Thanksgiving preview: Revere seeks reversal of fortune against Vikings

For the second time in as many games Revere will be looking for a reversal of fortune when it visits Winthrop tomorrow morning (Miller Field, 10).View season’s photos from throughout the fall season on the North ShoreThe Patriots (2-8) ran over Medford, 35-14, in a Division 3 non-qualifier game Nov. 15, completely flipping a season-opening 35-22 loss to the Mustangs. Now they will attempt to do the same against Winthrop after losing to the Vikings, 30-13, NEC South play in September.?We?re playing a lot better now than we were then. This is like a Super Bowl for us and it?s the same for them. We know a win can salvage the season and the kids have had a great attitude in practice,” said coach Lou Cicatelli.Cicatelli said the fact the teams played earlier in the year doesn?t diminish the holiday rivalry in any way.?People have asked me that question a lot and I honestly don?t think it takes anything away from it. They?re our rival and we certainly want another crack at them,” he said.The Patriots? turnaround has coincided with the maturation of a young defense and the shift of do-it-all senior back Tommy Portrait to quarterback in a 23-13 win against Peabody. Portrait passed for two scores and rushed for 79 yards, adding another layer to the offense.Portrait (8 TDs) and junior back Kaleb Silva (7 TDs) are complementary pieces and senior Steve Selevitch has proven a reliable target. Expect junior quarterback Christian Brito to see some action as well.?We?ll use Tommy both at quarterback and running back. We love the way the offense has moved the ball with him at quarterback. And Kaleb has nearly 1,000 yards rushing. He just grinds it out,” Cicatelli said.However, while the Patriots have moved the ball well enough, maintaining possession has been a challenge.?We haven?t done a great job with ball security in a lot of games. Our problem has been in the red zone, where we?ve either fumbled or been guilty of some bad penalties. In the (14-0) loss to Dracut we were in the red zone five times and didn?t score. We have to put points on the board,” Cicatelli stated.What about that defense, which is anchored by Portrait and Silva but starts seven sophomores? The Patriots have yielded 14 points or less in four of their last five games thanks to the emergence of sophomore tackles Martin Keuchkerian and Pho Tran and sophomore defensive backs Dan Murphy and Steve Noel, among others.?Defensively there was definitely a learning curve involved but we?re playing really good defense now. I have to tell you, I?m pleasantly surprised with how well we?re playing. Of course, that does no good if we?re not scoring,” Cicatelli said.Chief among the Patriots? tasks will be containing Winthrop?s standout senior back Jordan Corbett-Frank and junior quarterback Dylan Driscoll.?They run that Double Wing and it?s aggressive, power football on almost every play. Then they pull the quarterback out of there and he can hurt you running and throwing. It?s a very tough offense,” Cicatelli said.Twenty Revere seniors suit up for the final time.?This season didn?t work out for the seniors the way we?d all hoped. They?ve been a great group of leaders, on the field and in the community. It?s been all-in for them since the summer and they?ve become a family as well as a team,” Cicatelli said. “I know that if we can pull this off, then we?ll all feel as though it?s been a successful season.”