CHS Roundup

CHS Football Team Tops Salem, 24-19; Hosts Revere Friday

The Chelsea High football team opened its season on a winning note, defeating Salem, 24-19, this past Friday evening under the lights at Salem’s newly-refurbished Bertram Field, to give new head coach Michael Jackson a “W” in his CHS debut.

The contest was a see-saw battle that was up for grabs until the final minute. The Red Devils took a 6-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Salem responded with a TD before the half to bring the contest back to level, 6-6, at the intermission.

Chelsea scored the next two touchdowns, both coming in the third period, to move out to an 18-6 advantage, but the home team Witches narrowed the gap to 18-13 early in the fourth quarter.

The Red Devils responded with a TD midway through the final period, but Salem rallied to score another TD with 1:10 to play to slice the margin to 24-19.

However, Salem failed to recover the ensuing on-sides kick-off attempt and Chelsea ran out the clock to preserve the victory.

The dynamic CHS offense was led by quarterback Erick Galeano Flores, who connected on 7-for-14 pass attempts for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Erick also rushed for 84 yards on 11 carries.

Maykin Funez was on the receiving end of five of those completions, including a 50-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter that sealed the victory.

Herman Esquivel Mendes also was a major contributor on offense,  running for 92 yards on nine carries and scoring a TD, and William Romero snared a 12-yard pass for a TD.

The Red Devils next will face a big challenge when they will host ancient Greater Boston League rival Revere for a Friday Night Lights contest. The opening kick-off at Chelsea Stadium is set for 6:00.

CHS Boys Soccer Defeats English, 3-0

A hat trick by Jefferson Ruiz and an airtight defense proved to be the winning combination for the Chelsea High boys soccer team in a 3-0 victory over Greater Boston League rival Lynn English this past Monday on the pitch at Chelsea Stadium.

Ruiz’s first goal was a highlight-reel worthy play. After taking a through-pass from teammate Kevin Garcia, Jefferson dribbled past the English keeper and calmly placed the ball into the back of the empty net.

The Red Devils’ second goal came about when Chelsea caught the visiting Bulldogs on a counter-attack. Henry Vasquez passed the ball to Ruiz inside the box. Although Jefferson’s initial volley was blocked by an English defender, he got his own rebound and delivered a perfect, low shot that cleanly beat the Bulldog keeper.

Ruiz’s goal for the hat trick was assisted by Brian Ortiz. Ortiz had passed the ball to Jefferson, who delivered a shot from 25 yards out that caught the flatfooted English keeper off his line.

“This was a really good performance for all the squad,” said CHS assistant coach and former Red Devil star player Luis Cruz. “Everyone got in some minutes and we saw some very positive things from players who came off the bench.”

The victory over English was preceded last week when the Red Devils dropped a 4-1 decision at GBL rival Lynn Classical in their season-opener.

Jonathan Arevalo scored the lone Red Devil goal. Jonathan dribbled past two Classical defenders at the edge of the 18-yard box, from where he delivered a perfect shot to the bottom right corner to beat the Ram goalkeeper.

“We struggled to move the ball around and the boys looked a little bit nervous for the season-opener,” noted Cruz. “We struggled all game long keeping the ball and eventually we conceded a goal from a free kick. Right after that we conceded another goal from a PK.”

The Red Devils then lost key player Juan Carlos Suarez to an injury. Classical added two goals in the final 10 minutes for the 4-1 finale.

“This was a very challenging game, but it helped us to see what we needed to work on for the upcoming games,” said Cruz. “We played a lot better against English and looked a lot more comfortable on the ball. There still are a lot of things that we have to work on, but we are definitely improving.

“Our back line had a very good performance against Lynn English,” Cruz continued. “English has some very good players, but our defense held it together all game long. Espero Olvan Mendez was all over the field, not only defending, but attacking as well. 

CHS head coach Mick Milutinovic and his crew are scheduled to play at arch-rival Everett today (Thursday) and then will trek into Boston on Monday to take on Jeremiah Burke High School in a non-league encounter.

The Red Devils will host Malden on Tuesday and Revere next Thursday.

Padilla, Rodriguez Shine for CHS Cross-Country

Giselle Rodriguez turned in the top performance of the day for the Chelsea High girls and boys cross-country teams in their meet last week at Somerville, taking first place in the race against the Lady Highlanders.

On the boys’ side, Ian Padilla was the top performer for the Red Devils, coming across the line in third place.

Coach Sam Fogel and his crew were scheduled to host Everett yesterday (Wednesday) on the Admiral’s Hill course. They will trek to Lynn Classical next Wednesday.

CHS Girls Soccer Seeks First Win

The Chelsea High girls soccer team will be seeking its first win of the season when coach Randy Grajal and his crew meet Greater Boston League rival Everett today (Thursday) on the turf at Chelsea Stadium. The Lady Red Devils will host Burke High School on Monday and then will trek to Malden on Tuesday and to Revere next Friday.

Although Chelsea dropped its season-opener last week to Lynn Classical, 7-0, Grajal saw some positive signs from his team.

“It was a rainy day and the players worked hard,” said Grajal. “The team is getting used to playing together in this new season and we will continue working to improve. We had a great performance by our junior goalie and captain Katie Arias, who made huge saves throughout the game.”

CHS Volleyball Team Tops Cambridge, 3-1

The Chelsea High volleyball team earned its first win of the season with a 3-1 victory at Cambridge Rindge and Latin last Thursday.

Coach Gabriel Morales’s squad was led by the trio of outside hitter and captain Jasmine Varela, setter and captain Bryan Vicente, and libero Brandon Rodriguez.

The triumph was sandwiched between hard-fought losses to Lynn Classical (3-1) last Wednesday and Somerville (3-2) this past Monday.

Morales and his crew have a busy week ahead with five matches in nine days: They were scheduled to play at Everett yesterday (Wednesday) and to entertain Malden tomorrow (Friday). Next week, the Red Devils will host Revere on Monday, trek to Medford on Wednesday, and entertain Cambridge Rindge and Latin in a rematch next Thursday.

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