Weekly Sports Roundup: Nov. 1-6

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Football

With any hopes for the Middlesex League Small School title hanging by a very thin thread—and in the command of others—the Melrose High football team put on the blinders and got back on the right foot, with a devastating 28-2 demolition of ML crossover opponent Arlington to christen the brand new turf edition of Fred Green Field, on Nov. 4. The Red Raiders erupted for 21 second quarter points and cruised to victory behind a pair of rushing touchdowns from Bryan Reale.

The junior quarterback broke a scoreless tie with a 17-yard touchdown run in the second, followed by a five-yard score from Spencer Walsh. C.J. Hanson made it 21 unanswered points for Melrose, with a one-yard plunge to end the quarter. Matt DeSimone converted all three of his second quarter PAT attempts. Reale and DeSimone conspired to add seven more points in the penultimate frame, thanks to a 16-yard endzone excursion from the Red Raiders’ signal caller. The Spy Ponders would pull two points back via safety late in the third, but the outcome of this one had long since been decided.

Melrose improved to 7-2 overall and 1-2 in league play, while Arlington fell to 2-7 overall and 1-3 in the ML Large. The Red Raiders travel to Stoneham on Nov. 11, for their final regular season tilt before the annual Thanksgiving Day brawl with league-leading Wakefield.

Soccer

Boys: The Red Raiders (10-5-3) ended the regular season on a high, capturing the ML Small crown, but with the postseason kicking off last week, the sights of the Melrose High boys soccer team are now set a bit higher. The 14th-seeded Red Raiders are eyeing a run through the D2 North Sectional bracket.

On Nov. 5, they cleared the first hurdle on that path with a 6-1 rout over No. 19 O’Bryant, of the Boston City League, in a preliminary round game. Frantzdy Pierrot netted a brace during the win.

The Red Raiders will now face a tough test in third-seeded Salem High on Nov. 7 in first round action. The game is set for Salem’s Bertram Field at 7 p.m..

Girls: The Lady Raiders finished the regular season at 9-8-1 and entered the MIAA D.2 North Sectionals seeded at No. 15 and drawn against a familiar foe: ML Small rival Stoneham, the second-seeded squad in the bracket.

Unfortunately for Melrose, the seedings weren’t misleading and the Spartans duly recorded a convincing 5-1 victory on their home pitch, ending the Lady Raiders’ season. Melrose finished at 9-9-2 overall.

Volleyball

Coming off a week that saw the juggernaut that is Lady Raiders volleyball suffer its first loss of the 2011 campaign, Melrose rebounded in typical fashion with a 3-0 sweep of non-league opponent Lincoln-Sudbury in the regular-season finale on Nov. 1.

It was the 15th time the Lady Raiders have won in straight sets this season in 20 games. For the Boston Globe’s fifth-ranked team, anything less than a trip to the D2 North Sectional Final will be viewed as a failure. Third-seeded Melrose kicks off its pursuit of another Sectional crown on Nov. 7, against No. 11 Burlington at 7 p.m. at Melrose High.

Cross Country

Boys: The Red Raiders (2-5, 2-3 ML Small) competed in the Middlesex League Championship Meet on Nov. 1, and finished in 10th place overall with 248 points. Wakefield took top honors with 73 points.

Sophomore Christian Gentile paced Melrose harriers, finishing 13th overall with a time of 13:23, while seniors Chris Gonzalez and Alex Wilson were the next fastest Red Raiders at 14:52 and 14:55 respectively.

Girls: The Lady Raiders (5-1, 3-1) took sixth-place at the 2011 Middlesex League Championship Meet at Woburn Country Club on Nov. 1, finishing with 152 points. Lexington took the top spot with a miniscule 41 points.

Senior Kelli Halligan paced Melrose, finishing sixth overall with a time of 16:08, while junior Sarah McDonald was the next quickest Lady Raiders, completing the course in 17:12, good enough for 26th overall.