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FOOTBALL: Philadelphia Digest’s Inter-Ac Pick-Six (Week of Oct. 28)

By Marc Narducci , 11/01/22, 10:30AM EDT

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Photos/Videos: Mike Nance, James Quinn, Lou Rabito, Anthony Salvato & Krystal Williams

By: Marc Narducci

A big recovery and game for Malvern Prep running back Yaahdir Nash. Escaping with a close one for Haverford School and Episcopal Academy with another serious offensive effort.

Three down and two to go. The Inter-Ac season, as quick as some of the top running backs, is flying by. Entering the second to last week of league play, three teams still realistically remain alive for the title. Even the non-contenders put up some serious resistance this past week.

Here is our Pick Six, a look at the third week of action.

PICK ONE: MALVERN PREP RUNNING BACK MAKES A REMARKABLE COMEBACK

Running back Yaahdir Nash wasn’t sure during the week of his availability for Malvern Prep’s game against Germantown Academy. The 5-10, 177-pound senior had suffered a bruised pancreas during the third quarter of the previous 6-0 loss to Haverford School.

In fact, he didn’t get cleared to play this past week until the day before the Friars’ game against Germantown Academy.

“I felt good, it stopped hurting around Thursday,” Nash said.

He played even better.

Nash rushed for 246 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries in the Friars’ 29-14 win over Germantown Academy.

It was single-game career high for both rushing yards and touchdowns for Nash.

“There were nerves because I didn’t practice, so coming out of the game I was ecstatic,” he said.

Speaking of career-best performances, Malven Prep senior defensive end Luke Testa (6-1, 210) recorded a personal-best 2.5 sacks.

“The defense has been pretty much playing well and it felt great to have a game like that,” Testa said.

He also gave props to defensive coordinator Joe Carr.

“The key was our tenacity to win and coach Carr is the best defensive coordinator in the state,” Testa said. “He puts guys in the right spot to make plays.”

And Testa made plenty of them on defense. He was also glad he didn’t have to defend Nash.

“He was hitting the hole really hard and had more of an edge to him,” Testa said about Nash.

Malvern Prep coach Dave Gueriera admitted that it took some time to rebound from the previous week’s loss to Haverford School in what was a true Inter-Ac defensive slugfest.

“It was really tough, it took us the better part of a week to get ourselves going,” Gueriera said. “Toward the end of the week we had our feet back. These guys are super resilient and have been all year and they were able to get back on track.”  

Next up for Malvern Prep (7-1, 2-1) is an Episcopal Academy team that is 8-0. 3-0. It’s a must win situation for the Friars if they have designs of defending their Inter-Ac crown.

“Our coach told us this is our Super Bowl,” Nash said. “And that is how I look at it.”

Malvern Prep hosts Episcopal Academy, Saturday at 1 p.m.

PICK TWO: AN ALL-AROUND PERFORMANCE BY SPRINGSIDE CHESTNUT HILL ACADEMY’S TYLER ROBERTS

Even though his Springside Chestnut Hill Academy team suffered a 59-28 loss to Episcopal Academy, Blue Devils junior wide receiver-safety Tyler Roberts had one of the best all-around games by an Inter-Ac player this season.

Roberts (5-10, 185) had four receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown, a 50-yard reception from quarterback Tommy Markey.

Defensively, he recorded a team-high 10 tackles.

And for good measure, Roberts returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown.

Whew!

It was the first time he had returned a kickoff for a score.

“It felt amazing, getting that touchdown and giving our team life again,” he said. “I think this was the best game of my high school career.”

SCH (3-5, 0-3) has enjoyed its good moments, but injuries on a team that has just three seniors, have taken a toll.

Among the missing against Episcopal Academy was junior running back Jayden Sumpter, who was sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Still, there were other strong positives.

SCH trailed just 14-7 after the first quarter before Episcopal broke things open with a 24-7 second quarter.

“Watching them on film, I knew that Episcopal was a good team, but playing them in person, they represented that and more,” SCH coach Rick Knox said.

Markey completed 9 for 18 for 210 yards and two touchdowns. He also added a rushing touchdown. Julian McFadden added four receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown. Elio Colavita rushed for 59 yards on 13 carries. Harry Kull contributed nine tackles, and one tackle for loss.

The team has maintained a positive attitude despite the record.

“I think we all have to continue working together, come out with the best record we can and also stay as one and continue to win our games and be excited about playing the games,” Roberts said. “Even though it’s tough and our record isn’t what we want to be, we still have to be competitive.”

Springside Chestnut Hill Academy hosts Penn Charter, Saturday 2 p.m.

PICK THREE: EPISCOPAL ACADEMY THRIVING ON A BALANCED RUNNING AND PASSING ATTACK

Each week opposing defensive coordinators have a difficult time devising a game plan against Episcopal Academy. The Churchmen don’t have that one single player teams have to stop. They have a wealth of options, especially in the running game.

Last week’s 59-29 win over Springside Chestnut Hill Academy was a prime example.

EA had three players rush for 70 or more yards.

Junior Michael Cadden rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Junior Zeke Kane rushed for 72 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Senior TJ Cadden, the brother of Michael, added 83 yards on seven carries and had a team-high five tackles from the secondary.

And teams can’t just focus on stopping the run. Junior quarterback Na’rome Rayborn completed 10 of 19 for 158 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also joined the rushing brigade with 40 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.

“We have a bunch of guys who share the (rushing) load and usually have one or two guys who have big games,” EA coach Todd Fairlie said.

This week it was Michael Cadden who took center stage.

“Michael does a great job of not only playing running back but also at safety, but he doesn’t have to carry the burden offensively,” said Fairlie, whose team is 8-0, 3-0. “He does have dynamic ability on offense, catches the ball well, is a great blocker and of course runs the ball really well.”

Episcopal Academy visits Malvern Prep, 1 p.m. Saturday.

TJ Lamb scores a TD for Episcopal Academy - PSD Video by Lou Rabito

PICK FOUR: IT’S A LOSS, BUT PENN CHARTER HAD ITS BEST INTER-AC SHOWING TO DATE

Don’t tell Penn Charter coach Tom Coyle about moral victories, especially after the Quakers fell to 4-4, 0-3 with a 16-13 loss to unbeaten Haverford School.

“We lost the game,” Coyle said, not wanting to receive any congratulations for playing a competitive game with one of the top teams in Southeastern PA.

Still, even Coyle understood that there were plenty of positives from his team.

Senior quarterback Seamus McCain scored on a TD run and had a passing TD to Isaiah Grimes.

“Our kids played really hard,” Coyle said.

Penn Charter’s league losses have been to the top three teams in the Inter-Ac – Malven Prep, Episcopal Academy and now Haverford School Those three teams are a combined 25-1.

“Those are three of the best teams in the state,” Coyle said.

Penn Charter vs. Haverford School - PSD Highlights by Krystal Williams

Coyle said his undersized linebacking trio also played really well.

That includes 142-pound sophomore Hugh Maley, senior Dave Comitale (185) and junior Tommy Cordaro (175).

Penn Charter visits Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, Saturday at 2 p.m.

PICK FIVE: A CLOSE CALL FOR THE FORDS

Haverford School (8-0, 3-0) stayed unbeaten but was tested to the limit by a gritty Penn Charter team in a 16-13 victory.

The Fords received a 7-yard touchdown run by junior Matt Brosko, who later set up freshman Jaidyn Rivera’s 3-yard scoring run with a 40-yard gain. Brosko gained 181 yards on the ground.

Early in the second half, senior Ivan Harlamov’s 24-yard field goal extended the lead to 16-7. Penn Charter scored another TD but the Fords held on.

“We knew we were going to get their best shot and our guys were still feeling and it from the Malvern game,” Haverford School coach Brian Martin said, referring to the previous week’s 6-0 win over the Friars. “We told them they will come out and punch us in the face and we had to be ready for that.”

Despite facing a Penn Charter team looking for its first Inter-Ac win, Martin was happy to escape with the W.

“Especially since we are on the road, it was good to get the win,” Martin said. “It took us a little bit of time to get going.”

Haverford School hosts Germantown Academy, Saturday at 2 p.m.

PICK SIX: CLOSER THAN THE SCORE INDICATED FOR GERMANTOWN ACADEMY

Germantown Academy suffered a 29-14 loss to Malvern Prep, but one has to look beyond the final score to see how competitive the game was.

The Patriots trailed just 17-14 in the fourth quarter when they had an 80-yard run to the Malvern 10-yard line nullified by a holding penalty.

In addition, the Pats also turned the ball over in the fourth quarter near the goal line, fumbling on the Malvern Prep 1-yard line.

“Those were tough breaks, but Malvern did what they needed to do to win,” Germantown Academy coach Matt Dence said.  

Senior quarterback Tristan Machado completed 20 of 30 for 310 yards and two touchdowns.

The passing attack was needed since GA rushed for just 54 yards.

Machado was up to the task.

In addition, senior Evan Spivey had four receptions for 72 yards. Sophomore AJ Towsen added three receptions for 88 yards and a score and senior Aidan Zakarewicz had two receptions for 91 yards and a score.

So the Patriots were able to move the ball in the air against a stingy Malvern Prep defense. The challenge doesn’t get any easier this week when Germantown Academy meets unbeaten Haverford School.

“Haverford and Malvern have two of the best defenses I have seen in my 11 years in the Inter-Ac,” said Dence, whose team is 6-2, 1-2. “Episcopal is a really good team, but we aren’t too far off from them.”

Dence also cited the play of defensive linemen Zach Kniese and Colin Pugh for their effort. Kniese was at less than 100 percent.

“Zach was playing on a sprained ankle and really played well,” he said.

In summation, Dence liked the effort his team put forth against a talented Friars team.

“I am very proud of our kids,” Dence said. “They competed for four quarter in a very physical game against a quality opponent.”

Germantown Academy visits Haverford School, Saturday at 2 p.m.