Special to the Transcript
For the first time since 2015, “Victory over Revere” was on the Thanksgiving Day menu for Winthrop High fans, who filled Miller Field on a picture-perfect morning for a high school football game to savor the Vikings’ 25-6 triumph over their traditional archrivals from the Beach City. Winthrop took control of the contest from the outset, stunning the Patriots with a pair of touchdowns within the first 6:11 to jump out to a 12-0 lead, and never looked back.
After Winthrop took the opening kickoff at its own 41, the Vikings needed just five plays to reach the Revere endzone. Speedy Viking X-back Nick Cappuccio — who essentially fills the versatile role of the San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel as a runner, slot receiver, and deep threat — displayed his elite speed (Nick placed fifth in the state in the 200 dash in D-6 last spring) when he took a handoff from quarterback Robert Noonan on a third-and-nine from the Revere 48 and turned the corner on a jet sweep around right end. Once Nick got to the next level of the Revere defense, it was “see ya’ later,” as the sophomore bolted past the remaining Patriot defenders to the endzone to bring the Winthrop crowd to its feet just 1:49 into the game. The Vikings displayed some more thunder moments later when a Revere fumble on the ensuing kickoff was recovered by Michael Holgersen, putting Noonan and Co. back in business at the Revere 37. After two running plays netted minus two yards, Noonan connected with George Galuris on third-and-12 for 16 yards for a first down at the Revere 23, the first of many clutch passes on the day by the Vikings’ senior signal-caller. A procedure penalty set Winthrop back five yards, but a nine-yard run by Welvis Acosta got the penalty yardage back and then some. However, another procedure faux pas pushed the Vikings into a second-and-11 from the Revere 24. Acosta powered his way for another nine-yard gain, setting up a third-and-two at the 15, from where Welvis (who was a workhorse all morning) earned three tough yards to pick up the first down to the Revere 12. Despite their success on the ground, the Vikings returned to the passing game on first down. Noonan, standing calmly in the pocket, braved a Patriot pass rusher and delivered a perfect strike just as he was hit to the right corner of the end zone to Cappuccio, who made a fine grab to make it 12-0. Revere handled the ensuing kickoff without incident, but just two plays later, Galuris picked off a Patriot pass at the Revere 27 and returned it to the Revere 15. However, the Revere defense stiffened and, after throwing the Vikings for losses on two of the four downs, took over on downs at their own 25.
After Revere earned a first down to its 40, the turnover bug continued to bite the Patriots, who fumbled the ball yet again, with Winthrop recovering the loose pigskin at the Revere 37. This time, the Vikings took full advantage of the opportunity. Acosta rumbled for 20 yards to the Revere 17. Welvis picked up two yards on his next carry, but an illegal shift cost Winthrop five yards to make it second-and-13 at the Revere 20. After a one-yard loss on a running play, Noonan delivered a perfect strike to Holgersen for a 17-yard gain to the Revere three.
Acosta got the call on first down and barged into the end zone for an 18-0 Viking advantage with 9:36 remaining in the first half. Revere finally managed to play a series without a turnover, but the Viking defense forced a three-and-out. Cappuccio returned the punt from his own 15 to the 42, setting up the Vikings in nice field position. Winthrop moved the ball well behind its running game, primarily featuring runs up the middle Acosta and a 13 yard jaunt around end by Galuris that brought Winthrop to the Revere 25. However, the drive fizzled on a fourth-and-five from the Revere 20 when a pass by Noonan was intercepted at the Revere 10 with 38 seconds left in the half.
To their credit, the Patriots fought gamely after the intermission and threatened to get back into the contest. Revere took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched 50 yards to paydirt to slice the Winthrop lead to 18-6 with 6:10 to go in the third period. The capper for Revere was a nine-yard TD pass from quarterback Carlos Rizo Jr. to Sami Elasri on which a Viking defender almost made an interception — the ball glanced off his fingertips — and the alert Elasri snared the ball in mid-air. However, the Vikings put the game away with a 78-yard march of their own in which Noonan adroitly manned the helm of the Winthrop offensive longship. The senior QB completed passes of 15 yards to Galuris and 27 yards to Cappuccio, softening up the Revere defense for runs of 19 yards by Acosta and 16 yards by Cappuccio. Still, the Vikings faced a fourth-and-goal at the Revere two, but Noonan delivered a strike to Holgersen in the end zone for the coup de grace with 1:56 remaining in the third. Galuris kicked the PAT for what would prove to be the capper of the 25-6 finale.
Any chance of a fourth quarter comeback by Revere was stymied when Cappuccio, who also plays safety on defense, made a diving interception of a ball that had glanced off the fingertips of a Revere receiver at the Winthrop 45 with 11:21 to play, marking the fifth turnover forced by the Winthrop defense. The final minutes were a mere formality, setting the stage for a joyous on-field celebration by the Vikings and head coach Jon Cadigan, who hoisted aloft the Beachcomber Trophy that will reside in the WHS trophy case for the first time after a departure of six years, during which Revere had achieved a best-ever five straight wins in the series from 2016-21 (there was no game in 2020) that put an end to a Winthrop run of 28 wins in 31 games from 1975-2015. Hopefully, for Winthrop fans and future Vikings, the 2022 triumph will begin a new skein of Thanksgiving Day victories over their Revere counterparts in their rivalry that dates back to 1913.