Patriots edge Quakers, 5-3, on GA-PC Day

Brendan McNally, a senior at William Penn Charter School, won the Geis Trophy as MVP of the 119th PC/GA Day football game.

by TOM UTESCHER

A Penn Charter victory over Germantown Academy in the venerable football rivalry between the two schools made it close, but in the final reckoning, the visiting GA Patriots won the 2005 Competition Cup on GA-PC Day last weekend.

Charter’s Quakers had enjoyed success in tennis and in boys cross country before Saturday’s extravaganza culminated in a gridiron classic that originated in 1887, but the Patriots prevailed in five of the eight athletic contests on the agenda, collecting wins in field hockey, girls cross country, water polo, and boys and girls soccer. Even though most of these contests were, technically, exhibitions that did not figure into the official Inter-Ac League record for the fall season, there was spirited competition across the board. The details are as follows:

Cross Country – Boys (Exhibition)
Penn Charter 21, Germantown Academy 38
1) PC Dylan Isaacson 17:21 (3.1 miles) 2) PC Max Feldman 18:02 3) GA Max Stein 18:30 4) PC Steve McVeigh 18:48 5) GA Tyler Cross 18:56 6) PC Kyrie Georgiou 19:12 7) GA Matt Schelke 19:15 8) PC Alex Baer 19:54 9) PC Mike Cooke 20:08 10) PC Eric Miller 20:09

Regular Season Dual Meet: Penn Charter 20, Germantown Academy 48

PC fourth, GA fifth at Inter-Ac Championships

Cross Country – Girls (Exhibition)
Germantown Academy 19, Penn Charter 42
1) GA J.D. Whitman 19:56 (3.1 miles) 2) GA Molly Shapiro 20:28 3) GA Jenna Washabaugh 20:40 4) PC Julianne Skinner 21:12 5) PC Rachel Dowling 21:14 6) GA Paige Cross 22:20 7) GA Andrea Konski 22:31 8) GA Devon Blount 23:23 9) GA Maggie Ebbott 23:25 10) GA Charley Zimmerman 23:27

Regular Season Dual Meet: Penn Charter 24, Germantown Academy 31

GA first, PC fourth at Girls Inter-Ac Championships

Field Hockey (Exhibition)
Germantown Academy 2, Penn Charter 1

After the first half ended with the score 0-0, a goal by GA’s Amanda Jones was matched by Becca Foley of Penn Charter early in the second period. With 4:01 remaining, GA’s Katie Barba assisted the winning goal by Caitlin McGovern, a senior who was named MVP of the game for the second year in a row.

Regular Season Match: Germantown Academy 1, Penn Charter 0

GA was Girls Inter-Ac Co-Champion (with Notre Dame), PC placed fourth

GA won the Girls Inter-Ac postseason tournament over Notre Dame, which had defeated PC on penalty strokes in the semifinals.

Girls Tennis (Exhibition)
Penn Charter 6, Germantown Academy 1

The winners for Penn Charter in singles play were Jordyn Shaffer (first), Kiera Murasko-Blank (second), Shannon Harrington (third) and Kate Savage (fourth). Amanda Davis and Ritu Arya won at first doubles, and in an unusual second doubles match, the victorious Quakers rotated three players; Kate Goldenberg, Caroline Huber, and Liz Golden. The sole win for the Patriots came at third doubles, courtesy of Alexandra Crane and Melissa Kaplan.

Regular Season Match: Penn Charter 6, Germantown Academy 1

PC tied for fourth (with Notre Dame) in Girls Inter-Ac, GA was sixth

Girls Soccer (Exhibition)
Germantown Academy 5, Penn Charter 1

In the third meeting between the teams this fall, Laura Kurash put Penn Charter on the board first, but after that it was all GA. Caroline Doty scored the first and last goal for the Patriots; in between came markers by Jen Hoy, Niki McCardy, and Kate Henrich. Doty, a sophomore, was named MVP of the match.

Regular Season Match: Germantown Academy 2, Penn Charter 0

GA was the Girls Inter-Ac Champion, PC was runner-up

In the league’s postseason tournament, the Patriots defeated the Quakers in the finals, winning on penalty kicks, 5-4.

Boys Soccer (Official Inter-Ac game)
Germantown Academy 5, Penn Charter 0

With this victory, GA’s Patriots became the undefeated champions of the Inter-Ac League for 2005. Owners of a 19-1 overall record, the Pats had prevailed over PC by a 4-0 count in the first round of league games this fall. In the opening half of Saturday’s rematch, Germantown went up 2-0 on goals by Matt Thomas and Rob Hamilton. There would soon be no doubt about the outcome as David Reusch, Steve Boland, and Alex Verdi added to the Patriots’ total in the second period. Thomas, a senior who has committed to Duke University, was tabbed as game MVP. Penn Charter placed fifth in the Inter-Ac League this year.

Football (Official Inter-Ac game)
Penn Charter 28, Germantown Academy 6

Looking to lock up second place in the Inter-Ac (Malvern is the undefeated champ), Penn Charter went into its last game as a heavy favorite over Germantown, but held a modest 14-6 lead at halftime. On a pair of short touchdown runs, Michael Rachut scored for the Quakers in the first period and Alex Holcombe answered for GA in the second quarter, but the Pats whiffed on their conversion attempt and still trailed, 7-6. Before halftime the hosts added to their advantage as quarterback Brendan McNally hit tight end Brian Teuber for a 33-yard touchdown pass.

After the third quarter expired with no further scoring, the Quakers began to gather momentum in the final frame. Sean Dressel plunged to paydirt from three yards out with 9:44 remaining in the contest, then duplicated that feat with 4:06 to go. Eric Muller’s fourth extra-point kick for Charter put the final score on the board, as GA settled into fifth place in the final league standings. Recognized as the game MVP, PC’s McNally received the Joseph Geis III Award.

Water Polo (Official Inter-Ac game)
Germantown Academy 10, Penn Charter 9

GA’s Patriots had topped Charter by an identical score back in their first regular-season meeting in late September. GA lost twice to Haverford School, though, while the Quakers split with the Fords. In the league tournament, Germantown came on strong to knock off PC in the semifinals and then beat Haverford for the championship. Charter turned the tables at the Eastern Prep School tournament, beating the Pats to finish third, while GA was fourth.

On GA-PC Day, the teams were locked up at 6-all going into the fourth quarter. Germantown shook loose and built a 10-8 advantage before Penn Charter put in the final goal of the match. Marshall Freedman led the winners with a hat trick that included the game-winning goal, and GA got two goals apiece from Ted Bonus, Wallace Chandler, and Andrew Weitz. Ryan Peart scored the other GA goal and his cousin Nathaniel Peart made eight saves in the net and received MVP honors. Charter was led by Chris Tiano, with six goals, and Jim Entwisle, with three, while Quakers keeper Elias Tanner turned in nine saves for the day.