Two legendary high
school coaches squared off for what could be the final time Saturday night as
Brother Rice and Catholic Central renewed their rivalry.
And in his swan
song season, it was Brother Rice’s Al Fracassa that bested Catholic Central’s Tom
Mach 28-21 on a touchdown drive in the final minute of the game.
Brother Rice
quarterback Alex Malzone led the Warriors down the field on an 83-yard drive
capped off by a 35-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Sparks. Sparks bobbled the ball, but regained
possession and dove for the pylon.
“Pat (Sparks) made
a great play for me,” Malzone said of the game-winning touchdown grab.
Malzone finished
the day with two touchdowns, one interception and 174 yards passing on 12-of-18
passing.
In the loss, CC
quarterback Sean Birney threw for a touchdown and ran for another one. He also had a 78-yard run to set up CC’s
third touchdown, a four-yard score by CC running back Connor Holton.
The Shamrocks drop
their first game of the season, falling to 4-1 (1-1) on the season. Losing to the Brother Rice is never
easy to take for anyone who identifies as a Shamrock, current or alumnus.
“I hate Brother
Rice,” said CC alum Michael Bennett, in attendance at Saturday night’s
showdown, “Great game, but hate losing to them.”
Brother Rice
remains undefeated at 5-0 (2-0) and look like a strong candidate to win the
Catholic League regular season title after defeating their undefeated rival.
A rematch at the
end of the season is possible, so the two long-term coaches could meet for one
final time at Ford Field with the Catholic League Title on the line.
Coach Mach leads
the all-time series 24-20.
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