PHILADELPHIA- 129 years. That’s how long The William Penn Charter School and Germantown Academy football team rivals have met to compete for the trophy. It is the oldest continuously played high school football rivalry in the country and this year, the teams played on a cold and windy Saturday afternoon on Penn Charter’s varsity football field.
The annual Penn Charter Germantown Academy Day [PCGA Day] began early when all other sports competed against one another, including girls and boys soccer and water polo. The schools were tied at 4.5 all at 1:30 p.m. when the competition came down to the football game.
Twenty-one unanswered Penn Charter Quaker points dominated the Germantown Academy Patriots, resulting in a 45-17 loss for the Patriots and their third straight to end the season.
The beginning of the game looked promising for the Patriots with a great opening drive. Quarterback Kyle McCloskey threw for 49 yards and a pass to Jonathan Haynes for the touchdown. The Patriots led 7-0.
The Quakers responded swiftly with a touchdown play tying the game. The Patriots made their way down the field but the Quaker defense held them to a field goal putting them at 10-7.
But, Germantown’s lead was quickly taken from them for the rest of the afternoon when they gave the ball to the Quakers four separate times throughout the four quarters. McCloskey threw two interceptions and the other two turnovers were fumbles.
The Patriots put themselves in a substantial hole and just could not get themselves up in enough time to catch up to Penn Charter.
Penn Charter’s quarterback Michael “Neeko” Hnatkowsky was having no problem making plays. He completed 17 of his 31 attempts for 368 yards. The Quakers were up 38-17 when he took off on a read-option play for 30 yards. Hnatkowsky threw for four touchdowns.
Penn Charter’s Cody Sweeney and Chris Tucker ended the game with more than 100 receiving yards. An 81-yard touchdown by Sweeney in the first quarter, when the Quakers were trailing 10-7, put the game back into perspective.
Sweeney had a 1-yard touchdown run to put points on the board for the Quakers and added 7 points to spread their lead 31-17 in the beginning of the fourth quarter. That specific play put extra pressure on McCloskey and then John Washington picked him off on the next play.
129th Meeting Between Penn Charter and Germantown Academy
There was no stopping the Quakers after Hnatkowsky found Tucker downfield for a 68-yard touchdown catch.
Griffin Hunn was a star for the Patriots, gaining 158 yards on 16 carries. Nicholas Picariello had 33 yards and an 18-yard touchdown that made the score 24-17 in the third quarter. Picariello’s touchdown put the final points of the day on the board for the Patriots.
The game continued to get away from Germantown Academy. They completed their season at 7-3 and 2-3 in the Inter-Academic League. The loss also took away the two-game winning streak for the Patriots in the rivalry. Penn Charter is now in the lead 83-35-11 and 5-5 this season. The Quakers are 3-2 in the Inter-Academic League.