INTER-AC PICK SIX: MALVERN PREP’S ALL-AROUND ATHLETE AT QB, SCH, EPISCOPAL ACADEMY REMAIN IN CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENTION, STRONG START FOR GA FRESHMAN QB, HAVERFORD SCHOOL WITH SOLID FIRST HALF EFFORT, PENN CHARTER SHOWS IMPROVEMENT DESPITE THE FINAL SCORE
Photos: Aidan Capobianco, Ryan Nix & Mike Szczepkowski
BY: MARC NARDUCCI
Here we are, already in the final week of the Inter-Ac football season. Malvern Prep has already clinched at least a share of the title, but this week Springside Chestnut Hill Academy and Episcopal Academy remain mathematically eligible for a share of the championship. Meanwhile the other teams are preparing for a rivalry week that is like no other.
So, enjoy the Pick Six as we look back at last week and preview what should be a memorable final week of action.
PICK 1: MALVERN PREP’S QB EXCELS AT HIS SO-CALLED SECOND SPORT
It didn’t take current Malvern Prep senor quarterback Jackson Melconian long to be thrust into action. An early-season injury to the starting quarterback during his freshman season, forced Melconian into the lineup.
He hasn’t left since.
The most impressive part of his tenure is all the winning that has occurred. Malvern Prep (8-1, 4-0) has already clinched at least a share of a third straight Inter-Ac League title. If the Friars beat Springside Chestnut Hill Academy on Saturday, they will be sole champs for the third straight year.
Naturally, the 6-foot, 190-pound Melconian and his teammates aren’t in a sharing mood.
“Our coaches talk about it all the time, we don’t want to share it with anybody,” he said.
As for Melconian, this is a truly special week. It will be the final time he suits up as a quarterback.
That’s because Melconian is among the top baseball players not only in the area, but beyond. A shortstop, he has committed to perennial national power Vanderbilt. That is the equivalent of a football player, making a commitment to Ohio State.
Melconian is also a potential candidate for the MLB draft. Teams have not only scouted him in baseball, but he said some have come to his football games, no doubt looking to get a glimpse of his all-around athletic ability.
Malvern Prep senor quarterback Jackson Melconian #11 - PSD Photo by Aidan Capobianco
Back to football.
This will be an emotional final week for Melconian because it has meant so much to him to be part of the Malvern Prep football program.
“Nothing beats Friday night lights and that is showing this year,” he said. “This group of guys is special, and we play together as a group and want the best for each other, and I am going to miss it.”
The football program will greatly miss Melconian.
“He is the ultimate leader,” Malvern Prep head coach Dave Gueriera said. “He is the straw that stirs the drink, he is competitive, and is the quintessential quarterback because the players believe in him and follow him.”
Just imagine if he didn’t play baseball.
“Then he would be a scholarship quarterback,” Gueriera said.
This season Melconian has completed 113-of-179 passes (63.1%) for 1,554 yards and 13 touchdowns. He has also rushed for 284 yards and four touchdowns on 44 carries.
What is interesting is that Melconian says the Vanderbilt coaching staff, led by veteran head coach Tim Corbin, is very much
“Coach Corbin loves it that I am playing another sport,” said Melconian, who completed 9-of-14 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s 49-14 win over Penn Charter. “My parents were worried he wouldn’t like it, but he said it is great to be a multi-sport guy.”
Melconian has so much to look forward to in the future, including being part of another strong Malvern Prep baseball team, but right now, all he is looking to do is go 1-0 in his final football game.
“In my mind, this game will be like no other,” he said. “You want to leave it all out there and play for your guys and go win the (outright) Inter-Ac title.”
Malvern Prep vs. Penn Charter - PSD Photos by MP Jr. Reporter Aidan Capobiano @caposproductions
Next: Saturday, 1 p.m. at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy
PICK 2: ANOTHER STRONG FIRST HALF FOR HAVERFORD SCHOOL
As outlined earlier, this has been an injury-plagued season for Haverford School, and where it usually catches up to the Fords in the second half. That happened during last week’s 29-10 loss to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.
SCH had jumped out to a 17-0 lead, but by halftime it was 17-10. Haverford School came back on a 62-yard touchdown pass from Zach Faragalli to Marcus Jones and a Logan Camp 37-yard field goal. Marcus Jones ended with six receptions for 130 yards and the one TD. Faragalli threw for 199 yards one TD.
SCH then shut the Fords out in the second half.
“We got back in the game, but unfortunately we ran out of gas,” Haverford School coach Brian Martin said.
Another positive is that standout senior receiver-safety Matt Jones, the brother of Marcus, played both ways and did extremely well, according to Martin.
Matt Jones returned to the lineup a week ago after missing three games due to injury but only played on offense. That changed this past week.
“He played both sides of the ball and made a couple of tackles and said he felt good, and it was good to see,” Martin said.
Matt Jones had two receptions for 53 yards.
Now comes the final chapter of the season with Haverford School hosting the rivalry game with Episcopal Academy. The two schools compete in five different sports during the final weekend of the football season. The school that wins the most events, earns the famed sweater.
Last year Haverford School earned the sweater by winning four of the five events, including a 29-14 football victory over Episcopal Academy.
Haverford School senior receiver-safety Matt Jones #33 - PSD Photo by Ryan Nix
Next: Saturday, 1 p.m. vs. Episcopal Academy.
PICK 3: SCH PLAYING FOR A SHARE OF THE TITLE
When Springside Chestnut Hill Academy lost its opening Inter-Ac game, 35-14 to Episcopal Academy, it was probably the low point of the season. Even though the Blue Devils were competitive in a game that was 14-14 with eight minutes left in the third quarter, it marked the third straight loss of the season.
Coach Rick Knox’s team could have gone one of two ways at that point.
The Blue Devils decided to move upwards. Now with a three-game winning streak that continued with last week’s 29-10 victory over Haverford School, SCH has put itself in the position of playing an extremely meaningful final game.
The Blue Devils, now 3-1 in the Inter-Ac, can earn a share of the title with a win over visiting Malvern Prep on Saturday.
Springside Chestnut Hill vs. Haverford School - PSD Photos by Ryan Nix
“Anytime you play your last game, and it is meaningful, then it is a really successful season,” Knox said. “Everybody views the Inter-Ac as a playoff every week and the fact that we are now playing for this, it is super exciting.”
Knox says this will bring out more intensity this week, if that is even possible, considering the intensity meter is awfully high each game.
There will be no secret when attempting to stop the Blue Devils offense. Anybody facing SCH must stop the run.
Against Haverford School, sensational sophomore Will Howard rushed for 218 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries. Quarterback Liam Zelman rushed for 126 yards and two scores on 16 carries.
If anybody is counting, that is 346 yards and four TDs on 46 carries by this two-man dynamo.
“It was a very solid win over a team we hadn’t beaten since 2019,” Knox said.
The defense more than did its part as well.
Defensive tackle Sadiek Willis made a strip-sack and recovered the fumble as well. Safety Joey Schrieber forced a fumble in the fourth quarter that Charlie McFadden recovered. Safety Joe Flach also had an interception.
That losing streak seems like it occurred months ago. So anyway, coach, what turned things around?
“I knew we had a good team, but we had a tough non-league schedule and hadn’t hit our stride,” Knox said. “Sometimes it takes teams different length of time to find its identity. Since that loss (to Episcopal Academy) we have been playing our best football on both sides of the ball.”
The Blue Devils’ confidence is sky-high.
“Every win increases the level of positivity and bleeds over to the next week of practice,” Knox said. “After the Episcopal loss, we knew we had to win each week.”
Next: Saturday 1 p.m. vs. Malvern Prep.
PICK 4: EPISCOPAL ACADEMY ALSO IN THE TITLE HUNT
Episcopal Academy also assured that its final game would have extra meaning after last week’s 28-0 win over Germantown Academy. If the Churchmen can beat Haverford School on Saturday and SCH defeats Malvern Prep, then there will be a three-way tie for the Inter-Ac title.
“When I started here, I thought a good goal was to play meaningful games in November,” said Episcopal Academy coach Todd Fairlie. “It’s a tough league and here we are with a chance to have a piece of the title, and we are still in the mix.”
The win over GA wasn’t easy. Episcopal Academy (8-1, 3-1) led 7-0 at halftime on a 1-yard run by A’ahzere Lucas.
Episcopal Academy vs. Germantown Academy - PSD Photos by Mike Szczepkowski
In the third quarter, Brody Garrison hit Jahmir Brown on a 34-yard touchdown pass.
The Churchmen then put the game away with two fourth quarter scores.
Brown scored on a 52-yard interception return and Jamil Abdul-Malik added a 12-yard touchdown run.
Garrison was especially impressive. He rushed for 147 yards on 15 carries, and he completed 10-of-16 passes for 120 yards and a score.
“This was the most Brody played quarterback and it was a very windy day, so throwing the ball was interesting,” Fairlie said. “Brody played tough in the run game and made some very good decisions and throws that were timely.”
A senior, he showed some veteran savvy.
“He hung in there and didn’t panic,” Fairlie said. “He kept going and didn’t press.”
Besides Brown’s Pick-6, another big-play defender was David Brickman, who had two sacks, including one strip sack that forced a fumble.
Now comes the hard part – winning the game to be able to have the privilege of doing some scoreboard watching.
“We have to do our part and just worry about that,” Fairlie said.
In other words, let the fans do the scoreboard watching, the players and coaches have only one worry – to attempt to come out with a W in their big rivalry game.
Next: Saturday, 1 p.m. at Haverford School.
PICK 5: SOLID START FOR GA FRESHMAN QB
Germantown Academy has one of the top quarterbacks in the area, Rutgers commit Xavier Stearn, but last week he suffered a season-ending injury. Coach Kyle Donahue said that Stearn won’t need surgery and is expected to be back possibly to participate in winter workouts with Rutgers, where he will be a January enrollee.
His successor was freshman Dylan Peters. In a 28-0 loss to Episcopal Academy, Peters completed 17-of-28 passes for 185 yards.
“He handled it great and as a coaching staff, we are excited to see his development,” Donahue said.
One person who had developed at a staggering pace over the years is senior receiver-defensive back Mick McKee. Against Episcopal Academy, McKee had nine receptions for 82 yards and became the first player in school history to have a 1,000-yard receiving season. A Lehigh commit, McKee now has 71 receptions for 1,002 yards and 14 touchdowns.
“He has been incredible for us,” Donahue said. “He never comes off the field.”
Another standout this past week was senior linebacker Tim Ginter, who had 11 tackles.
Germantown Academy vs. Episcopal Academy - PSD Gallery by Mike Szczepkowski
And now comes the biggie – Saturday’s game at Penn Charter, which is the oldest continuous prep school football rivalry in the country. It began in 1887, and this is the 139th edition.
“Winning this game can change the season,” Donahue said. “This game matters so much and we will be pouring everything into it.”
Next: Saturday, 1:30 p.m. at Penn Charter.
PICK 6: STRONG TWO-WAY SHOWING BY PENN CHARTER’S PADGETT
Even though Penn Charter lost last week to Malvern Prep, 49-14, head coach CJ Yespelkis found some positives, especially with the work of senior two-way lineman Tristan Padgett. The 6-1, 235-pound Padgett played both ways, which against a Malvern Prep team that does a lot of two-platooning, can be awfully tiring.
“I thought he had his best game at defensive tackle and he also played every snap at offensive tackle,” Yespelkis said.
Penn Charter senior two-way lineman Tristan Padgett #50 - PSD Photo by Zamani Feelings
Padgett recorded six tackles, including a sack. He also had a pass breakup.
The six tackles tied Padgett for the team lead along with Jack Magee, Augie Turner and A.J. Bouie.
Yespelkis said he was also impressed with the way Kristian Athill ran the ball against a rugged Malvern Prep defense.
Athill rushed for 53 yards on 17 carries. Quarterback Nathan Hartman completed 4-for-4 passes for 55 yards and a touchdown.
Yespelkis says he liked his team’s focus against Malvern Prep.
Now comes the big game, against Germantown Academy, as we outlined above, one of the nation’s top rivalries.
After the previous 14 years as an assistant at Episcopal Academy, Yespelkis is looking forward to his first GA-Penn Charter game.
“I am excited for my first time going through this,” he said. “This will be an exciting, interesting week and I am optimistic the way the kids locked in last week and excited to see them step up in what is going to be our most important game of the year.”
Next: Saturday, 1:30 p.m. vs Germantown Academy.
Inter-Ac Standings
Malvern Prep 4-0, 8-1
Episcopal Academy 3-1, 8-1
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy 3-1, 5-4
Haverford School 1-3, 4-5
Penn Charter 1-3, 3-6
Germantown Academy 0-4, 3-6
Special thanks to Huck Palmer for providing statistics for Penn Charter and Malvern Prep. Also thanks to Zach Zighelboim for Germantown Academy stats, coach Rick Knox for SCH statistics, Mike McNulty for Episcopal Academy stats and Dan Moyer for Haverford School statistics.