INTER-AC PICK SIX: A GAME AND TITLE FOR THE AGES FOR SPRINGSIDE CHESTNUT HILL ACADEMY, TURNOVERS HURT MALVERN PREP, PENN CHARTER ENDS WITH A W, STRONG EFFORT IN DEFEAT BY GERMANTOWN ACADEMY, HAVERFORD SCHOOL ENDS INJURY-PLAGUED SEASON, EPISCOPAL ACADEMY EARNS A SHARE OF THE TITLE.
Photos: Aidan Capobianco, Krystal Williams & Ryan Zats
By: Marc Narducci
PHILADELPHIA -- What a wild way to end an incredible Inter-Ac football season. An overtime game to decide the champion(s). A coach with one of the gutsiest decisions that paid off in championship fashion. A two-point play for the ages, no, make that a game for the ages. The Springside Chestnut Hill 21-20 overtime victory over visiting Malvern Prep had everything – drama, great skill, players shining in the biggest moments. That’s how we begin our final Pick Six report of the season. We’re sure historians can point out better Inter-Ac games over the years, but right now that is hard to find.
PICK 1: SCH’S TWO-POINT PLAY THAT WILL LIVE IN INFAMY
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy veteran coach Rick Knox said it wasn’t a difficult decision, although had it not paid off, a season of triumph would have seemed hollow. These are the decisions that make coaching so challenging, but at times, they can turn out to be excruciatingly painful.
This time Knox’s decision to go for two resulted in pure elation, not to mention a championship.
The SCH 21-20 overtime win over Malvern Prep created a three-way tie for the Inter-Ac championships. Malvern Prep and Episcopal Academy joined SCH as champions. Many factors contributed to the win, with the biggest coming on the game’s final play.
To back it up a little, Malvern Prep and SCH were tied at 13-13 after regulation. A win was in grasp for SCH, but the Blue Devils had a 35-yard field goal blocked as time expired.
Now to overtime.
Springside Chestnut Hill vs. Malvern Prep - PSD Game Highlights by Marc Narducci
The rules were simple. Each team would get a crack at scoring from the 10-yard line. Four downs to get into the end zone, unless a team wanted to attempt a field goal.
Malvern Prep immediately scored on the first play, a touchdown pass from Jackson Melconian to Jackson Ford. Ian Gopez’s PAT made it 20-13.
Now all the pressure was on SCH.
Quarterback Liam Zelman promptly scored on a 10-yard run up the middle on SCH’s first play. He wasn’t touched.
“Offensive line was unbelievable,” Zelman said. “I didn’t get touched in the end zone, those guys have been unbelievable all year, I owe them the world, and I have nothing bad (to say) about any of those guys. They busted their behinds all game and all year and I thank them so much for it.”
Now came the really difficult part – would the Blue Devils go for one or roll the dice on the two-point conversion? SCH has a strong placekicker, James Brenan-Rothschild, who booted two field goals in regulation from 35 and 33 yards to keep his team in the game.
Yet Knox, didn’t hesitate in the slighting in going for two.
“Not a lick,” Knox said. “I didn’t know how many times we could stand there and go toe to toe with them. In that situation, they just blocked a kick, so I was thinking about it.”
SCH’s identity has been running the ball, and that was definitely a possibility, so of course, Knox dialed up a pass play.
The play resulted with wide receiver Aaron Clark making a leaping catch in the end zone.
Game over.
Football Final: @SCHBlueDevils (@schfootball) win 21-20 vs. @MPFriars (@MalvernPrepFB) forcing a share of the 2025 Inter-Ac title! : by @sjnard of the game-winning 2 point conversion from @LiamZelman25 to @clarkaaron_1 pic.twitter.com/gQknzoNyli
— Philadelphia Sports Digest (@PhSportsDigest) November 8, 2025
History made.
Cue the celebration.
Clark, a Buffalo commit, began the play lined up on the backfield.
“I am in man coverage, they are playing me man, move me to running back and then use our leverage to go over there wide open in the flat,” Clark said. “That is the way we drew it up and it worked perfectly.”
What is interesting is that the Blue Devils had worked on this play frequently during the season in practice, but Knox never dialed it up in a game.
“That is why you practice that play so many times, so that when it comes to that moment, you’ve done it a million times and there is nothing crazy about it,” Knox said.
After Zelman unleashed the two-point conversion pass, he thought he might have tossed it a little high.
“I rolled out, I faked it to No. 5 Will Howard and rolled to the right,” Zelman said. “It sailed on him a little bit, but he kept it down and my heart dropped to my stomach, and we got it done and everybody stormed the field, and it was unbelievable, an unbelievable game.”
Other key moments...
Of course there were other key moments in the game, but they were overshadowed by Clark’s final catch.
Still, so much else contributed to the win.
After Malvern Prep scored on the game’s opening drive, the Friars decided to go for two, attempting a running play. It almost worked, but SCH’s Joe Flach made the hit just before the goal line and teammate Joe Schreiber put the finishing touches, denying Malvern Prep’s two-point bid.
On Malvern Prep’s next drive, the Friars were moving the ball, but ended things with an incompletion on 4th-and-6 from the SCH 21.
SCH had dodged another bullet.
On the next play after stopping the Friars, Zelman and Clark connected on a short pass that became a catch-and-run 79-yard touchdown to take a 7-6 lead that SCH wouldn’t relinquish until overtime.
“I can’t take any credit for that, it was all my guys on the perimeter blocking making it easy for me,” Clark said. “I caught the ball and was off to the races and I got that speed and that is what I was using.”
Another key was that the SCH defense forced three first-half turnovers, all on fumbles. The third fumble was caused by a big hit from Schreiber, who was impressive at safety. SCH recovered that third fumble on its own 27-yard-line.
“They were driving near the end of the quarter and if they scored, they would have had a lot of confidence coming out the next half,” Schreiber said. “It was a great way to end the quarter.”
Despite the three turnovers, Malvern Prep trailed just 13-6 at halftime.
SCH's Aaron Clark talks about his game-winning catch that secured a share of the Inter-Ac title - PSD Video by Marc Narducci
SCH quarterback Liam Zelman walks us through an intense overtime and credits his offensive lineman for impeccable coverage - PSD Video by Marc Narducci
The Friars tied the score early in the fourth quarter on a 13-yard scoring pass from Melconian to Jack Schuster.
Later in the quarter another Malvern Prep drive was stalled near midfield when Melconian was sacked by Johnny Nosal on third down, forcing a punt.
From there, SCH would hold the ball until the final field goal attempt of regulation, setting up the brief, but dramatic overtime.
“To be dead honest, that might have been the best game I have ever been involved in as a coach,” Knox said.
This is the type of game that will stay with the participants for a lifetime.
“The day I am on my death bed I will be thinking of this moment,” Zelman said. “I am beyond thankful for this community for this program and everybody who welcomed me with open arms the past two years and I owe them the world.”
PICK 2: MALVERN PREP COACH KEEPS THE LOSS IN PERSPECTIVE
This was the first Inter-Ac loss for Malvern Prep since 2022. The Friars entered the game having won 15 straight league games.
“We snapped a 15-game win streak in the Inter-Ac, which stinks because I definitely wanted to keep it going,” Malvern Prep coach Dave Gueriera said. “We’ve had a great year, it’s been a great run, and these seniors have won three (titles), but it’s hard to think about that now because we definitely wanted to win it outright.”
The last school to win three outright titles was Malvern Prep, which won seven in a row from 1974 to 1980.
Gueriera points to the first half as the key to the game.
“The (three) turnovers in the first half really spoiled some points for us,” Gueriera said. “That was a good football team we were playing, they’re hot and you have to give them credit, they gave us everything we could handle.”
Jackson Melconian threw touchdown passes of 13 yards to Jack Schuster and then in the overtime 10 yards to Jackson Ford. Zeke Bates opened the game’s scoring with an 8-yard TD run and he finished with 65 yards on 15 carries.
Malvern Prep vs. SCH - PSD Photos by Malvern Prep Jr. Reporter Aidan Capobianco
Melconian completed 18-of-25 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 50 yards on eight carries. Receiver Cade Cooper had seven receptions for 93 yards, while Schuster had four receptions for 50 yards and a score. Will Simmons and Dylan Novak each had a team-high 10 tackles for the Friars.
PICK 3: TWO PENN CHARTER SENIORS CAPPED THEIR CAREERS WITH TOUCHDOWNS AND A MAJOR W
The 139th edition of Penn Charter-Germantown Academy was a nail-biter, not to mention a defensive struggle. Penn Charter used touchdowns by two seniors to prevail at home, 14-10.
This long-time rivalry has so much history that it can obviously be felt on the sidelines before, during and after the game.
Penn Charter scored touchdowns on a fumble recovery while on offense by senior receiver Mikey Banks and a short scoring run by classmate Tom McGlinchey.
Going out with a W in the final high school game, especially one with such history, is obviously special to the Penn Charter seniors.
“It is everything,” Banks said. “Beating GA means more and for that to be the last game, it is all I could ask for really, it’s awesome.”
McGlinchey, who will continue his football career and education at Northwestern, appeared as if he didn’t want to take off his uniform after that final game. Like Banks, he will cherish the victory.
“Everything is surreal,” said McGlinchey, who completed 9-of-15 for 134 yards and rushed 15 times for 34 yards and a TD in his final game. “Obviously, we work all season, all 10 weeks to get to this game and there is nothing bigger than winning this game. We worked all week, all season long and we came back and couldn’t be more proud of the guys and everyone, so it was a great win.”
Penn Charter’s Matt Furda had five receptions for 102 yards and Kristian Athill gained 74 yards on 19 carries.
Jack Magee had a team-high eight tackles, along with an interception and a pass breakup. A.J. Bouie added six tackles, including two tackles for loss.
It was quite a way to end the season for first-year Penn Charter coach CJ Yespelkis.
“I have been impressed with the kids all season, the way we bounce back from adversity, the way they have shown grit and the way they supported each other,” he said.
PC senior Mikey Banks scores on an offensive fumble recovery - PSD Video by Ryan Zats
Penn Charter senior Mikey Banks walks us through the emotions playing his final high school game - PSD Video by Marc Narducci
Penn Charter senior Tom McGlinchey talks about winning his final game in one of the most historic rivalries in the country - PSD Video by Marc Narducci
PICK 4: GERMANTOWN ACADEMY TALKS ABOUT THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVALRY
While the long-standing rivalry game meant everything to Penn Charter, it had the same importance for Germantown Academy. The Patriots had a 10-7 lead in the fourth quarter before Penn Charter came back for a 14-10 win.
This has been a tough season for the Patriots who saw standout quarterback Xavier Stearn suffer a season-ending injury with two games remaining.
There have been other injuries as well.
Still, in the final game of the season, the Patriots remained competitive until the end.
“This is a great rivalry, and it was a great game,” Germantown Academy coach Kyle Donahue said. “Penn Charter played super hard and we battled, but we’re disappointed.”
Donahue says there were positives, starting with the defense.
“Our defense has played great, really the last four or five weeks, so we were confident,” Donahue said. “This was a game as the old cliché goes, was one or two plays short.”
The toughest part for Donahue was coaching his seniors for the last time.
PC-GA Day Football Gallery - PSD Photos by Ryan Zats
“I’ve got to be there for the seniors,” he said. “There are really no words I can say to them, it’s going to hurt. For the guys coming back this will hurt for a whole year, but for the seniors, man, it’s painful. What is cool is that our players battled under extreme circumstances.”
There are several young players that the Patriots will build around, including freshman quarterback Dylan Peters, who started the final two games and accredited himself well. Against Penn Charter he completed 13 of 26 passes for 126 yards.
Junior Nate Rose rushed for 54 yards on 17 carries and scored on a 13-yard run. Senior linebacker Timmy Ginter enjoyed a spectacular final game with 14 tackles.
One player who will be sorely missed is receiver-defensive back Mick McKee. Last week he became the first player in school history to accumulate 1,000 receiving yards in a season. With six receptions for 52 yards, he finished with 77 receptions for 1,054 yards and 14 touchdowns.
He is a Lehigh commit who left a lasting impression during a standout career at Germantown Academy.
PICK 5 A SEASON OF INJURIES ENDS FOR HAVERFORD SCHOOL
Readers of this column know what a difficult season on the injury front it has been for Haverford School. Coach Brian Martin, who has been associated with the program for nearly two decades, says it is the worst it has ever been.
The season ended with a 24-3 loss to rival Episcopal Academy. The Fords finished 4-6 and 1-4 in the Inter-Ac.
“We didn’t execute and I really feel bad for the seniors,” Martin said.
Haverford School senior quarterback Zach Faragalli #6 - PSD Photo by Krystal Williams
Senior quarterback Zach Faragalli threw for 191 yards.
Freshman Michael Slachta gained 43 yards on 12 carries. Junior Marcus Jones had five receptions for 56 yards. Senior John Rischitelli added three receptions for 56 yards and junior Quinn Gallagher had three receptions for 55 yards.
A key for next season will be replacing Faragalli at quarterback.
Martin says several players will be in the running.
As for all the injuries…
“Worst year in 20 years at Haverford,” Martin said.
The lone score was a 25-yard field goal by junior Logan Camp, who was out for the team for the first time and finished with three field goals.
“He really put in the work and was a pleasant surprise,” Martin said of Camp.
PICK 6: EPISCOPAL ACADEMY EARNS A SWEATER AND A CHAMPIONSHIP
Episcopal Academy coach Todd Fairlie admits he was the last to find out.
Late in Episcopal Academy’s 24-3 win over Haverford School, the crowd was buzzing. The fans had heard that Springside Chestnut Hill Academy had defeated Malvern Prep. That meant with the win by Episcopal, the Inter-Ac had tri-champs. Malvern Prep, SCH and Episcopal Academy each ended 4-1. Malvern lost to SCH, which lost to Episcopal, which fell to Malvern.
Fairlie was so involved in coaching, even though it was late in the fourth quarter and the game was in hand that he had no idea what was going on at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy’s stadium.
“With about a minute left, one of my assistants told me,” Fairlie said.
The key for Episcopal Academy was a 35-14 win over Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.
“That win over Springside Chestnut Hill Academy was as good a win as there was,” Fairlie said. “They showed what a talented team they were.”
So did Episcopal Academy, which finished 9-1, 4-1.
Against Haverford School, Jackson Solley completed 7 of 11 for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Brody Garrison completed 2 of 3 for 77 yards and a score.
Standout senior receiver Jackson Orcutt had seven receptions for 110 yards and two scores. Orcutt, who recently changed his lacrosse commitment from Georgetown to the University of North Carolina, ended his career with 29 touchdown receptions, which ties the all-time Inter-Ac record. For the season, Orcutt had 50 receptions for 909 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Leading the defensive effort was lineman Cam Carson, who had three tackles, including a sack and a fumble recovery.
Episcopal Academy vs. Haverford School - PSD Photos by Krystal Williams
EA quarterback Jackson Solley finds Jackson Orcutt for a touchdown - PSD Video by Krystal Williams
Linebacker Jamil Abdul-Malik had seven tackles, including one tackle for loss, an interception and two pass break-ups.
Defensive back Jahmir Brown, who had a receiving touchdown, also contributed four tackles and two pass break ups.
“He was great in coverage,” Fairlie said of Brown.
Each year Haverford School and Episcopal Academy compete in five different sporting events during this final week of the football season. The football team’s win gave Episcopal the 3-2 edge and that meant the prize of the fabled sweater, which goes to the winner of these five events, went to the Churchmen.
While Fairlie loved earning the sweater back after Haverford School won it last year, winning a share of the championship provided pure elation.
“These are so hard to win because our league is so talented,” Fairlie said. “I am really happy, especially for our senior class.”
This year was quite a rebound season for the Churchmen, who were 3-7, 1-4 a year ago.
“This team was super talented,” Fairlie said. “The seniors gave us great leadership.”
The Churchmen faithful storm the field after winning a share of the Inter-Ac title - PSD Video by Krystal Williams
He certainly appreciates how difficult it is to win such a talented league.
“Every team has great players and coaches,” Fairlie said. “Every team in the league can beat you and our players did a great job this season.”
Final Standings:
Episcopal Academy 4-1, 9-1
Malvern Prep 4-1, 8-2
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy 4-1, 6-4
Penn Charter 2-3, 4-6
Haverford School 1-4, 4-6
Germantown Academy 0-5, 3-7
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.