Photos: Lennie Malmgren
By: Rich Flanagan
NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA – As he lay on the ground for what seemed like forever and crying out in agony, Isaiah Wright could not believe this was the end to his Malvern Prep career. One of the premiere running backs in the Inter-Ac had not recorded a carry and went down with a knee injury on the Friars opening defensive drive last week against Germantown Academy.
He thought back to April when he sprained his medial collateral ligament (MCL) while wrestling and the pain was eerily similar.
“Honestly, I thought my season was done as I was laying there,” Wright said. “I felt a lot of burning in my knee and I was thinking I had sprained my MCL again or even tore it completely. Coming back to the sideline and talking with the training staff, they told me I was going to be out of this game and that brought tears to my eyes because I want to play every game of my senior year.”
Malvern Prep head coach Dave Gueriera kept close tabs on Wright’s progression throughout the week and felt it was best to limit him to contact as much as possible. When the final practice day of the week came around, he gave Wright the green light and told him he would be starting at running back, just a few days removed from what seemed like a horrific injury.
“He didn’t practice until Thursday and it wound up being a Grade 2 MCL sprain,” Gueriera said. “He said he was good to go and we were going to play him one way. We chose offense and we rode him.”
Episcopal Academy vs. Malvern Prep Game Highlights by Rich Flanagan:
As if there needed to be added suspense heading into Friday’s matchup with Episcopal Academy with sole possession of first place on the line, Wright surprised everyone, perhaps including the opposition, and did not show any signs of wear. Wright rushed for 153 yards and a pair of touchdowns in leading Malvern Prep to a 17-7 victory over the Churchmen to remain undefeated in Inter-Ac play with an opportunity to secure the outright title next week. He carried the ball 34 times, a season high, and never displayed the slightest hesitation on cutbacks or runs through multiple tacklers.
Gueriera fed his senior back early and often. Wright rushed for 23 yards on seven carries on the opening drive, which resulted in a Jake Reid 46-yard field goal to give the Friars an early 3-0 lead.
Wright tested his knee from the opening whistle and Gueriera felt his ability to run tough and through defenders ignited the team.
“Getting Isaiah back was probably the biggest jolt in the arm,” Gueriera said. “He’s our workhorse and getting him back after last week, no one thought he would be playing again.”
Wright’s running ability allowed Malvern Prep (7-2, 3-0 Inter-Ac) to control the clock and dictate the tempo of the game. The Friars mixed in junior Yaahdir Nash, who had a touchdown last week in Wright’s absence, for a change of pace and he caught a crucial third-down pass from Jack Capaldi that went for 22 yards. Wright took the bulk of the workload to close out the drive with five consecutive rush attempts, the last of which was a five-yard touchdown to put Malvern Prep in front 10-0 with 41 seconds left before halftime.
The anguish the Friars felt after losing to Episcopal Academy (6-3, 3-1) two years ago stayed with the members of that team, particularly the 2022 class, because that loss ultimately cost them the title.
“[Episcopal Academy] has the trophy and we wanted it,” Wright said. “This is for the guys from 2019 and for the guys who couldn’t play in the Inter-Ac last year. This was a huge win for us and me, personally.”
Malvern Prep senior Isaiah Wright was awarded PSD's Player of the Game after battling back from injury and recording a season high of 34 carries for 153 yards - PSD Photo by Lennie Malmgren
The Churchmen received a huge boost of their own with the return of senior quarterback and team captain Jake Fant, who had missed the last two games with a shoulder injury. Fant went down in the second half against Germantown Academy and sophomore Na’rome Rayborn had filled in admirably, leading Episcopal Academy to a come-from-behind win over the Patriots followed by two straight victories over Penn Charter and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. Fant looked sharp, completing 18-for-26 for 189 yards.
The veteran signal caller started the second half with a 31-yard completion to running back Andrew McMeekin then found the Princeton lacrosse commit for nine more yards four plays later. Fant later connected with Bryce Cooper (61 yards) for 26 yards down the left sideline. He capped off the drive by throwing a perfect pass to the left corner of the end zone where Army commit Neo Vossschulte hauled in the fade route for a nine-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 10-7 at the midway point of the third quarter.
Momentum was on the Churchmen’s side as they forced a three and out then Jake Jaszcz blocked a punt to set the offense up with a 1st and 10 at the Malvern Prep 28-yard line. Episcopal Academy got as close as the 14-yard line and nearly had a go-ahead score as Fant found TJ Lamb down the seam but it was dropped. Shortly afterward, Fant threw a critical interception to Friars safety Andrew Connolly in the end zone.
Coltin Deery, the University of Maryland commit and stout tackle on the Friars offensive line, is a focal reason Malvern Prep has rushed for at least 180 yards in six games this season, which has included two games of 300-plus yards. He recalled the loss to the Churchmen in 2019 and how it resonated with the current roster.
“Our quote this week was ‘Remember 2019,’” Deery said. “They have the trophy that we wanted sitting in their school and we wanted it back. We’re a close-knit group of seniors and we couldn’t have done it without Isaiah. One more game to go but we’re ready.”
Deery and the offensive line created the openings on Malvern Prep’s first drive of the fourth and Wright did the rest. Wright put together runs of 23 and 12 yards, respectively. Capaldi sprung loose for a 19-yard run on a bootleg to the right, taking Churchmen defenders with him to the four-yard line in the process. On the ensuing play, Wright took a direct snap out of the Wildcat formation and rumbled off left tackle for the final score of the night.
Army commit Neo Vossschulte (#17) hauls in Episcopal's first touchdown - PSD Photo by Lennie Malmgren
Episcopal Academy attempted to rally and get a quick score as Fant found Lamb, who had 53 receiving yards on the night, for 17 yards to its 40-yard line. On the very next play, Fant threw into traffic and Friars linebacker Ryan Davis picked it off to seal the win.
The dominant performance sets up a final contest with Springside Chestnut Hill on the road next week to secure the Friars first Inter-Ac title since 2018. With all of the emotion and effort expended in preparation for Episcopal Academy, Gueriera wants his team to turn its attention to finishing the job it set out to complete at the beginning of the season.
“The overall feeling is finish,” Gueriera said. “We want to finish off this league season and we’re not done yet. We have a share of the title but we want all of it. That’s going to be our motto for this week.”
