With an eleven game schedule, all four home games at the Pellegrini Athletic Complex are special, but no games bring the excitement and great atmosphere that the Homecoming game does. Parents, students, former coaches and players, and alumni came home to watch their 2012 Malvern Prep Friars begin their defense of the Inter-Ac Championship against the Germantown Academy Patriots. It was a picture perfect afternoon. The weather was beautiful and the stands were filled with cheering fans, no better atmosphere for a Friar football game.
The Friars got off to a great start in the game, with junior Troy Gallen’s 30 yard touchdown run in the first quarter to take an early 7-0 lead. The Friars offense continued to lead the way with senior Conor Bohs’ leading the way with 104 yards rushing and a one yard rushing touchdown. The Friars finished with 251 rushing yards thanks to the intense drives of Conor Bohs, Eric Purnell, and Troy Gallen. Senior captain Bill Ford finished with 100 yards passing in their 24-7 victory over the Patriots.
The Malvern Prep defense played their hearts out in this win. They forced 5 turnovers on Germantown, with three interceptions, two of which were grabbed by senior Joe Carlini and they recovered two fumbles. The main defensive play came early in the fourth quarter when the Friars defense forced a turnover on the one yard line, and junior Hunter Paulus recovered it for a touchback changing the whole dynamic of the game. It went from being a possible 17-14 game, to the Friars driving down the field to make it a 24-7 game, with one of Malvern’s most fundamentally sound drives of the season. Germantown coach Matt Dence said after the game, “We turned the ball over way too many times, and you certainly can’t do that against a team like Malvern”
The Friars gave the alumni something to be proud on Homecoming weekend. They started off the Inter-ac the right way with a decisive victory over Germantown, and continued it the next week with a close win over Penn Charter. Although the Friars fell to Episcopal Academy in their third week, the Friars are still pushing to win out and hoping to get a grip on a share of the Inter-ac title. Come out and support your Friars!
