he students were roaring with excitement for Malvern’s first ever football game under the lights. The talk of this game flew through the entire Malvern community like wild fire. The Episcopal fans decided to go with a white out, so naturally the students went with the complete opposite and this blackout was extremely successful. The crowd was enormous at the Pellegrini Athletic Complex on Friday October 26th.  The entire student section was ripe with fierce exuberance that far transcended that of our rivals. Led by Kevin Rogers, clever chants were bellowed at the other student section and the rival team including “Doormat!” because Episcopal is, or was, the so-called doormat of the Inter-Ac.

Kickoff was at 7:00 PM EST and Episcopal returned the ball first. On their first drive, they came down and scored a touchdown and went up 7-0. Soon after, Malvern returned the favor with a reception by Joe Carlini to the one yard line. A quick touchdown was made by senior quarterback Billy Ford in the first quarter and an extra point scored by kicker Jon Dollfus which tied the game at 7-7. During the second quarter however, Episcopal took control with two touchdowns, but the second extra point attempt was a failure. Malvern trailed by 13 going into the second half.

Neither Malvern nor Episcopal scored any points in the third quarter. In the fourth however, Episcopal had a touchdown run but failed to score the two point conversion. At that, Episcopal Academy defeated Malvern Prep 26-7 and looked to be no longer were the ‘doormat’ that every other team steps on. Malvern fell to a record of 5-3 and 2-1 in the Inter-Ac while Episcopal remains undefeated this season.

The first ever night football game at Malvern Prep was a very disappointing loss, especially for the players.  It may not have been a complete success, but hundreds if not thousands of fans showed up to cheer for our beloved Friars.