Revere 28, Winthrop 6 (OT): Patriots score dramatic overtime win

REVERE – At the end of regulation, every fan in Harry Della Russo Stadium in Revere was standing on frozen feet. Overtime? On Thanksgiving? Yes, please.After both Winthrop and Revere fans were treated to an amazing game, Revere claimed a dramatic 28-22 overtime victory over their rivals.For Revere (4-8), senior captain and running back Trae Weathers was the hero of the day. Weathers rushed for a total of 257 yards and four touchdowns, including the winning touchdown in overtime.”The monkey is off our backs, the monkey is off of Revere football’s backs,” said Revere coach Lou Cicatelli. “This was a great high school game and I couldn’t be happier.”With a little under six minutes remaining in the game, Revere held a solid 22-8 lead over their rivals. Then the laws of Thanksgiving kicked in.After a quick three plays, Revere was forced to punt. The successful punt was called back because of a false start and the Patriots were forced to punt a second time. The second punt went off without issue, however, the end of the play began crazy sequence of events for the rest of the game.The ball bounced off of the Winthrop returner and Revere recovered the fumble. However, Revere was penalized for touching the Winthrop player prior to the return, though it seemed the Winthrop player was untouched. The result of the penalty was the Vikings with control of the ball at the Revere 48.Eight plays later, Vikings’ junior quarterback James Barker ran a one-yard sneak to get into the end zone. The score put Winthrop within striking distance at 22-14.On the ensuing kick off, Winthrop executed a perfect onside kick which was recovered by Viking captain Nick McCarthy. Another eight plays later and McCarthy found the end zone from five yards out. McCarthy’s two-point conversion knotted the score at 22 with 1:35 remaining in the game.”That onside kick killed us,” said Cicatelli. “We had to come out and make plays after that. Our defense had to make plays.”The momentum continued for Winthrop as Barker came up with the only interception of the game to give Winthrop possession on the Revere 45. The Revere defense forced Winthrop to grind out yards. With six seconds remaining in the game, Winthrop, after giving up five yards on a delay of game penalty, lined up for a 33-yard field goal and a shot to win. Fittingly, the attempt was blocked.In overtime, Revere won the toss and elected to take possession first. Four plays later Weathers found the end zone and the two-point conversion attempt failed. On Winthrop’s overtime possession, the Vikings faced a fourth-and-goal situation from the 10-yard line. The Revere defense held and the Patriots stormed the field in celebration.”This win was all of our guys together. The offense, defense, everybody,” said Cicatelli. “What a great game and way to end the season.””I thought we had a chance to pull this one out,” said Winthrop coach Sean Driscoll. “This is the end of a bad season for us, and with our record it is not where we wanted to be this season.”For the game, Barker finished with 136 yards passing on nine completions. In the first half he found James Doherty on a 41-yard touchdown pass to give the Vikings an early 8-0 lead. Doherty finished with six receptions and 99 yards receiving. McCarthy finished with one rushing touchdown and 111 tough running yards.”Barker and McCarthy are great players,” said Driscoll. “Barker had the toughest assignment all year, playing quarterback and inside linebacker. McCarthy is a sensation student athlete who is a great leader. We are going to miss him next season.”The Revere defense was stout for the majority of the game. Led by Jim Domenici, Edson Cordeiro, Quintin Wesley, and Weathers, the Patriots defense gave Winthrop’s running attack fits for most of the game.