Page 12 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, December 5, 2025 ‘I HEARD...’ ARMY: Golden Tornado Club Hall of Fame a smashing success; Peter ‘The Mike’ Carroll is still ‘Priceless’; will Revere Coach Cicc REALLY retire? By Jason Mazzilli T hanksgiving Football Season brings out the best of a lot of things, including a full muster of the “I Heard...’ Army, who trade all kind of tall tales, gossip and scuttlebutt all day, every day whether it’s true, untrue or somewhere in between! Here it goes: I HEARD THAT... Not only does Malden High School sophomore star Jayden McGuffie own the new single-season rushing (2,006 yards) and scoring (27 TDs, 196 points) records for the Golden Tornareer) and the winningest Malden pitcher in school history, lefty Joe Souza (20-8, 188 strikeouts for his career). Both were seniors that year. ... When Saugus High holds its next Sachem Hall of Fame banquet, in 2026, one of the top names that should be mentioned is 2015 SHS graduate Dan Cacciola, who starred for all three seasons he competed — football, basketball, baseball — setting school records for single-game rushing (375 yards, 4 Malden High sophomore running back Jayden McGuffie ripped up all the Golden Tornado record books over the past two seasons. (Courtesy/Malden Athletics) dos, but he is already the CAREER record holder in both categories (3,411 yards, 40 TDs, 278 points) as well! ... That someone correctly mentioned the other day that this year is the 30th anniversary of the 1995 Malden High Baseball season, whose team featured two of the best pitchers of the last 50 years: #1 All-Time Tornado righty Kevin McGlinchy (16-4, 217 strikeouts for his caTDs) in a 2014 Football win over Winthrop. That same senior year he led the Northeastern Conference in base hits (31) and stolen bases (38). ... Saugus three-sport star Cacciola went on to a four-year baseball career as an Endicott College outfielder, serving as captain of the Gulls his senior year there. ... Talk around town is that Lynn Classical is the team to beat in the Greater Boston League Boys Basketball race this winter... and get this, for the first time in many years Head Coach Scott Marino’s Malden High Girls Basketball Team is a legitimate “dark horse” championship contender, coming around the outside lane. ... Revere’s Recreation Dept. Will he stay or will he go? Revere High School Football Head Coach Lou Ciccatelli says he is going. (Courtesy Photo) kingpin Mike Hinojosa — perhaps the best middle infielder in Patriot history — was in attendance at the recent Malden High School Golden Tornado Club Hall of Fame induction, supporting his good friend/inductee Steve DeBenedictis (Class of 1986), who was a star in football, hockey & baseball for Malden High in the mid-1980s. ... Word is that more than one longtime Greater Boston Saugus High School Class of 2015 member Dan Cacciola has to be considered Hall of Fameworthy soon. (Courtesy Photo) um, it will be the #18 Super Bowl Championship for Everett native and former Crimson Tide Head Coach — now CM Football Boss — John DiBiaso. ... If anyone’s counting, that would be enough Championship Rings to cover every finger and thumb on both hands twice. ... So, there’s talk over at Malden High about potentially retiring a number of former topshelf Tornado athletes — your guess as to the names. ... Everett High junior quarterLeague football rivalry will resume in the 2026 season if the Athletic Directors can iron it out, with talk of the “Tide” turning back toward the GBL, if that is any hint at all. ... Speaking of the Malden High Golden Tornado Hall of Fame, Master of Ceremonies “For Life” Peter “The Mike” Carroll was absolutely PRICELESS as he casually ripped on nearly EVERYONE in the room at some point or another to continuous laughter from all. ... It is kind of unbelievable that if the Catholic Memorial Football team wins its Division 2 Super Bowl matchup against Bishop Feehan at Gillette StadiEverett High’s junior QB Tyler Freni will also be a key man for the Crimson Tide baseball team in the spring. (Courtesy Photo) back Tyler Freni, son of former Malden Catholic Class of 1993 star shortstop Marc Freni, is also the top returning hitter for the Crimson Tide baseball team in the spring. ... Revere High School Baseball and Saugus High School have BOTH joined the crowd for the 2026 Strike Out Colon Cancer Baseball Tournament hosted by East Boston High School and including Malden High School as well, with first-round matchups on Saturday, May 16, being Malden v. Saugus at 11:00 a.m. and East Boston v. Revere at 1:30 p.m. ... The first-round Malden-Saugus matchup will feature a former coach vs. a former player at the helm, as Malden High Baseball Head Coach Steve Freker was the former Saugus High Baseball Head Coach in 2016 when now Saugus High head man Mike Mabee Jr. was a sophomore starter for the Sachems. ... Over at Revere High, the news that Football Head Coach Lou Ciccatelli would retire at the end of the next (2026) season was met by a big dose of “we’ll believe it when we see it” from the Patriot Faithful.
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