Friars have Wright stuff to get leg up in Inter-Ac race
NEWTOWN SQUARE » Malvern Prep inched within a victory of winning the Inter-Ac championship with a physical 17-7 win over defending champion Episcopal Academy Friday.
Isaiah Wright rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns, the second set up by a 20-yard naked bootleg by quarterback Jack Capaldi to effectively put the game away.
The bootleg was Capaldi’s call. The rugged senior could see the Churchmen cheating in the direction of Wright, one of the hardest runners around and decided it was time to do his thing.
Capaldi rolled around the right edge while Wright and the blockers plowed into the left side of the defense.
“We were running the dive over and over again,” Capaldi said. “It was working for us, but the defense was kind of catching on to us. I just saw them adjust and decided to call it. I was just trying to fight for that touchdown. I didn’t get in, but we got it on the next play.”
Capaldi broke multiple tackles to reach the three, which is where Wright barreled in with 4:51 remaining. The scoring run wasn’t easy, the noise from helmets and shoulder pads meeting violently crackling through the night.
“As a team we just wanted it,” Capaldi said. “And we got it. It feels good. Especially closing out a game like that. Our team has marked this game on our schedule for a while.
It was great to get this one. It was probably one of our biggest wins in a while. Our goal for the season is to get the Inter-Ac trophy and we had to come through here to get it.”
The victory elevates the Friars to 7-2 overall. They finish by hosting Springside Chestnut Hill, while Episcopal has to visit Haverford School.
The Churchmen (6-3, 3-1) didn’t go quietly. Quarterback Jake Fant completed 17 of 27 attempts for 183 yards, including a nine-yard laser to Neo Vossschulte with 7:11 left in the third to cut the lead to 10-7. It was one of several occasions in which the quarterback coming off a shoulder injury threw his receiver open.
The Churchmen wouldn’t have been in the game without a determined defense and Fant, who took some big hits.
“Jake was under pressure more than we wanted him to be,” coach Todd Fairlie said. “But he made some plays that put us in good position. He made a lot of good throws that kept us in the game and gave us a chance. I mean, we were one big play here or there from being right there late in the game. We hung around. Credit to (Malvern), they made some plays late. That’s a good football team they have.”
After Jake Reid drilled an almost effortless 48-yard field goal to stake the Friars to the lead in the first quarter, Wright took over. Operating behind a burly, physical line, the senior did the heavy work on a scoring drive he ended with a five-yard run with 41 ticks left in the half. Wright finished with 37 carries, or about 30 more than the Friars were hoping for as he has battled through aches and pains.
“Coming off an injury, he just played with so much heart today,” Capaldi said. “It was awesome.”
The Churchmen’s final comeback ended when linebacker Ryan Davis intercepted Fant with 4:18 remaining. Andrew Connolly picked off a pass earlier in the game for the Friars.
“We had the ball in their territory and a couple times we didn’t finish,” Fairlie said. “They’re a tough defense. We did about as good as we can do giving ourselves opportunities. And defensively against a tough offense we scrapped and clawed and clawed. We’ve got to make a couple more plays there. I don’t know if we got too aggressive or whatever but we didn’t finish a couple. But we love our kids. They just fight.”