Big Blue Football Blankets Revere

The football team proved that they can play in rain or sun, night or day, ripping off 28 points in the first half on the way to a shutout win in Revere Friday night.

Under ideal conditions, Swampscott isn’t the team you want to fall behind, and the Patriots did on Swampscott's first offensive series.

The Blue went ahead for good with Mike Walsh running the ball in from the five on the Big Blue’s first possession.

“I told Dembo (Big Blue head coach Steve Dembowski) that Walsh is a special kid, he looks like he’s gotten bigger and faster since last year,” Revere coach Lou Cicatelli said. “Swampscott played a very sound game, they were crisp on offense and on defense against us.”

Revere opened the game with a six-play drive that ended in a punt to the Big Blue 31 yard line. It took the offense six plays to get in the end zone, helped along by two Revere penalties. Walsh scored his fifth rushing touchdown of the season for a 6-0 lead with 1:53 to go in the first quarter.

“The conditions weren’t great, but the line (Michael) Wynne,  (Sam) Gold,  Abdi (Yusuf) and (Mark) Lausier did a great job for us,” Walsh said. “Revere has some good athletes and we were able to stop them tonight, our guys put a lot of heat on (Revere quarterback Drew) Lauria.”

With Lausier putting heavy pressure on Lauria in the Revere backfield, the Revere QB was picked off by A. J. Baker with just over a minute to play in the first quarter. The senior co-captain brought the ball to the Revere 15, and Swampscott was in the end zone again, one play later.

Nick Meninno scored the first of his two touchdowns, hauling in a 15-yard TD pass from Walsh. Walsh ran in the two-point conversion and Swampscott was up 14-0, with the Patriots stuck in the mud.

“The offense played great, the defense played great, we’re 3-0, we’re on a roll, now we’ve just got to keep it going,” Meninno said.

Richard Sullivan and Ron White sacked Lauria on fourth and six on Revere's next series and Swampscott had the ball on their own 22 with 3:12 left in the half.

The Blue made it three possessions and three scores when Walsh hit Meninno for six and the PAT by Meninno put Swampscott up 21-0 with 2:40 left in the first half.

Revere tried to get back in the game before halftime, but Sullivan stepped in front of Tom Portrait on the Revere sideline, intercepting Lauria’s pass at the 14-yard line with 50 seconds to play.

Walsh torched the Revere defensive backfield, hitting Sullivan for a 70-yard touchdown for a 28-0 lead after two quarters.

“It wasn’t perfect, but we’re glad to win the game,” Dembowski said. “We’re getting healthier, we’ll learn from this and make some improvements going forward.”

Revere (2-1) takes on Salem next weekend; Swampscott (3-0) hosts Lynn English. The game against the Bulldogs was originally scheduled for 12 noon, but the time has been changed to 2:30, due to academic testing.

“It was good to get Frank (Legere) and Matt (Gambale) in there for some plays tonight,” Dembowski said. “We’re still missing (Aaron) Cronin, but the more depth we add, especially in the non-league games, the better off we’ll be.”

“That’s a very good football team over there, certainly not a team that you want to fall behind by four touchdowns,” Revere coach Lou Cicatelli said.