Sports 11-20-2014

The Game

83rd Annual Battle Patriots vs. Vikings

at 10 a.m. Miller Field Game number 83

By Jim Lederman

The Battle of the Beaches – Patriots vs. Vikings; Kelly’s Roast beef vs. Paesans and Nicks. Who will take home the “Beachcomber Trophy?

A capacity crowd is expected on Thanksgiving morning 10 a.m. at Miller Field. Bobby DeLeo and Anthony Petrucelli will be on the Winthrop sidelines. Dan Rizzo and Mickey Casoli will be in the Revere stands. A capacity crowd on the holiday.

The Northeast Conference Champions (9-1) vs. the Revere Patriots (3-7). The Winthrop Vikings hope to join a select group of Winthrop teams to win 10 games in a season. 16 seniors will play their final game for the Vikings.

“Thanksgiving Day is always special in Winthrop. The five Viking captains have led us to many victories, but they will remember this game for many years. “We were disappointed losing the championship game to Lynnfield, but a big victory on Thanksgiving will be a great ending to a championship season,” said coach Sean Driscoll.

The Vikings shut out Revere (21-0) in the third game of the season. The Viking defense ranks number one in the NEC in points allowed 155-15 per game. The senior linebackers for Winthrop: Tyler Gillis, Alex Anzuoni, Chris Beaudry and junior Matt Feeley, must shutdown Kaleb Silva and quarter Dan Murphy.

The “Battle in the Trenches” favors Winthrop. The huge offensive line (220 lb. avg.) center Brady Magrath, guards Sean Gillis and Rolando Recinos and tackle James Griffin is a senior group that has had a great year. Junior tackle Jeff Collignon has played at an all-star level on both sides of the line.

Dylan Driscoll is a threat passing and running. Number 10 (154 points pass-run) did not play last Thanksgiving due to an injury. The Vikings lost 13-7, Jake Chiudina has been a standout on both sides of the ball. Reise Turransky has been one of the “Best Backs” on the North Shore. Zach Deeb is an excellent receiver and a solid defensive back, should be an NEC all-star.

“We have not played our best game of the year,” said coach Driscoll. Thanksgiving Day could be “the game” when the Vikings make few mistakes and open up the offense – A big victory!

The Viking pass defense must stop versatile junior quarterback Dan Murphy. Dan Sullivan the Lynnfield quarterback, completed 12 passes in the championship game but he had two of the best receivers I have seen this year. Kaleb Silva (number 7) is a standout runner.

Pigskin Picks – from the Voice of the Vikings

Beverly over Salem (0-10), Marblehead (9-1) over Swampscott (4-6), Danvers (5-5) over Gloucester (5-5), Peabody (7-3) over Saugus (6-4).

“CB” Vikings 39 Patriots 13

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Magical Run of two 2014 Winthrop teams

by: Jim Lederman

The magical run of two Winthrop Viking athletic teams ended over the weekend. The undefeated Northeastern Conference champions – the Viking football team lost the Division 4 North Final champions to Lynnfield 35-14 at Miller Field on Friday night.

The Lady Vikings soccer team, the number 16 seed in Davison 4 North, lost a 2-0 decision to Georgetown in the North final at Manning Field on Sunday afternoon. A huge crowd of Viking fans watched coach Tracey Martucci’s squad battle to the end. The lady Vikings reached the final defeating three teams behind the shutout performance of NEC all-star goalie keeper Poli Tsiotos.

The Viking football team (9-1) had five turnovers and battled the undefeated (10-0) Lynnfield Pioneers with a powerful offense and a stingy defense. Winthrop was the first team to score more than one touchdown on the Pioneer defense but costly turnovers led to a Lynnfield victory.

The Vikings trailed 21-14 in the third quarter when a punt deflected off a Viking cover man. The Vikings had momentum after Reise Turransky’s spectacular 38-yard touchdown run and the large raucous home crowd was ready for the Vikings to tie the powerful Lynnfield team.

The team that makes the fewest mistakes in a championship game always wins. The Vikings committed just a handful of errors during their run of nine victories. Friday night the turnovers cost them a change to win the Division 4 North title and a trip to the super bowl.

Behind the Net

Winthrop and Georgetown entered the Division 4 final having yet to yield a goal through three playoff games. Sunday afternoon at Manning Field the weather was cold but a huge crowd of Viking fans were wishing for the first soccer title in WHS history.

After a scoreless first half (40 minutes) the Georgetown team scored the first goal with a shot inside the left post at 30:21. The Lady Vikings created three golden chances over the next six minutes. Niki Tsiotos blasted a shot just over the cross bar.

Junior midfielder Heidi Benson generated two shots in the 29th minute and the final five minutes. The Lady Vikings put pressure on the Georgetown keeper. Georgetown has reached the Division 4 finals in the last four years.

Coach Tracy Martucci, in her eighth year coaching her alma mater, will have 13 players returning to a program that reached the final game for the first time in school history.  The Lady Vikings soccer is on the rise.

The Lady Vikings will lose Poli and Nicki Tsiotos, forward Amy Sena and defenseman Maura Lanza. The four senior co-captains led their team to the Division 4 North final.

Two teams that captured the town and many Viking fans this fall. A “championship Weekend” and plenty of Viking Pride, we salute coach Sean Driscoll and his assistants and coach Tracey Martucci and her staff, for putting Winthrop back on the map and the talk of the North Shore.

 

Faces in the Crowd

The Lady Vikings had many Viking fans at Coley Lee Field in Peabody and Manning Field in Lynn including:  Marty and Barbara O’Brien, Leslie and Louis K. Foury, Arky, Scott and Kevin Cummings, Jimmy Evans, former A.D., who started girl’s sports at WHS, John Macero and Matt Crombie, Harry and Carol Benson, John and Maureen Delsolio, Linda Donahue, Jimmy and Ginny Noiles, Tom and Suzanne Chiudina, Sean and Gretchen Carleton, Jim and Claudia English, Rich and Cathy Sena, Keith and Rosemarie Hinchion, Gary and Jen Capone, Susan and Joe Griffiths, Frank and Denise Lanza, Dottie Millerick, Kristen and Elaine Lanza, Rena, Elaine and Steve Mallios, Vasili Mallios, Chris and Angela Tsiotos, Nick, Nitsa Tsiotos and family, Mike Condakes and family. Greg and Chris Zikos, coach Max Tsiotos, Minnie and Sue Martucci, Bob Socci, Spoon Corkhum, Mike Alabiso, Diane Duplin, Mary Sean and William Gillis and Denise O’Connell.

The girls soccer program is strong and with a new turf field at Miller Field in the future, the Lady Vikings program will prosper.

Happy Thanksgiving!