Malvern Prep’s football team was extremely successful this season, with a 10-2 record and sharing the title in the Inter-Ac conference. The team was not short of adversity, though, with a few close games and injuries affecting players. One of these players, Bryce Willey, went down against Gonzaga College Prep, the #1-ranked team in Washington, D.C. He went into detail about his injury and the challenges it posed.
“I had a grade two MCL tear and a partial tear in the meniscus,” Willey explained.
Even though the Friars lost a critical player in the closing minutes of the big game against Gonzaga, they have plenty of talent ready to go when players get hurt. Bryce Willey talked about his confidence in his backup, Jack Bowman.
“So Jack Bowman, he’s young. Definitely confidence in him, though he’s a good kid, obviously, I wanted to be on the field. I wanted to play, just like something I hate missing out on, but I had confidence in my backup,” Willey said.
Bryce continued to play despite the injury and returned to the field only a few weeks after it occurred, contributing significantly to the Friars’ success. But playing through a knee injury this severe is the furthest thing from easy. The Friar’s left tackle emphasized the difficulties of playing through injury.
“It affects me a lot. It really limits my movement in my right leg, so I can’t really bend it that well can’t fire off the ball that much. Lots of loss of strength,” Willey explained.
Then athletic training staff was busy treating the football team’s injuries and worked just as hard as the players, getting them ready for gamedays. The Malvern athletic training staff worked tirelessly to get players back onto the field and playing their best as soon as possible. In the case of Bryce Willey, he has felt their dedication from the second he got hurt.
“Right after the injury, I went to the table. They checked it out, they gave me a brace to wrap it up with, and then they got me to the training room, got me set up with this ice pack,” he recounted.
The Friar’s big man also thanked the athletic trainers for their continued support in his recovery.
“I’ve been going in there. They got this laser treatment that helped me out. And they’re helping me, tape it, set up my brace, and get everything secure before a game starts” Willey continued.
The recovery was not easy for any of the players as they tried to battle through and continue playing.
“It’s definitely been, like, difficult, like, mentally and physically, but the athletic staff has helped a lot,” Willey said.
The Friar’s football team had a bye week between their out-of-conference games and the Inter-Ac play this year, which proved to be vital in preparing the team to attempt to capture another conference title. With many of the team’s starters either out completely, such as Bryce Willey, Daniel Rielly, and Zeke Bates, and many other players dealing with heavy fatigue, the bye week helped them recover and get ready for Germantown Academy.
“I think it helped a ton. We had a lot of injuries. Multiple starters were down before and after the Gonzaga game, so that five weeks definitely helped us recover, and I would have missed another game posted for that extra week. So definitely super helpful. Yeah, and then a few other players, like Zeke and Dan, have also been dealing with injuries and playing through them,” recounted Bryce Willey when asked about the benefits of the bye week.
All the injuries the team had dealt with this year lit a fire inside the team with a stronger sense of brotherhood. This resulted in the team playing for the guy next to them instead of themselves, which made the team play tougher. When asked about how the injuries motivated the team, Bryce Willey responded
“Yeah, I think it helps a lot. You know, you got guys that you know, really, there’s no doubt that people want to get out there and play. You know how much you care for the team. When you’ve got guys batting through injuries and stuff like that, it really shows how much they care, and helps motivate the whole team, makes everybody feel like it actually matters.” Willey said
For the injured Friars who will go on to play a collegiate sport, they have to manage their injuries to prepare for college while also working to get back on the field to play with their brothers. This can be a hard decision to make, since you want to protect your future, but especially for seniors, who want to get back on the field and play with their teammates. There is a lot of uncertainty still for those who were injured this season.
“I’m already committed, but I still have to worry about, like, could this injury hurt my chances of playing early in college? Luckily, I don’t think it will. But that first week, two weeks after it happened, we didn’t know very much, and it’s definitely a big concern of mine.” Willey said
This season for the Friars was one of adversity, with injuries and close games. The football team did not back down from the challenge and continued to play harder, and continued to win football games. With an 8-game win streak after an early loss to La Salle College High School, this Friar football team has cemented itself as one of the hardest-working and best teams in school history. With an 8-2 final record and a share of the inter-ac title after pushing through pain and injuries, it was a great season for the Friars’ football team.
