Page 14 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, December 2, 2022 GREATER BOSTON LEAGUE ROUNDUP: Everett, Malden & Revere Boys Basketball tip off tonight in Inaugural Ron Bennett Jamboree in Lynn By Steve Freker T he new varsity rosters are still “hot off the press” as 12 local boys basketball teams hit the hardwood tonight for their fi rst scrimmage action. And it will be a doozy! It’s the fi rst-ever Ron Bennett Boys Basketball Jamboree and it begins at 4:00 p.m. at Lynn English High School (LEHS), former 41-year coaching home for Bennett, who is the winningest high school coach in the history of the city of Lynn. Coach Bennett was the boys’ basketball head coach at Lynn English from 1965-2013 and the baseball head coach at LEHS from 1975-2013. In 41 years steering the two major Bulldog sports seasons, he rang up over 800 coaching wins. With two other like-minded preseason jamboree events having come and gone in Lynn, Lynn English Athletic Director Dick Newton brought this type of event back this year, this time honoring his own former coach. Newton was a standout for English in the late 1970s and early 1980s in both sports under Coach Bennett. “We wanted to bring it back in his name,” NewThe late former Lynn English boys’ basketball and baseball Head Coach Ron Bennett coached 41 years until 2013 at age 75. He passed away at 80 in 2018. ton said, “I’m lucky I am in a position to honor him. He did so much for the school and the kids.” The jamboree includes six games, each 45 minutes after the previous game, with the fi rst beginning at 4 p.m. The scrimmage games will consist of two eight-minute quarters. Competing in this inaugural event will be 12 teams in all, including seven of the eight Greater Boston League (GBL) varsity teams, including host Lynn English. Three Advocate readership teams – Everett, Malden and Revere – will be competing tonight, along with three other GBLers: Chelsea, Lynn Classical, Somerville. KIPP Academy, Lynn Tech and Wakefi eld round out the even dozen dusting it up at Lynn English High tonight. Locally, Coach David Leary’s Revere High Patriots will open the event by taking on the Chelsea Red Devil boys at 4:00 p.m. Everett will take on Wakefi eld at 5:30 p.m., and Head Coach Don Nally’s Malden High Golden Tornados play Lynn Tech at 6:15 p.m.Following is the full schedule at Lynn English High School tonight: Chelsea vs. Revere (4 p.m.), KIPP vs. Somerville (4:45 p.m.), Everett vs. Wakefi eld (5:30 p.m.), Lynn Tech vs. Malden (6:15), Lynn Classical vs. Melrose (7 p.m.), Lynn English vs. East Boston (7:45 p.m.). *** Coach Nally, Malden High boys looking forward to tonight’s Bennett Jamboree The longest-serving boys basketball head coach in Malden High school history says he’s been looking forward to the start of this season a bit more than most – for a lot of reasons. “We had some big-time injuries last year which really left us shorthanded on a lot of nights,” said Coach Nally, who embarked on his 21st season at the helm for Malden on Monday, referring to the forgettable, 1-19 campaign last winter. The Malden coach said this year’s group is a mix between seasoned veterans and talented newcomers. A big piece of the puzzle this season is the return of 6-4 senior Jonald Joseph, who missed all of the 2021-22 season with a microfracture in his back, an injury more common to college and NBA players. Joseph and senior classmate Justin Bell, a 5-10 shooting guard, are the two key guys back for Malden. Nally said there are still lots of question marks, but he and his players are looking forward to participating in tonight’s event – a little slice of real-time varsity competition in anticipation of the actual real deal. After tonight’s jamboree game, Malden is back in scrimmage action next Thursday, December 8 at home at 4:00 p.m. The Golden Tornados boys open for real on Tuesday, December 13 at the Finn Gym versus nextdoor Greater Boston League rival Medford (6:00 p.m. tipoff ). Sophomore ‘Excel’-homme belts grand-slam homer in Thanksgiving win Gets Malden Tornadoes team off to great start with 95-yard kickoff return touchdown; tacks on two more TDs in dominant performance By Steve Freker N o, they do not plan on allowing action on high school GRAND OPENING: Malden High sophomore running back Kervenson “Kevin” Exilhomme is shown running back the opening kickoff 95 yards for a Golden Tornados touchdown last Tuesday at Fenway Park in Boston. (Advocate photo by Paul Hammersley) events when the state politicos vote on legalized sports betting, very soon, in the Commonwealth. But can you imagine what the odds would have been – and the haul that followed – if someone dropped some coin down the street at Encore on this proposition: “Malden will run the opening kickoff back for a touchdown against Medford for the second straight year in the Thanksgiving game...” That indeed is how it played out last Tuesday when Malden High sophomore running back Kervenson “Kevin” “Excel” Exilhomme ran back the opening kickoff 95 yards for a Golden Tornados touchdown to send the many Malden fans in the Fenway Park crowd into a frenzy. Even the ones who had not even gotten to their seats yet! Apparently, whatever magic had caused the exact same start to last year’s Malden win (12-10 over Medford in Game #134) had wafted into “America’s Oldest Ballpark” and gave Malden another whiff of it. Last year, at Macdonald Stadium in Malden, the same electrifying game starter happened when then sophomore Davian McGuffi e took a kickoff at his own 19yard line and raced up the right sideline untouched for a Golden Tornados touchdown. Got all that? – Malden-Medford Game... check. – Game-opening kickoff return... check – Sophomore kick returner.... check – Sprinting all the way up the right sideline for a touchdown... check, again! Outrageous! There’s no question this has never happened before in backto-back years in this ancient series. No way. Of course, the whole play almost ended in utter disaster for Malden – not jubilant celGRAND-SLAM | SEE PAGE 15
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