Brother Rice Tops Archrival Catholic Central on Late Touchdown

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.