The Everett High School football team overcame a two-touchdown, halftime deficit to defeat Arlington, 42-27, in the season opener at Everett Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Led by freshman quarterback Michael Walsh, the Crimson Tide outscored their former Greater Boston League rival, 35-6, in the second half.
Walsh, making his first start at quarterback, threw three touchdown passes, two to Armani Negron and one to Roshon Belony.
“Our team really responded in the second half in all three phases of the game,” said Everett head coach Rob DiLoreto, the former dean of students at Arlington High School.
DiLoreto said one of the deciding factors was the Crimson Tide’s excellence on special teams. Everett recovered fumbles on consecutive kickoffs to reclaim possession of the football following scores. Junior placekicker Lucas Da Silva executed two squib kicks to perfection, with Abraham Pierre and Phil Pimental making the key recoveries to turn the momentum to the Tide.
Tyler Freni picked up where he left off a year ago as a Greater Boston League All-Star. Freni rushed for two touchdowns on runs of four and six yards in the second half. Belony also had a 15-yard run for a touchdown.
“Tyler really carried the load in the run game,” said DiLoreto. “He had two hard-nosed, old-school touchdowns inside the 10-yard line where he lowered his pad level, squared up his shoulders, and willed himself into the end zone.”
The defensive line asserted itself in the second half, limiting the Spy Ponders to one score.
“Linemen Dan Lubrena and James De Souza, Armani Negron (linebacker), and Phil Pimenta (defensive back) played really well on defense,” credited DiLoreto. “I’m just really proud with how our kids responded after being down, 21-7, at the half. Things didn’t look so good, but we didn’t panic, we stayed true to ourselves, and we really turned it around and played a really strong second half.”
Walsh joined Super Bowl champion Matt Nuzzo as freshmen who have started at quarterback in Week 1.
“I thought Michael had a really solid game,” said DiLoreto. “He made some incredible plays with his feet, running and scrambling for first downs. His passes were accurate, and it was nice to see him perform so well in his varsity debut.”
Everett hosts the state’s top-ranked team, Xaverian High School of Westwood, Friday at 6 p.m.
“They’re ranked No. 1 in the state for good reason,” said DiLoreto. “They opened with a big 42-26 win over Bishop Feehan in overtime. They return a lot of players from a state championship team, so we know that they’re going to be very well coached, extremely disciplined – and their quarterback, Will Wood, has committed to Penn State, so we know we have our hands full. We are going to work hard to prepare for Xaverian, and we’ll show up ready to play Friday night.”
