CHS Roundup
Red Devil gridmen host Northeast Friday
The Chelsea High football team will be shooting for its first victory of the season Friday evening when the Red Devils host Northeast Regional Vocational School at Chelsea Stadium. Kick-off time is set for 7:00.
Coach Jack Halas’s squad opened its 2016 campaign last Thursday evening at Lynn Tech and came up on the short end of a 34-0 decision.
The contest started inauspiciously for the Red Devils, who were flagged for two false-start penalties to open the game that would prove to be an indication of Chelsea’s frustrations to come.
Tech controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, with the Tech offense piling up 293 yards on the ground.
Senior quarterback and captain T.J. Patterson accounted for the bulk of the CHS offense, rushing for 40 yards on 14 carries and completing five-of-13 pass attempts for 64 yards in the air. Chelsea had opportunities to score on some deep balls, but the Devils were unable to secure the catch.
Senior wide receiver and captain Nick Ieng hauled in two passes for 23 yards and picked up 25 yards on the ground.
“Hats off to Lynn Tech,” said Halas. “They outplayed us start to finish. We are very young and inexperienced on the O-line and the D-line. No excuse, but I understand why we struggled. Only two players on our O-line have varsity experience. One D-lineman has varsity experience and we have to start two freshmen.
“The positive is we have a solid group of linemen in this freshmen class. If we can keep them together, they’ll be a tough group as juniors and seniors,” added the coach. “We were down 28-0 at halftime, but I was proud that our kids did not quit or lose their spirit. But we need some serious work to improve.”
Boys soccer team
earns 2-2 tie with NE.
The Chelsea High boys soccer team scored two goals in the final four minutes to come away with a 2-2 tie against perennial Commonwealth Athletic Conference archrival Northeast Regional last Thursday at Chelsea Stadium.
Northeast grabbed a 1-0 lead midway through the first half and enlarged its margin to 2-0 with a goal with 15 minutes left in the contest. The Red Devils had been controlling possession up to that point, but Chelsea was unable to find the right combination in the offensive third of the field.
“Overall, we were playing well,” said CHS assistant coach Evan Protasowicki, “but we could not figure out how to break down the Northeast defense.”
However, with four minutes to play and the Red Devils pressing, Northeast was called for a foul in the box, giving Chelsea a penalty kick opportunity.
Kevin Umanzor-Torrez made good his shot, but the ref blew the ball dead, apparently for the infraction of a Chelsea player entering the box before Umanzor-Torres struck the ball.
That meant that Kevin had to retake the shot, and once again he drilled it to the back of the Northeast net to close the gap to 2-1.
The Red Devils resumed their attack ever more ferociously after the PK, and their hard work paid off with 90 seconds remaining in the game when a poor Northeast clear from the box was trapped and controlled by senior Humberto Suarez just outside the 18-yard line. Humberto then delivered a powerful strike that beat the NE keeper (who had played a superb game) to bring the Devils to level at 2-2.
“This by far was not our best game,” said Protasowicki, “but it showed that we’re capable of fighting back. We never gave up and our determination paid off for us.”
The Red Devils next hosted Everett, their former ancient foe from Chelsea’s days in the Greater Boston League, Monday evening. Although the fierce battles with their opponent from across the Parkway are only a distant memory for CHS fans over the age of 40, the schools have revived their rivalry on the soccer pitch in recent years, with the CHS-EHS games drawing the largest and most vocal fan attendance of the season for both teams.
The schools have engaged in hard-fought and evenly-matched contests in recent years, but Monday’s contest saw Everett power to a 6-0 victory before a vocal crowd of partisans.
The match was evenly-played through the first 40 minutes, with the Crimson Tide taking a 1-0 lead at the half. However, with Chelsea’s top defender, Carlos Cartagena, forced to the sidelines with a groin pull shortly into the second half, Everett soon began to take control, eventually striking for five goals in the final 25 minutes of the game.
“Everett is a very good team that is almost exclusively comprised of seniors,” noted Protasowicki. “We already were missing two of our key players in Carlos Garcia and Carlos Cruz, so when Carlos Cartagena was injured, it left us pretty thin and Everett took full advantage.
“Despite the loss, we had a lot of positives from the game,” said Protasowicki. “We have a number of new and young players, and we’re still trying to figure some things out. Hopefully, we’ll hit our stride sooner rather than later.”
Head coach Mick Milutinovic and his crew, who now stand at 1-1-1 on the season, were set to host Whittier yesterday (Wednesday) and will trek to Lynn Tech tomorrow (Friday). The Red Devils are then off until next Friday.
Girls cross country
teams defeats Everett
The Chelsea High boys and girls cross country teams opened their 2016 season against Parkway rival Everett last Wednesday on a hot, muggy day at the Admiral’s Hill course.
The Lady Red Devils shut out their Lady Crimson Tide counterparts, 15-50, while the boys came up on the short end of a 19-36 decision.
Sophomore Yarid Monzon Deras won the girls’ race in a personal record (PR) time of 23:30 over the 3.1 mile course. “Yarid has had a great summer of training and it’s something you can’t hide,” said CHS head coach Don Fay. “Either you ran over the summer or you didn’t. I wish everyone had the same intensity for their training that Yarid does. “
Finishing in second place was senior captain Melanie Nguyen in 26:18. Sophomore Jocelyn Poste took third spot in 27:19, followed by freshman teammates Sandra Tun in fourth place, Anna Bernal in fifth, and Karina Avalos in sixth.
“We have a very young girls team and we’re hoping to build on our first win
of the year,” noted Fay. The girls were set to compete yesterday at home (Wednesday) in a tri-meet with Presentation of Mary Academy and Whittier.
On the boys’ side, Everett claimed the first three places, while Chelsea claimed five of the next seven spots. Freshman Demitrius Martinez was the
first Chelsea runner across the line. “Demetrius ran very well for
his first race,” said Fay of the freshman’s 20:59 clocking. “He stayed in control and ran a very steady, consistent race.”
Alex Pedrero, who also was running his first cross country race, took sixth place in 22:35. Senior captain Adriel Cedano was eighth, running 22:48, followed by teammate Abraham Barrientos in ninth in 25:05 and senior captain Issac
Concord in 10th in 25:50.
“The boys also are a pretty young team and hopefully in the next meet or two we will have everyone back and ready to run strong,” noted Fay.
Bruins Beat
by Bob Morello
Bruins introduce Warrior Arena
When the Bruins unveiled ‘Warrior Ice Arena,’ their new practice facility at Boston Landing in the Brighton/Allston , it marked a new era, especially for the Boston players. The state-of-the-art facility shines both inside and out, featuring a well-lit arena that smacks of Bruins history. Beginning with the 68-foot Warrior hockey stick on the side of the facility, and pretty much everything else is Bruins. Prominent over the practice ice are the ten miniature banners honoring the retired Bruins players’ jerseys, while on the walls are the reproductions painted of the six Stanley Cup banners. An impressive display features the Bruins Stanley Cup with small statues, one for each of the six championships, encased in plexi-glass. Several motivational messages were painted on the walls, one stated, “You Must Be Willing To Sacrifice, As Few People Have The Will To Win.”
Bruins President Cam Neely took the media on a grand tour of the new grounds, stating “With this facility, the guys are very excited about it. The players that have been in here already are very excited about being in this space a lot more.” There wasn’t much not to like as the tour continued with a view of the players’ locker room, their personal relaxation area complete with a team logo ping pong table, a much improved workout facility, updated media workspace, and even an indoor track. Neely went on to explain his surprise that the Bruins were able to find space so close to TD Garden, let alone such a complete facility that would allow New Balance to accommodate the team’s multitude of needs.
New Balance Managing Director Jim Halliday glowed when explaining the growing pains, and finally the reward, after two years of construction. Another plus will be the benefit to the community, with 75 percent of ice time already booked. Many youth hockey programs will also have the chance to skate on the Bruins logo-marked ice, certainly a thrill for youngsters of any age. Halliday went on to confirm that the Boston Celtics are also in the process of constructing their practice facility nearby Warrior. It confirms that the Bruins have certainly made a good decision to build in Boston Landing, as it appears to be a major sports development area. Halliday continued to explain that the MBTA is committed to building a commuter rail stop in the near future, making it a bit easier for fans all over to come and enjoy the exciting atmosphere of a Bruins practice.
Asked why the Bruins logo was placed on the ceiling in the Bruins’ dressing room, as opposed to the floor rug at the Garden dressing room, Neely took great pleasure in explaining, “I could never understand why the logo was on the floor at the Garden, I wouldn’t even put my Bruins jersey on the floor, it just didn’t seem right, so it was decided that the ceiling was the better choice.” That brought a laugh from the media attending, as it was always a challenge when interviewing players at the Garden, that one had to be very careful to not step on the spoked-B, and be the recipient of a reprimand from staff!
After touring the new facility it was obvious that the Bruins want even their new practice facility to be one that was comfortable for the players, and even more important, a place for conditioning that would keep them in the best shape possible. It appears that Bruins management have met that criteria head on, as the remarks from the players who’ve had the chance to inspect the facility agreed, it is one impressive building for both the players and the fans!