THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, OCTObER 27, 2023 Page 17 Crimson Tide football smokes Malden for sixth straight win Host Everett preps for Lynn Classical tonight in a game that will set the tone for the playoffs next week By Joe McConnell den. First-year coach Justin Flores he Greater Boston League (GBL), comprised of communities that surround the state’s capital, has been around for decades notwithstanding several years during the past decade when these city schools merged with the Northeastern Conference. In the early stages, the GBL was considered to be the gold standard among high school sports enthusiasts. It was made up of teams capable of winning championships statewide in all sports. But lately in football, Everett has been practically the lone team to maintain a level of consistency that is capable of competing with the state’s best. And this year is no exception, even with a first-year coach at the helm. The Crimson Tide is currently 5-0 in the GBL (6-1 overall) after its latest triumph last Thursday night (Oct. 19) against the rival Golden Tornadoes in Malden, 56-0. It was Damien Lackland’s T five touchdowns that led the Tide to victory past Medford the previous week prior to the Malden encounter. Last week, it was quarterback Carlos Rodrigues’ turn to assume the starring role after he too scored five touchdowns to lead the way against host Malprepares his team the same way each week. “We just continue to execute the gameplans no matter who the opponent is. We are big on winning every individual rep to make all 11 guys on both offense and defense do their jobs,” Flores said. And his players are buying into his system, and there’s enough of them to confuse opposing defenses. Rodrigues (13/19 for 271 passing yards, 5 touchdowns and 3 rushing yards on 2 carries) is the latest to enjoy the spotlight. “Carlos (Rodrigues) has gotten better since the beginning of the season,” Flores said. “He is a young (junior) quarterback in his first year starting on the varsity, but now he is taking more responsibilities each week. He still has a lot to work to do on his mechanics to the mental aspect of the game, but he is coming along with repetition.” Besides Rodrigues, Jayden Prophete (6 catches for 152 yards, 2 TDs) and Jaysaun Coggins (4 catches for 58 yards, 2 TDs) also made some big plays on offense against Malden. “Their (Prophete and Coggins) ability to go deep or to catch something short and go the distance is special,” said Flores. CRUSHING DEFENSE: The Tide’s Mark Sylvain wraps up the Malden quarterback during Everett’s 59-0 blowout win in Malden last week. (Advocate photo by Emily Harney) Christian Zamor (1 catch for 43 yards, 1 TD) and Pedro Rodrigues stood out on a defense that recorded its third shutout of the season, according to Flores. Against Malden, Lackland carried the ball eight times for 56 yards, and caught one pass for three yards. He also accounted for two touchdowns. Santiago rushed for 45 yards on three carries, and scored one touchdown. Domenic Papa hauled in one pass for 15 yards. The Crimson Tide will look to continue their winning ways tonight (Oct. 27), when the 5-2 Lynn Classical Rams come to town for the 6 p.m. game at Everett Stadium. It will be their last game before the playoffs begin next week. “We are treating this week like the first game of the playoffs, because of where both teams are seeded in their respective divisions (Everett, 16th in Division 1; Lynn Classical, 18th in Division 3, the Top 16 teams in each division with at least three wins make the playoffs) going into the last week of the regular season,” Flores said. “On offense, they are a spread team that looks to get the ball to one of the best wide receivers (R.J. Faessler) in the state. We will need to show that we can stop their passing attack. On defense, they run a 3-4, and so we should have a lot of 1-on-1 opportunities on the perimeter.” Tide field hockey celebrates Senior Day with shutout win over Northeast Voke Everett ends the regular season at home tomorrow against the rival Golden Tornadoes By Joe McConnell for it.” Jonathan Scoletti was the T he Everett High School field hockey team (4-11) celebrated its Senior Day with a resounding victory over Northeast Voke, 8-0 on Oct. 18. “I love to recognize and celebrate our seniors,” said firstyear coach Sabrina Wright. “This is my first group of seniors to leave, and I feel so lucky to have had them this year. They quickly adjusted with open arms to having a new coach, and with that I’m so thankful. “We played a great game against Northeast,” added Wright. “We were fired up team’s honorary captain against the Knights, and freshman goalie Willins Julien was then able to record his second shutout last week. He blanked Greater Lowell two days earlier by the exact same 8-0 score. Cephas Orleus and Scoletti paced the offensive attack with two goals apiece. Meghan Currie, Caden Sylva, Malaica Guillume and defender Taisha Alexandre accounted for one each. “We moved Alexandre up to give her an opportunity to score a goal on Senior Day. It was so fun to see,” said Wright. The Tide then took on Waltham last Friday in a rematch after losing 5-0 on opening day in early September. “I was excited to see how much we progressed in this game,” said Wright. “Waltham was our opening day opponent, and we are not even close to the team we were back then. In this rematch, they scored late in the first quarter. and then we held them scoreless throughout most of the rest of the game until late in the third quarter, when they scored again to account for the final 2-0 score. “We had some scoring opportunities, but nothing that clicked,” added the Everett coach. “But to me, despite the close loss compared to the opener, that’s still a win. Waltham is a team with great stickwork and great passing, so for us to give up only two goals is really something to be proud of. It just shows how much we have improved as individual players and as a team this season, and I’m so happy with that.” The Tide began a brandnew week with a 4-1 loss to non-league host Melrose on Monday. The Red Raiders beat them the first time around, 5-3. The Monday clash was their Senior Day, and as a result they were fired up for a win. Sylva was credited with the lone Everett goal in this game. Wright’s team then went up against Revere the next day after press deadline, before wrapping up the regular season versus Malden tomorrow (Saturday, Oct. 28) at home, starting at 10 a.m. In the Division 2 power rankings, this young Everett squad with a new coach is 48th overall with the possibility of moving up a couple of slots with wins against two aforementioned league rivals Revere and Malden.
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