Weekly Sports Roundup: Oct. 10-14

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Football

Any hopes of an unbeaten season being harbored by the Melrose High football team were dashed last week, as a late comeback by the Burlington Red Devils prevented the Red Raiders from capturing a road win in their Middlesex League Small opener.

Burlington pulled out a 21-20 comeback victory after a pair of big plays in the final frame proved the undoing of Melrose (5-1, 0-1 ML Small) on Oct. 14.

An 82-yard punt return by Burlington’s Anthony Cruz and a 40-yard touchdown run from Kyle Shields gave the Red Devils a one-point win, as Melrose was unable to hold the 20-7 lead they enjoyed at the half.

Bryan Reale had a huge game for the Red Raiders, despite the result, and collected three touchdowns on the ground, teaming up with kicker Matt DeSimone (2-for-3 on PAT’s) to account for all the Melrose offense on the night.

The Red Raiders return to the gridiron on Oct. 21, welcoming ML Small table-toppers Watertown (6-0, 1-0) to the field and looking to avoid falling two games behind the pace in league play. The game will be contested at Woburn High, with kickoff slated for 7pm.

Volleyball

The fifth-ranked Lady Raiders are looking like a well-oiled machine after picking up two more wins last week, extending their season-opening winning streak to 14 games. Head coach Scott Celli’s squad has been so dominant this season they have failed to register a shutout just four times and have yet to be taken the full five frames by a single opponent over a span that has seen them face a pair of fellow Boston Globe top-20 teams in No. 16 Reading and No. 17 Central Catholic.

Melrose traveled to Arlington on Oct. 11 for a ML crossover clash with the league newcomers, and walked away with shutout number 10 on the campaign, blitzing the Spy Ponders, 25-10, 25-7 and 25-17. Sarah McGowan continued her splendid season, registering 14 kills, while Jen Cain collected eight.

On Oct. 14, the Lady Raiders took the court in Burlington for a ML Small tilt and dispatched the Red Devils, 3-1. After dropping the first game 22-25, Melrose rallied to record three straight wins by scores of 25-16, 25-16 and 25-13 behind a tremendous overall team effort.

Soccer

Boys

The Red Raiders notched a narrow 1-0 victory over the Arlington Spy Ponders on Oct. 10, and will next take on Wakefield in a road battle on Oct. 18.

Girls

The Lady Raiders played a pair last week and earned a split, falling on the road to Arlington, 3-1, on Oct. 10, then turning around and downing Burlington at home by the same score on Oct. 14.

Golf

The Red Raiders golf team continued to struggle last week, falling to Woburn on Oct. 12 by a score of 44.5-27.5, before being thwarted by Belmont, 47.5-24.5, the following day. Melrose now sits at 3-8 overall.

Cross Country

Boys

The Red Raiders defeated league new kids Wilmington, 28-29, in a ML Small showdown at Melrose’s 3-mile home track on Oct. 12.

Sophomore Christian Gentile took top honors, requiring just 17 minutes, three seconds to negotiate the course. Senior Chris Gonzalez (18:30), junior Andrew Driscoll (18:36) and senior Alex Wilson (18:42) placed fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.

The win was the first of the year for Melrose (1-4, 1-2).

Girls

Taking on Wilmington on Oct. 12, the Lady Raiders pulled out a 25-32 win, improving to 4-1 overall, and 2-1 in league play.

Kelli Halligan’s run of five straight top finishes was snapped, but the senior harrier still managed to take second place at 21:26, while sophomore Katarina Frazier bagged third with a time of 21:28. Junior Sarah McDonald finished fifth at 22:32, while sophomore Laura Tramontozzi (23:10) and senior April Drafts-Johnson (23:25) rounded out the top ten at ninth and tenth place respectively.

Field Hockey

No luck to be found last week for the Melrose field hockey team, as win number one continues to elude them. The Lady Raiders fell 4-0 at Arlington on Oct. 10 and are now 0-7-1 on the year.