Everett honors its football champs
Jimmy McLaughlin had been waiting to take this handoff since last December.
The senior back ran for more than 100 yards in Everett's 36-28 win over Dartmouth in the Division 1 Super Bowl, a thriller that completed the Crimson Tide's unbeaten march last fall. It was a game that almost everyone at the team's annual banquet would call one of the best in program history.
Head coach John DiBiaso gave McLaughlin the game ball and told him to give it to his little brother, Stevie, for whom McLaughlin had promised to play his hardest.
McLaughlin fought back tears when he brought the ball back to his brother, who is autistic.
From the pioneers who were honored for laying the groundwork of the century-old program, to the athletes from last season's team who were recognized for extending that legacy to future players, the night was special.
DiBiaso handed out Super Bowl rings and varsity jackets. Cheerleaders and players posed for pictures.
Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria Jr., one of DiBiaso's former players, praised what this year's team accomplished and said the city would work to redo the grass at Veterans Stadium. Principal Louis Baldi sang the team's praises as well.
DiBiaso joked that Cambridge state Senator Anthony Galluccio "was on the wrong sideline for Thanksgiving [vs. Cambridge Rindge & Latin], but he was on the right one for the Super Bowl."
Galluccio crossed the normal battle lines to congratulate the Crimson Tide, promising the players a trip to the Beacon Hill "so that every senator could give you a standing ovation because you are the Division 1 champions."
DiBiaso recognized every player, from the freshmen to the seniors, because "this is their night."
Superintendent of Schools Frederick F. Foresteire spoke about the seniors and, as he joked with all the athletes, he stopped to acknowledge McLaughlin with his brother, still holding the game ball, and his father the next seat over.
"That's what it's all about," he said.
The former Everett High standout is the Falcons' biggest innings-eater, pitching a team-high 53 innings with two complete games in seven starts this season, giving some semblance of consistency to a team that has been up and down since returning from an eight-game trip to Florida, where it went 5-3. The Falcons (10-18) have not been able to string consecutive wins together since. Marchesi has been the winning pitcher in four of Bentley's 10 wins. Overall, he is 4-2 with a 3.21 earned-run average.
