EHS Roundup
Francois nets hat trick, but boys soccer team falls to Randolph, 4-3;
Although the Everett High boys soccer team had the better of the play on the field in their contest Friday evening at Randolph, the Crimson Tide ended up on the short end on the scoreboard, dropping a 4-3 decision to the home team.
EHS senior Lens-Fedo Francois turned in a brilliant performance, scoring all three of the Crimson Tide goals. After Randolph scored quickly to take an early 1-0 lead, Francois evened the count with his first goal, a diving header off a crossing pass from the left side by Mateus Pedro.
“It was a beautiful goal, just a truly amazing play,” said EHS head Oswaldo Constanza.
Francois gave the Tide a 2-1 advantage before the half ended when he took a nice through-ball from Kyle Morari and went in alone on the Randolph keeper. The tally gave Everett the momentum, which the Tide maintained after the intermission, as Everett continued to press the attack in the Randolph half of the field.
However, Randolph utilized a counter-attack strategy and took advantage of its opportunities when the numbers favored them. A goal with about 15 minutes to play and another five minutes later moved Randolph into a 3-2 lead.
Everett then abandoned its usual 4-3-3 formation in favor of a more offensive-minded 3-5-2 attack, and the move paid dividends in short order, as Francois notched the equalizer with about five minutes to go on a nice pass from Carlos Alvarez.
The Crimson Tide maintained the pressure in the Randolph side of the field over the next few minutes, but once again Randolph found an opportunity to counterattack and took advantage, scoring the go-ahead goal with less than two minutes on the ref’s watch.
“We seemed poised to score the go-ahead goal, but we had a breakdown in communication and in our assignments on their final goal,” noted Constanza. “It showed us what we have to work on in practice.”
Constanza and his crew, who now stand at 3-2 on the season, were set to take on Greater Boston League rival Malden this past Monday and Boston Latin last night (Tuesday). They play at New Mission tomorrow (Thursday) and at St. John’s Prep Monday.
EHS volleyball team battles well in matches
After picking up a win against Pope John at home last Monday, the Everett High girls volleyball team could not maintain its momentum against a strong Methuen squad that traveled to Everett last Wednesday, dropping a 3-0 decision to the visitors.
The match started well for the Lady Crimson Tide, with senior middle Sabrina Augustin serving six straight points for an early 7-0 lead. Junior Captain Sabrina Moreta came out firing, netting two kills, but the Lady Rangers battled back and took the lead 11-10.
“We knew Methuen would be challenging, and they were,” said head coach Mike Fineran. “They have relentless hitters and they seemed to be in the right place on defense anytime we set up our own attack.”
Methuen pulled away in the middle of the set thanks to its strong defense and consistent offense and ended up taking the set, 25-16. Methuen was more prepared for Everett’s serves at the start of set two and jumped out to an 8-3 lead that swelled to 20-7 before junior setter Nathanny Balbino got the serve for Everett and dropped four aces in a row to close the gap to 20-12.
That would be Everett’s last push of the evening, as Methuen took the set 25-13 and the third set 25-14. “We played hard,” said Fineran. “We dug some tough hits and we had some rallies that showed our heart. We just got beat by a better team that day. Hopefully we can learn from it and play stronger next time.”
The next time would come Monday when the Lady Crimson Tide traveled to GBL foe Malden, who came into the match with an impressive 6-2 record. The contest started well for Everett, with Augustin again serving strong, turning a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 lead.
The two teams were tied, 7-7, when things started going wrong for Everett. A combination of errant passes and missed serves turned a close game into a runaway for Malden. “In a span of about three minutes, we ended up down 19-8,” said Fineran.
The second set went much the same way, as the two teams traded points for the early part, but then Malden pulled away. “We had the serve down 6-5, then 12-8, then 13-9. Two minutes later, we’re down 20-10. It’s frustrating for everyone. We know what we need to do. We know we are capable of playing at a much higher level than we showed and we know how important these games are.”
However, Fineran said he liked the way his team played in the third set. “We dictated the play for most of the set. We were the ones getting kills, serving three or four in a row, not letting the other team get on a roll.”
Fineran noted the fine play of junior hitter Jalissa Harding and sophomore middle Yasmeen Guerrier. “Those girls bring a lot of energy to the court, and they always attack,” he said. Harding had three kills in the set and Guerrier served three in a row to push Everett’s lead to 20-15.
“We had some unlucky bounces at the end, but when we had Nathanny serving with the game tied 22-22, I thought we were in good shape. She served it hard, but give Malden credit for being in the right spot and making the play,” said Fineran.
Malden won the set, 25-23, to claim the match. “We’ll keep fighting,” said Fineran. “We know what we need to do. We work on it every practice. We just need to execute better and stay focused.”
Everett will look to get back on the winning track with back-to-back matches against Triton, at Triton Friday and at home Monday.
Pop Warner A team on a roll
The Everett Crimson Tide Pop Warner Unlimited A team improved to 3-0 after slugging out a 13-6 victory over the Reading Rockets this past Sunday in Reading. Head Coach Cataldo Kidd and his young staff have now proven they can win the close ones as well as the routs. Everett opened the scoring with a first quarter 13 yard toss from Caleb Suttles to Jordan Roberts and with Jovary Thermiodor rushing in the conversion it was 7-0. Everett scored again in the second quarter with another TD pass from Suttles, this time to Gacari Lee, to make it 13-0. It had all the makings of another Everett blowout until Reading pushed through a score late in the half to make it 13-6 at the break. After a very sluggish yet scoreless third quarter, Everett turned up the defensive heat and held the potent Reading offense at bay with a fine defensive fourth quarter to seal the victory, including a clutch interception inside the Everett 10 by Lee.The A team has now outscored their opponents to the tune of 71-6 to go along with their unblemished record. Coach Kidd’s staff of Nick Golden, Chris Spinney, Tony Eason and Eric Bowdridge have turned this squad into a team to be reckoned with down the road. Everett next hosts the Lawrence Hurricanes at Veterans Memorial Stadium this coming Sunday in hopes of improving their record at the halfway point of the season. ROLL TIDE !!!!!
St. John’s Prep beats Everett, 35-13
Everett High School head football coach John DiBiaso said it’s not the difficulty of the Tide’s brutal schedule — playing No. 1 Xaverian and No. 2 St. John’s Prep in the first three weeks of the season – that has his team struggling at this point.
In fact, Everett has fared well against the Catholic Conference’s Big Two, having not lost to the Prep since 2008.
But Sunday was St. John’s Prep’s time to shine. Everett, who defeated the Prep twice last season, dipped to a 1-2 record and slipped to a No. 10 ranking in the Boston Herald Sweet 16 after falling to St. John’s Prep, 35-13, on a sunny day at Cronin Stadium in Danvers.
“They beat us pretty good,” said DiBiaso. “They’re a good team. We didn’t play well. It was a combination of both. Hopefully we can get things for Homecoming. That’s what we’re going to try to do: put it behind us and not dwell on negatives and move ahead.
The noontime kickoff began on a high note for the Tide when quarterback Jordan McAfee, Jean St. Vil and Anthony Noricia perfectly executed a 58-yard pass play, with Norcia registering the touchdown reception from St. Vil.
But the remaining highlights were all Prep-related as the hometown Eagles scored 35 unanswered points before Norcia hauled in his second TD catch (7 yards) of the game for Everett.
McAfee was 17-of -26 for 148 yards passing. Luis Cardona was Everett’s leading rusher with nine carries for 37 yards.
The Tide has another tough test in the Homecoming Game versus No. 9 Central Catholic (2-1), who is coning off a 42-0 win over Chelmsford. Steven Jackson is one of the leading scorers in Division 1 with 32 points while sophomore quarterback Brett Edwards was a Boston Herald “Star of the Week” for his 238 yards passing and four TDs performance versus Chelmsford.
“I have seen them play twice,” said DiBiaso. “They’re a lot like St. John’s Prep. They have depth on both sides of the ball. They have a good running back and very good receiver. Defensively, they have a very good defensive tackle. They’re a good team. We’re looking for leadership from our seniors to step and play better.”