Penn Charter running back Matthew Marshall (3) receives a handoff from QB Kyle Jones. Marshall has been a standout for the Quakers this year, but had to miss most of Saturday's contest against Episcopal with concussion symptoms. (Photo by Jonathan Vander Lugt)

by Jonathan Vander Lugt

Penn Charter’s league opener against Episcopal Academy was as good of a football game as anyone who attended could have hoped to see. The Quakers just came out on the wrong end, largely because of a pair of miracle catches by Episcopal in the second half.

The first – a 32-yard, third-and-23 prayer that T.J. Lamb reeled in one-handed as he was falling to the ground – kept a crucial Churchmen drive alive. At this point, EA was down 17-7.

“That’s really the play of the game – he made a heroic catch,” said Penn Charter head coach Tom Coyle. “That’s a really good play for his team.”

Episcopal ultimately came up short after a fantastic four-down, goal-line stand by the Quakers. But – and perhaps more importantly – they swung field position in their favor.

“ deserves a lot of credit,” Coyle said. “If he doesn’t make that catch, we would have gotten the ball back up two scores.”

PC couldn’t get farther than its own seven on the next drive before punting it away. Setting up at the Quaker 38, the Churchmen marched in after six plays on a five-yard run by QB Marcus McDaniel.

After another stalled PC drive, McDaniel led Episcopal on another clutch series. On third-and-goal from the 14 with just 32 seconds left, McDaniel connected with Brian Virbitsky in the back of the end zone to put EA up. The senior wideout made an outstanding play, hauling in a tough ball and just barely sneaking his feet inbounds.

It was the type of play that would have been subject to replay review in the NFL or in college ball. Regardless, there was little doubt that Virbitsky made the catch, even among the Penn Charter fans pacing the sideline.

“We got a stop at the goal line, but we needed another one,” Coyle said. “We didn’t get it and ended up losing the game.”

On the ensuing drive, the Quakers made it interesting after a heave from Kyle Jones found its way into Colin Schumm’s hands for a 51-yard gain, setting PC up at the Churchmen 17-yard line with 17 seconds and a pair of timeouts.

Jones couldn’t connect with Akeel Blake on the first two attempts and, though he managed to evade a few would-be sacks on the game’s final play, sailed his last pass through the back of the end zone.

PC sophomore Chandler Turner (23) filled in for the missing Marshall and had a standout game, running for 123 yards and a score on 18 carries. (Photo by Jonathan Vander Lugt)

“It’s a league full of really good football teams. They’re all coached extremely well,” Coyle explained. “It really came down to the final play. Our guys really fought, but at the end of the day, we scored 17 and they scored 21. It wasn’t enough. I’m not questioning the effort. We just came up a few plays short.”

Jones finished the day with just 66 yards on 4-of-11 passing, while adding 53 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. It was his least productive game of the season, but Coyle’s confidence in his senior signal-caller remains unwavering.

“Kyle plays every down of football for us,” Coyle said of Jones, who moonlights as a linebacker on the other side of the ball. “He’s done a fantastic job. He was one of the better players in our league last year and he’s carried that forward this year. He gives a lot of leadership to our guys. His ‘never say die’ attitude goes a long way. That starts with Kyle and reverberates through the whole team.”

This game might have had a different result had PC junior runner Matthew Marshall been able to stay in the game. He had 60 yards on just four carries partway through the second quarter, but concussion symptoms held him out for the rest of the contest.

In his place, sophomore Chandler Turner performed admirably. He ran for 123 yards on 18 carries, highlighted by a breakaway 31-yard score on the first drive of the third quarter.

“Chandler is doing a great job,” Coyle said. “He’s just a sophomore, and he’s running really hard and doing well.”

Up next, the Quakers (5-1, 0-1) will head to Malvern Prep to take on the defending league champs. The Friars are fresh off a season-opening 33-21 win over Germantown Academy.

“We have to show up on Monday, forget about it and focus on the next four games,” Jones said. “We play one game at a time, so that’s how we’re going to look at it.”

Penn Charter 17, Episcopal Academy 21

PC: 0 10 7 0: 17

EA: 7 0 0 14: 21

1Q:

EA: Marcus McDaniel 5 run; Max Pasternack PAT good (0-7; 0:00)

2Q:

PC: Kyle Jones 3 run; Ryan Bradby PAT good (7-7; 9:47)

PC: Bradby 43 field goal (10-7; 0:32)

3Q:

PC: Chandler Turner 31 run; Bradby PAT good (17-7; 9:45)

4Q:

EA: McDaniel 5 run; Pasternack PAT good (17-14; 5:42)

EA: McDaniel 14 pass to T.J. Lamb; Pasternack PAT good (17-21; 0:32)

Around the Area:

Springside Chestnut Hill won its season opener, Germantown Academy fell and La Salle rolled again over another Catholic League opponent.

The Blue Devils (6-0, 1-0) pulled off a stellar 28-23 win over the Haverford School to begin league play. Ke’Shawn Williams continued his remarkable senior campaign with 12 catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns, while his QB counterpart, A.J. Graham, threw for 245 yards on an efficient 17-for-22 day. Up next for SCH is a date with Episcopal Academy on Saturday.

Germantown Academy (4-1, 0-1) dropped a tough one to Malvern Prep, 33-21. The Pats struggled to get much going against a stout Friar defense. They managed just 107 rushing yards on 37 team carries, while Jordan Longino threw for 177 yards, a touchdown and a pair of interceptions on 16-of-24 passing. GA will look to rebound against the Haverford School next week.

La Salle is further cementing its case as 1b to St. Joe’s Prep’s 1a in the Philadelphia Catholic League – despite the Explorers’ loss to the Hawks three weeks ago – as they handled Archbishop Ryan with ease on Friday in their 49-0 shutout win. The Explorers have a pair of matches against Archbishop Wood and Roman Catholic to close the regular season before PCL playoffs begin.