LYNN — After trailing by two touchdowns late in the third quarter, the Revere football team scored 17 unanswered points — capped by a 21-yard field goal from Wilmer Rodriguez Mejia — to take down Greater Boston League foe Lynn English by a score of 17-14 in overtime Friday night at Manning Field.
“This was a gut-check win for us, and our guys never stopped fighting,” said Revere coach Lou Cicatelli. “English is a good team and they knocked us on our heels early, but we made the right adjustments and we were able to battle back.”
Revere quarterback Anwar Marbouh ran for a touchdown and threw for another in the victory, while Rodriguez Mejia had a touchdown reception.
For English, quarterback Jesse Maggs ran for a touchdown and threw for another. Shea Palmer had one touchdown reception in the loss.
“We’re a younger team with not a lot of experience, and we need to be in games like this to learn how to react,” said English coach Mackenzie Charles. “I know Lou well and I knew we’d be in for a battle all night, and they just never stopped coming at us.”
Prior to the game, the Bulldogs honored their group of 15 seniors — Wesley Chandler, Judens Prosper, Josh McDonald, Marlon Cano, Jesse Maggs, Shea Palmer, Daeshon Anderson, Tyler Desir Kearns, Alex Sylla, Kevin Pena, Damon Mitchem, Nolan Mulcahy, Kyle Bursey, Sem Morales, Greg Gomez and Tommy Em — for their contributions to the program over the years.
English got off to a great start on both sides, forcing a Revere punt on the opening possession of the game and then getting the ball back and pushing it up the field. Maggs got going early with a number of short completions, and eventually it opened up a chance for him to hit Palmer on a 17-yard seam route to give the Bulldogs a 6-0 lead.
English then forced a fumble on the ensuing drive, taking over near midfield. After 11 plays and more than six minutes of game time, Maggs finished the job himself with an 11-yard touchdown run. He then connected with Chandler on the two-point conversion play to give English a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
After English took a 14-0 lead into the halftime break, Revere was finally able to get on the scoreboard late in the third quarter thanks to a two-yard touchdown plunge from Marbouh to put the score at 14-7 Bulldogs.
The Patriots defense then forced a three-and-out to get the ball back midway through the fourth quarter, and Revere moved down the field once again. This time, it was a 13-yard connection from Marbouh to Rodriguez Mejia that tied the score up at 14-14.
Both teams had their chances to score both late in the fourth quarter and in overtime, but in the end it came down to a fourth-and-goal from the 11-yard line for the Patriots. Instead of going for it, Cicatelli called on Rodriguez Mejia to hit the game-winner from 21 yards away.
He did just that, and the Patriots stormed the field in victory.
Revere (3-1) will now face a short week before taking on Malden Thursday (6) at Harry Della Russo Stadium.
English (0-4) hosts Medford Friday (5) back at Manning Field.
