Page 18 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, NOVEmbER 22, 2024 Crimson Tide football closes out season with home loss against Lincoln-Sudbury Five Everett players chosen as 2024 GbL all-stars for their “impactful” play on the gridiron By Joe McConnell W ithout any Thanksgiving Day game scheduled for this year, the Everett High School football team (4-6), unfortunately, closed out the 2024 season last Friday night at home against Lincoln-Sudbury in a non-playoff game. The Warriors ended up winning the finale, 38-13. Senior running back Manny Santiago (12 carries, 126 yards, 2 TDs; 1 catch, 7 yards) scored both Crimson Tide touchdowns on runs of 4 and 69 yards to complete his high school football career on a memorable note. Sam Lacombe (1 carry, 5 yards), Yariel Ortiz (5 carries, 19 yards; 2 catches, 21 yards), Armani Negron (1 catch, 21 yards), Carlos Rodrigues (2 carries, 10 yards; 1 catch, 12 yards) and Philip Pimenta (1 catch, 1 yard) also factored into the offense against the Warriors. Second-year head coach Justin Flores was not happy with the team’s lack of execution on special teams, and also the turnover differential that led directly to Lincoln-Sudbury scores. It was basically a microcosm of a season that started out with so much promise. Flores then expressed his overall displeasure with the entire season by saying succinctly: “(This) season was a huge disappointment from the first game to the last (game). (We committed) too many of the same mistakes in critical situations, which led to a lot of the same scores (by the opposition). (Going forward), we need to be able to take away the importance of special teams and the basic fundamentals of tackling and blocking in order to win more games.” Those who were playing their final game last week for the Tide as seniors were Alex Linhares, Carlos Silva Rodrigues, Chris Vernet, Christopher Ruiz, Diego Ayala, Elijah Lassiter, Fabrice Michaud, Jose Portillo, Kawan Medeiros, Kevin Diaz, Lucas Brito, Mark Sylvain, Marvin Desruisseaux, Yariel Ortiz, Zayne Fragelus and Santiago. Five Everett players made the Greater Boston League (GBL) all-star team this year, and they were nominated by Flores, because of “their impact” to the team in each game. Flores’ 2024 Fab Five on the all-star team includes quarterback and defensive back Carlos Rodrigues, wide receiver and defensive back Yariel Ortiz, offensive and defensive lineman Marvin Desruisseaux, defensive back and all-around athlete Joao Barreiros and Santiago. A Thanksgiving Day game might be returning to Everett? Flores would love to see Everett have a Thanksgiving Day game once again, but he says, “it’s extremely hard to find a game on Thanksgiving, but (my) plan is to have a game again, and hopefully it will also be a multiyear agreement (with that school).” LAST RUN: Tide senior Emanuel Santiago scored two touchdowns for 126 yards for Everett.(Advocate file photo) Everett’s Emilia Maria-Babcock receives future leaders scholarship from the Bay State Games Crimson Tide three-sport star demonstrates leadership in all aspects of high school life to warrant this honor By Joe McConnell E verett High School (EHS) senior three-sport athlete Emilia Maria-Babcock was recently selected for a 2024 Bay State Future Leaders Scholarship Program scholarship, along with five other statewide worthy candidates. Maria-Babcock just missed by points from leading the Tide soccer team (7-8-4) to a state tournament berth as its starting goaltender. She has also demonstrated versatility to play anywhere on the pitch, and that type of athletic and leadership ability didn’t go unnoticed by those who judge high school athletes for awards. The Bay State Games Foundation chose Maria-Babcock and five of her peers – Akosua Adu-Gyamfi of Holden and the Winchendon School, Priya Bedard of Medway, Shannon Gustin of Rockland, Keira Manning of Marlboro and the Advanced Math & Science Academy and Winthrop High School’s Amelia Spencer – from a large applicant pool after a process that included committee reviews of all applications and virtual interviews with selected applicants. Besides being a talented athlete, Maria-Babcock is ranked No. 6 in her class of 630 students. Her grade point average is 4.76. She is also the captain MARIA-BABCOCK | SEE PAGE 21
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