After weeks of hard fought games for Malvern Prep intramural football, Team Some Guys takes home the title.
During the week of October 30, teams played in a tournament of champions. Each grade level had one representing team. The intramural committee, composed of students from the junior and senior classes, selected the playoff teams based off their records. Throughout the course of the season, however, the intramural committee did much more than pick the teams for the playoffs.
“We [the intramural committee] run the intramural Instagram, analyze and ref the games, and do all the write ups,” junior and intramural committee member Billy Carlini said.
Carlini, with the help of other members from the intramural committee, post highlights and interviews on the intramural Instagram of the players and coaches on a weekly basis.
“We try to get two cameras for each game to film from different angles,” Carlini said. “I compile a video using iMovie, and I ask members of the committee what song and plays to use.”
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For one of the games, junior Nolan Rogers brought in his family’s drone to capture video footage from an aerial view.
“The drone makes for more of an exciting video,” Carlini said, “and I am very thankful that he brought it in.”
Games are played on Quigley Field during Community Time, which gives students the chance to go out and support their friends. Junior and member of the intramural committee, Jack Boyle, credits part of the higher levels of student involvement this year to this model of scheduling. Student participation was previously declining due to games scheduled after school, when some students needed to catch buses or depart for athletic events.
“Now since we have it during Community Time, it is a gym class for them [the student athletes]. It is a chance for them to go out, get excited, and hang out with their friends,” Boyle said.
One of the great things about intramural football is that anyone can play.
“We have a lot of good athletes and over time they had to choose sport over sport,” Burke said. “They get the opportunity to play sports they would not have gotten to play.”
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Junior Luke DiGiacobbe, member of the intramural committee and quarterback for Team 13, has enjoyed every moment playing intramural football.
“My favorite part of it is how much fun we have and the competitive spirit. Everyone is out there playing and enjoying themselves,” DiGiacobbe said.
Currently, his team is 4-1, making them the best junior team in the league.
“We work together really well, and we are complete,” Luke said. “We have everything you are looking for on a team. We have a good defense and offense, we communicate, and we game plan.”
The intramural committee predicted Team 13 to defeat Team Kevin Meehan for the junior’s championship game.
Burke said, “If you only had one dollar to bet and the odds against Team Kevin Meehan winning was a million to one, I still wouldn’t waste my dollar by picking them. It isn’t going to happen.”
In a surprisingly close game, Team 13 came out on top by a score of 35-28. With one minute left in the game, the score was tied 28-28 and Team 13 had the ball. In an unbelievable last minute drive, DiGiacobbe led his team all the way down the field. He completed a big pass to junior Matt Civitella, who made it all the way to the one yard line. With just five seconds left in the game, Luke threw to junior Matt Irvine, who made a great catch in the back corner of the end zone to seal the deal.
“Team 13 has a very good offensive team,” Carlini said, “but they have some holes in their defense, which will have to be corrected when they play deep threat teams like Some Guys [senior team].”
The senior’s championship game resulted in a stunning upset. Team Some Guys defeated The Soul, a previously undefeated team, by a score of 28-14.
“Naturally, The Soul was the favorite,” Carlini said, “but Some Guys have the better athletes and that gave them a big help. You cannot beat Some Guys twice.”
As for the freshmen, Team Dirty Birds upset the Boyertown Bears; the intramural committee had predicted the Bears to win 24-21 in overtime.
“They [the Dirty Birds] have all of the big athletes and names of the freshman class,” Carlini said. “If you look at the roster, they just have more talent.”
The sophomore championship game was a blowout. Team Waynie, led by sophomore Ryan Maguire, defeated the Guy Fieri’s Spicy Hot Wings.
On Friday, October 27 there were four teams left in the tournament of champions. Team Some Guys was awarded the number one seed, followed by Team 13, Team Waynie, and the freshman’s Boyertown Bears was the number four seed.
Like the NCAA March Madness tournament, the top seeds play the bottom seeds. Therefore, Team Some Guys played the Boyertown Bears, and Team 13 took on the Guy Fieri’s Spicy Hot Wings. Expectedly, the older teams took down their younger opponents.
Finally, it was the day of the big game. The 2nd Annual Joe Redican Championship took place on Thursday, November 2 during Community Time. The seniors’ Some Guys faced the juniors’ Team 13. Senior Griffin Kennedy, the assistant coach of team Some Guys, expected to bounce back from their regular season loss against Team 13.
“I am excited to see what today brings,” Kennedy said. “I know that we are ready. There are has been a lot of film study over these last few days on this team [Team 13]. I think we are feeling good today, and we are ready to go.”
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With the return of senior Matt Davis, wide receiver for Some Guys, and a stellar performance from their quarterback, senior Connor Reagan, Some Guys went on to defeat Team 13 by a score of 35-14.
“It was a heck of a championship,” senior and coach of Some Guys Andre Quintiliani said. “There was a great group of guys out there, and they wanted every single play. Thank you to Coach Burke. We are champs!”
Burke appreciates the opportunity to see students involved in intramural play. “Watching the students play gives me another frame of reference as to who they are,” he said.
The intramural committee is in the process of making an awards ceremony to commemorate this intramural football season. Players and coaches, look out for awards like MVP, best bounce back player, best uniforms, coach of the year, and defensive player of the year. Mark the date on your calendars; Carlini expects it to be during a Friday Morning Rally in mid November, and congratulations, Team Some Guys!
