Throughout recent years, Inter-Ac has consistently had a clear-cut top three: Haverford, EA, and Malvern. These three schools have been dominant, and one of these 3 has claimed every title since 2019.

SCH, on the other hand, has just one title to their name – their lone championship came in the 2009 season. They’ve come close to securing one after that but haven’t finished the job.

With three games left to play in the season, SCH takes on the gauntlet of these three teams once again, coming into the Haverford game with an undefeated record, identical to last year.

This SCH team enters the game in a complicated situation though.

Starting RB/DB Finn Whittle is still out, and unable to return for SCH’s game against the Fords. There is currently no timetable for the senior’s return, however, optimism is high for a possible comeback before the end of the season.

However, the major injury was junior QB Liam Zelman, who didn’t play in the contest against Haverford. The cause of his injury is unknown, but whatever the case, it meant the Devils had a new signal caller – junior WR Joey Markey.

Markey was the Devils JV QB for two years and initially had practiced and prepared earlier in the season to step under center before Zelman’s arrival. His athleticism allowed him to make the switch to wideout before the season though, and he’s found a valuable role in the Devils’ offense.

Markey had yet to start a varsity game at QB until the bout against the Fords. “I was nervous because it was my first time, but I couldn’t stay nervous because I had to focus on the goal of the team; to win the game ahead.”

With a new signal caller, and their two leading rushers out, SCH had to change their run-first mentality, making drastic changes to the game plan. With the ball to start the game, they quickly implemented it.

Markey quickly found a favorite target, being fellow junior WR Aaron Clark, who took a bubble pass for 15 yards and then drew a pass-interference call to set the Devils up at the Fords’ 35-yard line.

Then, after sophomore RB Colin McFadden picked up a solid carry of 5, Markey stepped back on 2nd down, where his offensive line picked up a big blitz to give him enough time to throw a beautiful pass to the back of the endzone, where Clark had burned his defender on a post route, and where Clark laid out for the catch, putting SCH up first.

Senior kicker Alex Zeka did miss the extra point, but the Devils had quickly captured the lead.

DEVILS – 6 , FORDS – 0

With the ball in their hands, Haverford went directly to the offensive with 3 straight handoffs to their running back, who was swallowed up by the Devils’ D-Line, and the Fords opened with a punt.

SCH however couldn’t move the ball offensively, punting the ball right back to the Fords, as the two began to trade punts for quite some time, neither offense getting anything going despite both teams breaking deep into the playbook.

With the Fords pinned back deep in their territory, the Devils needed to break the stalemate of punts, and they needed something big to swing momentum. Lucky for SCH, junior DB Joe Flach answered the call.

On third down, Flach flew down from his safety spot, jumping an in-route, and snagging a pick deep in Haverford territory to set SCH up in scoring position as the 1st quarter ended.

With the lead, SCH was set up at around the Fords’ 10-yard line, however, they couldn’t put anything together, as their drive stalled out. Zeka came out to attempt a field goal, but shanked it wide to the left, as the Devils failed to capitalize.

“It was my first miss in two years,” said Zeka, who had missed an extra point prior as well. “I doubted my ability to kick well, but then coach pulled me aside and helped me clear my head.”

After the miss, the teams began a defensive stalemate once again, as the Fords got down right to the 2-yard line, but junior linebacker Harry Kull came in for a huge stop to shut that down.

Momentum switched for the Devils though, as after another drive stalling out, Haverford was able to get through and block a punt, setting them up deep in SCH territory. Then, three plays later, the Fords tossed a deep ball in the endzone, taking the lead late in the second.

DEVILS – 6 , FORDS – 7

Both defenses held for the rest of the half, and Haverford got the ball out of the break.  Oncemore, the Devils defense did their job, and with the ball in their hands, the offense started clicking, moving all the way to the Fords’ 40.

In desperate need of a score here, Markey worked his magic, avoiding the rush out left, buying himself time to find Clark on a deep ball over the middle, as the Devils punched one in.

Flach caught the 2-pt conversion, giving SCH a 7 point lead.

DEVILS – 14 , FORDS – 7

The two teams would trade punts, before Haverford went on a long, dragged out drive that took most of the third quarter, as they improvised, scrambling and dragging out plays, making things work before throwing another touchdown pass, tying things up.

DEVILS – 14 , FORDS – 14

Once again, things returned to a defensive stalemate, SCH punting early. But, having already made a multitude of plays, the defense once again stood up. With the Fords backed up, Joe Flach once again took over, jumping a seam-route and running the pass back for 6.

DEVILS – 21 , FORDS – 14

The defense now went right back to work, the two heavy-weights clashing, though this time, the Fords 10-play drive resulted in 6, this time coming as they threw a fade-ball in the back of the endzone.

DEVILS – 21 , FORDS – 21

The game of back and forth seemed fated to continue, but SCH failed to convert a 4th and 1, forcing their defense back onto the field, who at this point, had spent the majority of the game running all over to stop the Fords’ offense.

On 4th and 7, with a chance to take the ball back, and with time draining in the fourth, the Fords converted, scrambling for 13 yards, then punching in a touchdown to take the lead with little time left on the clock.

DEVILS – 21 , FORDS – 28

That score seemed to take any momentum SCH had and proved to be the game-winner for Haverford. Markey ended up getting picked off, and although the Devils got the ball back, they couldn’t make anything happen.

The loss puts the Devils at 7-1 but doesn’t eliminate them from title contention. Their matchup with EA is a deciding factor though, as with a loss, SCH is likely out of the running for a league title. They’ll then need to beat Malvern after that, who has been a consistent top team in the state.

Come support your Devils this Saturday against EA on senior day!