When the Inter-Academic League portion of football began in October, there was extensive chatter about parity and the off chance that there could be a three-way tie for first place. After all, each of the six teams possessed winning non-league records, and no team stood out as a can’t-be-beat juggernaut.

   A three-way deadlock didn’t happen, but if two games had different results in the last week of competition, there would have been an unprecedented four teams sharing “defending champion” labels in 2017.

   Ultimately, Malvern Prep and Germantown Academy co-captured first place, thus ending Haverford School’s three-year reign (one tied) as Inter-Ac champ.

   So now that one of the most riveting seasons in recent memory has punctuated its final sentence with double – strike that – quadruple exclamation points, it’s time to reflect on what went right, what went wrong, and what lasting memories will be extracted for future reminiscence.

   Malvern Prep and Germantown Academy both finished a league-best 4-1. Haverford School was 3-2, Episcopal Academy and Penn Charter both 2-3, and Springside-Chestnut Hill Academy 0-5. Move a little closer, however, and you’ll find that very little separated five of those teams.

   For instance, Malvern Prep lost by three points; the Friars won one game by three and another by seven. Germantown Academy celebrated its four victories by a scarily close three, two, seven, and three points, meaning that the Patriots could have placed last in the league with a few bad breaks here or there. Haverford School won one game by one point and another by two points; the Fords lost by three points and seven points. Episcopal won by three points, lost twice by only two points and once by seven. Penn Charter was similar, losing by margins of one, three, and seven points.

   On the last week of the season, if Springside-Chestnut Hill Academy had upset Malvern and Penn Charter had defeated Germantown Academy, then Malvern Prep, Germantown Academy, Penn Charter, and Haverford School (or Episcopal, if it had beaten HS in its final game) would have forged a first-ever, four-way tie for Inter-Ac glory. 

   Below is a summary of each team’s season.

MALVERN PREP

Team: After losing to Episcopal, 37-34, on a last-second field goal, the co-Inter-Ac champion Friars (8-3 overall) ended Haverford School’s 14-game league winning streak, 24-21, defeated Germantown Academy, 45-15; Penn Charter, 35-28; and Springside-Chestnut Hill, 48-28.  

Standouts: Senior Inter-Ac League, co-Most Valuable Player Zac Fernandez was an indomitable force. In five league games, the likeable running back accrued 900 yards on the ground and 301 from the air and scored 12 touchdowns. His performance against Penn Charter (326 yards rushing, four touchdowns) was incredible . . . Sophomore quarterback Drew Gunther tossed 10 TD’s in his last four games . . . The Friars’ defense intercepted eight passes against league opponents . . . Malvern dominated the all-league squad with Fernandez; offensive linemen Joe Basiura (junior), Jake Glavin (senior), and Sean Grady (senior); wide receivers Quincy Watson (sophomore) and   Matt Daller (senior); defensive linemen Ryan Betz (senior), Justin Titchenell (senior), and Seth Janney (senior); linebackers Keith Maguire (sophomore) and Cole McCabe (junior); senior cornerbacks Danny Sullivan and Mike Fay; and senior kicker Brandon Chiazza. 

It was a really fun season and we reached our goal, which was to win the Inter-Ac. We wanted to go undefeated this season, but we had a very difficult schedule this year so it was a grind . . . It was awesome to watch some of the younger guys on the team improve throughout the year. There's a bright future for Malvern Prep football.”

GERMANTOWN ACADEMY

Team: Take away a 45-15 drubbing by Malvern Prep, the 8-2 Patriots were masters of suspense. Included in its first Inter-Ac title since 2004 (shared with Episcopal and Penn Charter) were wins of 9-7 over Episcopal, 21-14 over Haverford, 17-14 over Penn Charter, and a 16-13 overtime trimming of Springside-Chestnut Hill.

Standouts: Senior quarterback Kyle McCloskey was a double-edged threat, particularly on the ground with 336 yards and five TDs in league games, highlighted by a three-touchdown, 94-yard effort against Haverford School and a career-best 124-yard performance against Penn Charter . . . Senior kicker Vince Capone provided all of the points in his three-field-goal contribution in the 9-7 win over Episcopal, as well as the game-winning points against Penn Charter . . . All-league selections included McCloskey and Capone; senior co-league MVP linebacker Pat McGettigan; sophomore offensive lineman Elijah Wroten; junior wide receiver Mike Reilly; junior defensive linemen Joe Cawley and Jim McGettigan; linebackers Matt Gorman (senior) and Tanner Long (junior); senior cornerback Justin Connors; and senior punter Jake Dianno. 

We talked a lot about playing our ‘six minutes,’ which comes from our defensive coordinator (Steve Moll), who is a math teacher. He said that each play is 4.6 seconds and there are on average 180 plays in a game, with half of them being defense that is only playing ‘D’ for six minutes a game.  He said anyone can give everything they got for six minutes no matter how hurt or tired you are. We played our hearts out and prepared more than any other team on our schedule.”

HAVERFORD SCHOOL

Team: The 7-3 Fords razor-thinned wins over Penn Charter, 21-20, and Episcopal, 21-19; coasted past SCH, 57-23; and lost to co-champs Malvern (24-21) and Germantown Academy (21-14) by a combined 10 points.

Standouts: Although aforementioned Zac Fernandez of Malvern and Pat McGettigan of Germantown Academy were more-than-worthy choices as league co-MVPs, it is head scratching trying to figure out how senior Malik Twyman could have not been named a tri-MVP. 

Random Team Spokesman I: Tommy Toal

   “The best part of the season this year was when we beat Penn Charter in overtime at their field back in October. The game was mostly a defensive one and both teams were battling for field position, but it was still exciting and intense. We drove down the field with ‪1:58 left to tie the game up and send it to overtime, and we ended up winning the game in the first overtime, which was awesome . . . The worst part of the year was losing to GA and realizing we couldn't win the Inter-Ac championship. We ended up turning this loss into a positive when we rallied as a team the next week to beat Episcopal . . . 

Every team had their weapons and knew exactly how they were going to use them. It was rough. A lot of teams wanted it. In some games they wanted it more, and that shows on the field . . . Going into the Inter-Ac we knew it would be tough, but honestly believed we would come out on top . . . I think some teams knew what we were gonna do and how, and were able to stop us more than we could stop them.”

Standouts: In his final two games, senior quarterback CJ McAnally completed 31 of 39 passes for 339 yards and four touchdowns, and rushed for three TDs. Against Malvern, he threw three TD passes, ran for another, and gained 93 yards rushing. He also amassed 68 rushing yards against GA, 92 against SCH, and 101 against Haverford School . . . Senior tight end/defensive lineman Kyle Virbitsky snared 19 passes for 292 yards and four touchdowns; 113 of those yards and half of those scores came at the expense of Malvern Prep . . . All-league selections included Virbitsky (tight end); McAnally (combined quarterback and defensive back); offensive linemen Adam Klein (junior), Dallas Taylor (senior); and junior Milton Mamula; senior linebackers Brian Snow and Jon’avin Freeman; and sophomore cornerback DeeWil Barlee. 

The worst part of this season had to be the following week, playing GA, with one second to go. When they lined up for the field goal to win, it was like time stood still and as it was kicked it was almost like watching everything you worked so hard for sort of disappear. It was gut-wrenching, but at the end of the day, we tried to learn from it and move on . . . Our expectation, in my eyes, was to win the Inter-Ac, so in that case, it was not met. But looking at the season as a whole, and what we had to overcome, we did do a lot better than I think a lot of people expected . . . Losing our all-Inter-Ac linebacker in the third game (senior Jake Martelucci) was one of the hardest things to overcome. Then losing (junior two-way lineman) James Bagnell for most of the Inter-Ac games and CJ (McAnally), our QB, for one game was very difficult. What I was really proud of was even in the face of adversity, we still game planned and played as hard as we could expecting to win each of those games . . . Obviously we came out on the wrong end of a few, but we were in every game. If you really take a look, we were about 45 seconds away from having three more wins and an Inter-Ac title, and that alone is probably the hardest thing for me to swallow . . . I will be missing football an awful lot. I’ve played this game since I was four years old and it appears I’ve played my last game. I don’t think there is another sport that can be compared to the emotion you feel while playing football. Having an entire community watch you and root for you to succeed in a game where in order to win, you and your brothers next to you need to beat the man across from you every single play, is unlike anything else. I’ll miss all of it. The Friday nights, the Saturday morning lifts, preseason, practice, the aches and pains, the coaches, and most importantly, the brothers I’ve made on the team. I’ll miss it all.” 

Random Team Spokesman II: Senior CJ McAnally

   “We started out the season very strong, going 5-0 in our non-league games, with two big wins against John Carroll (Maryland), and Blair Academy (New Jersey). Then we handed the eventual Inter-Ac champions, Malvern Prep, their only league loss this season. Ultimately we fell to three teams in the league by a combined 11 points, with all three games decided in the final seconds. Overall, we ended the season at 7-3 and created a lasting bond as teammates that we'll cherish forever.”

PENN CHARTER SCHOOL

Team: The 6-3 Quakers lost, 21-20, in overtime against Haverford School, 17-14 to Germantown Academy, and 35-28 to Malvern; they stopped Episcopal, 28-21, and SCH, 49-27.

Standouts: Senior quarterback Mike Hnatkowsky ended his career as the Inter-Ac’s all-time leader in yardage, completions, and touchdowns, but he saved much of his heroics for this season. He completed 80 of 133 passes for 1,034 yards and eight touchdowns . . . Senior running back Ed Saydee contributed 596 yards and 12 touchdowns in five league games . . . Senior kicker Adam Kuper had his first extra-point attempt blocked before rebounding to nail each of his final 36 boots . . . All-League honorees were led by Hnatkowsky and Saydee; senior linebacker Luke Stansfield; junior cornerback John Washington; sophomore offensive lineman Hayden Knighton; senior wide receiver Chris Tucker; senior defensive lineman Billy Costello; and senior cornerback Denarii Beard.

SPRINGSIDE CHESTNUT HILL ACADEMY

Team:  The 4-6 Blue Devils nearly toppled co-league champ Germantown Academy before succumbing to a 16-13 defeat. 

They struggled against Penn Charter (49-27), Haverford School (57-23), Episcopal Academy (31-0), and Malvern Prep (48-28).    

Standouts: Senior Tyson Hugee, bound for Columbia University, was a top-notch defensive back. Hugee joined junior offensive lineman Sean McCann, senior running back Justin Telemaque, and senior wide receivers Jack Cucinotta and Matt Hoffman as all-league selections . . . Junior quarterback Jack Elliott emerged. He completed 37 of 78 passes for 622 yards and six touchdowns. Against Malvern, Elliott connected on 16 of 29 for 276 yards and four scores.

Random Team Spokesman: Senior Tyson Hugee

“The best part of the season was when we bonded early over huge wins against Catholic schools Roman Catholic and Father Judge . . .

(John Knebels can be reached at jknebels@gmail.com.)