” noted Scott. “The entire team played well and we’re looking forward to maintaining the same high level of energy in our matches ahead.”

Scott and her crew will host a Division 3 team, St. Mary’s of Lynn, today (Thursday) in a contest that could determine whether the Lady Vikings will qualify for the post-season state tournament. They will host Salem Tuesday and trek to Lynn English next Thursday.