Sainristil, Everett power past Mansfield, 41-14
By Cary Shuman
The Everett High School football team displayed its offensive firepower in a 41-14 victory over Mansfield in an intersectional showdown on the Hornets’ home field.
Mansfield scored on its first possession to take a 7-0 lead before the Everett offense in general, and Mike Sainristil, specifically, took control of the game, scoring 34 unanswered points.
Sainristil showed the large crowd why he is considered one of the best two-way talents in Massachusetts and a Division 1 scholarship player. The 5-foot-11-inch, 180-pounder caught two touchdown passes from sophomore quarterback Duke Doherty, completing the exchanges with his signature “hesitation” moves through the Mansfield secondary.
But Sainristil was even better on defense, intercepting three passes to put a dent in the Hornets’ passing attack.
Mansfield High coach Mike Redding said he tried to double-team Sainristil.
“We were hoping to get in to halftime only down six, but Everett got those two scores and it snowballed,” said Redding. “We’d tried to double Mike Sainristil and he made some big plays. Every time we made a mistake, he’s a Division 1 kid and we just can’t run with him. I like the way we competed and Everett is as good a team as we’re going to play all year.”
The No. 1-ranked Tide had other standouts in the victory. Doherty was 11-for-18 for 214 yards with four touchdown passes and a 2-yard touchdown run. Tyrese Baptiste and Eli Auguste had touchdown receptions.
Isaac Seide keyed Everett’s rushing game. Wilson Frederic and Jalen Iles-Smith led an outstanding effort by the offensive line.
Declan Smith, Giovanni Raduazzo, Gilbert Kabamba, Nathan Mehu, Samy Lamothe, and Robbie Riobe were among the key contributors who helped limit Mansfield to two touchdowns, one coming in the fourth quarter.
Sainristil was enveloped by reporters following the game. “I just knew that tonight was a big night for Mansfield and we had to be ready,” said Sainristil. “I just tried to make plays. I have confidence in our team. We started a little bit slowly, but after that first possession, it was, ‘let’s wake up, it’s time to play.’”
Everett coach Theluxon Pierre was pleased with his team’s overall performance.
“It was a great team win,” said Pierre. “Mike [Sainristil] is a special guy. Isaac Seide played well and Tyrese [Baptiste] and the whole receiving crew was good today. And the offensive line was dominant. Defensively, a lot of guys played well.”
Everett has another difficult test against an unbeaten St. John’s Prep team Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Everett Memorial Stadium.
Duke Doherty excels in win over Mansfield
By Cary Shuman
Duke Doherty delivered the football right on the mark and his receivers, Mike Sainristil, Tyrese Baptiste, and Eli Auguste did the rest in the Everett High football team’s 41-14 victory over Mansfield.
Doherty, a 5-foot-10 inch, 180-pound sophomore quarterback, has been very efficient at the helm of the offense in the Crimson Tide’s two victories. He has 25 completions in 43 attempts for 375 yards and six touchdowns, four coming against a Mansfield defense that had held BC High to one score in the opener.
Sainristil (2 TDs), Baptiste, and August each had TD receptions while Doherty also rushed for a score.
Doherty’s emergence as an instant star doesn’t surprise those who saw him dominate North Shore teams during his youth football career. Doherty has earned the opportunity to be the starting quarterback for the No. 1-ranked team in Massachusetts and he’s been brilliant through two games.
“I felt pretty good but there’s definitely things we can improve upon,” said Doherty. “I love my receivers and my running backs, too. Mike [Sainristil] is a great athlete who can create space. Playing quarterback is all about leadership and I’m trying to provide that for the team.”
Everett coach Theluxon Pierre said that Doherty is handling the role.
“We’re asking Duke to progress as our quarterback and he is doing that,” said Pierre. “He played very well tonight.”
TIDE NOTEBOOK
Jalen Iles-Smith has been major contributor on both sides of the ball. The 6-foot-4-inch, 250-pound lineman has received scholarship opportunities from colleges, including Fordham and URI. Iles-Smith, whose mother, Denise, was a tremendous basketball player at Chelsea High School, was the starting center for last year’s Division 1 North championship basketball team that lost to Mansfield at the TD Garden.
Supt. of Schools Frederick Foresteire was pleased with the excellent hospitality shown by Mansfield officials for the Everett program and its fans.
“The principal, the athletic director, and the coach were really accommodating,” said Foresteire. “They have a very nice venue and it was a first-class operation.”
The only negative in an otherwise, solid 27-point margin of victory was another penalty-plagued effort. Everett committed 16 penalties in the game.
Mansfield has dedicated a portion of its stadium to U.S. war veterans. There was a pre-game ceremony naming the area, “Hero’s Corner.”
Many fans will be seeing the Crimson Tide for the first time on Saturday (1:30 p.m.) when St. John’s Prep comes to Everett Memorial Stadium. Super senior Mike Sainristil is off to a sensational start and is definitely a “player to watch” for the Tide. Sainristil said that he has committed to Virginia Tech.
EHS Roundup
EHS volleyball team defeats Winthrop
The Everett High volleyball team earned its second Northeastern Conference victory of the season with a hard-fought, five-set triumph over Winthrop in the Lady Crimson Tide’s home opener last Wednesday.
Everett fought off the visiting Lady Vikings’ servers to tie the first set, 18-18. Senior Camila Morare served four in a row to give the Lady Crimson Tide their first lead and junior Bianca May blasted the last two points to win the set and give Everett the 1-0 advantage.
Senior hitters Janeka Vilmont and Kayla Gomes also played key roles in the opening set, combining for three kills.
The Lady Crimson Tide maintained their momentum to start the second set, with Vilmont powering Everett to an early 6-0 lead. Morare had four more service points and a kill, and junior setter Saunti Burton smacked a pair of well-placed kills as the Tide cruised to a 25-14 win for a 2-0 advantage.
However, Winthrop would not go quietly. Serves by Morare, May, and senior Laryssa Souza kept Everett in front, 12-9, in the third set, but Everett missed three out of the next four serves, falling behind 20-16 before dropping the set.
“We were pretty confident after the second set, which is good, but we got too comfortable,” said EHS head coach Mike Fineran. “We gave them some life with our mistakes, and their defense stepped up as well.”
In set four, Morare and May had five kills, but Everett could not capitalize and dropped the set, 25-16, setting the stage for a dramatic and decisive fifth set.
With the score deadlocked at 4-4, Burton broke the set open with four straight points, and the front row hitters May, Morare, and Gomes had eight kills, all assisted by Burton.
A couple of missed serves by Everett allowed Winthrop to draw closer, but Vilmont closed the door with two serves, nailing down the win for Everett, 15-9.
“That was definitely exciting,” said Fineran. “You better win these types of games, or else they haunt you. I am proud of our girls, the way they stepped up. We believe we’re a tournament team, and this felt like a tournament game. I challenged our hitters early on, and I challenged the whole team before the fifth set. I wanted to see how they’d respond to the pressure, and they rose to the challenge.”
Fineran lauded his unsung heroes, the back row defenders who neutralized the Viking attack and put the hitters in position to score. “Lorena Corbelli, who is just learning to play libero, and Anna Thomaz, one of our captains, have been outstanding. Even against Lawrence, they were making fantastic passes off some really hard hits,” said Fineran. “It doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet, but without everybody chipping in, we won’t be going anywhere.”
The Lady Tide lost to a strong Lawrence team on the road two days earlier and suffered their first league loss at Swampscott Friday.
Fineran and his crew now are 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the NEC with a busy week ahead. The Lady Crimson Tide were set to host Pope John yesterday (Tuesday) and will travel to Malden tomorrow (Thursday) before returning home to entertain Saugus on Friday. They will play at Revere next Tuesday.