Roman Catholic shows poise in a fourth quarter comeback 21-17 win at Malvern Prep

Written by: Joseph Santoliquito on Saturday, September 14th, 2024. Follow Joseph Santoliquito on Twitter.

Semaj Beals (1) and Eyan Stead (12)

Semaj Beals laughed. It was only the second time this season that Roman Catholic trailed in a game—and first time the Cahillites were down in the fourth quarter. ‘No problem,’ thought Beals, Roman’s gifted, sleek 6-foot-1 junior quarterback with a pile of college offers a mountain high.

Roman coach Rick Prete sent his quarterback out with 8:32 to play Friday night in front of a packed house at Malvern Prep with a simple directive— “Go have some fun.”

Beals then proceeded to call every play of a 65-yard, 3-minute and 16-second drive that took 10 plays and wound up in Rayshawn Scott’s hands in the corner of the end zone with 5:16 to play.

The Roman defense held, and the Cahillites remained undefeated with their 21-17 comeback victory over a very good Malvern Prep team. This is turning into a very special season for Beals, Prete and the rest of the Roman Catholic football program.

The Cahillites are now 4-0 and rising to be one of the state’s best PIAA Class 5A teams.

What is more, Roman is doing it in all phases of the game.

Offensively, Beals is an unstoppable show. He finished completing 25 of 43 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns, against one interception. He got some help from senior tailback Xavier Kincade, who rushed for 108 yards on 22 carries.

Defensively, Roman could point to several stalwarts, from Duke-bound senior linebacker William Felder to a hidden gem, 5-10, 170-pound junior defensive back Eyan Stead, who caught five passes for a game-high 102 yards receiving, had an interception, and each time it appeared Malvern was mounting some momentum, it was Stead who came up with several jarring tackles for losses. Then there was senior defensive back Louis Gaddy, who sealed the win with an interception in the corner of the end zone with 2:46 to play.

On special teams, tiny sophomore place kicker Eli Pollack has been almost automatic on extra points, and in games like the one the Cahillites won on Friday night, when every point mattered.

Roman received a little something from everyone.

But above all, it was Beals, as expected, who led the way.

“Everything is new, everything is on fly, and I felt like we had plays we could run from what I saw, so I called them at the line, something I’m allowed to do,” Beals said. “We are taking this success day-by-day. We faced a little adversity, and we came through it. I was laughing when Melvern went up. I believe in myself and my team. I knew I had this, and I knew I had to get the ball in the end zone by any means necessary.”

Stead’s 52-yard, second-quarter reception set up the first of Rayshawn Scott’s two TD receptions. In the second half, when Malvern had come back to narrow a 14-0 deficit down to 14-10, it was Stead who came up on first down plays to make big tackles for losses.

“We fought a lot of adversity, and I think we needed it, we beat a good team by coming back,” Stead said. “We didn’t panic. We work on that stuff during practice. After Malvern took the lead, I walked over to the sideline and said, ‘Maj take over.’ He is No. 1 for a reason. He called the whole (game-winning) drive. Moving forward, this says we can stay together.”

Malvern gave the Cahillites a considerable push.

Malvern’s Inter-Ac League MVP Navy-bound Andrew Pellicciotta rushed for a game-high 123 yards on seven carries and was the entire Friars’ offense in the second half, it seemed. Malvern did not get its initial first down of the second half until Pellicciotta reeled off a 51-yard run, which junior Jake Bauer later capitalized on by scoring the second of his two TDs.

Bauer, the Friars’ 6-foot-1, 220-pound junior linebacker, was exceptional. He made a team-high six tackles, scored two touchdowns and was a one-man wrecking machine.

The Friars’ problem came when they stumbled in the red zone. After an Owen Mears’ interception put Malvern at the Roman 10 late in the third quarter, the Friars looked like they were on the brink of tying the game.

Down 14-7, an errant fumble led to an eight-yard loss on a third-and-goal at the 3, placing the Friars back to the Roman 11, leaving Malvern coach Dave Gueriera no choice but to kick a field goal.

Austin Trout’s 28-yarder was true, and the Friars pulled to within 14-10. Then, late in the game, the Friars fumbled again in the red zone, on a second-and-two from the Roman 8. This time, the Friars were helped by a Roman pass interference call and Bauer scored for the second time with 8:32 to play, putting Malvern up for the first time, 17-14.

“Roman played well enough to win, but toward the end, we had an opportunity to win it and ultimately, we didn’t execute,” Gueriera said. “You have to be able to smell the end zone and execute. It’s a matter of details, the little things that need to be adhered to and they are not. Our defense played really, really well against a great offense.

“Our defense kept us in the game. We ran our stable runs, and we felt we had them tired out there a little bit. But when you are in the red zone, you have to execute.”

Roman hosts DeMatha Catholic next week. The Cahillites close the season with consecutive games against St. Joe’s Prep and La Salle. Both teams are paying a little more attention to the Cahillites.

“This is a great win for the program because you are playing a great program like Malvern,” said Prete, who saw St. John’s College (DC) score first as the only other time Roman trailed this season. “Semaj has made tremendous strides, but this was a total team win, because the whole team played well. We know playing against great teams you get better.

“Eyan Stead I think is the best two-way player in Pennsylvania. People are going to find out about him. Felder is going to Duke for a reason, and is an outstanding player and leader.

“I told Semaj before he left the sideline (for the game-winning drive), ‘Go have some fun.’ He told me, ‘I got you.’”

If the Cahillites keep rolling like this, they will get their first PIAA Class 5A state championship in December.

Scoring Summary

Roman Catholic (4-0) 7 7 0 7-21

Malvern Prep (1-2) 0 7 3 7-17

1st Quarter

RC – Eisa Nealy 3 pass from Semaj Beals (Eli Pollack kick), 8:22

2nd Quarter

RC – Rayshawn Scott 6 pass from Beals (Pollack kick), 7:16

MP – Jake Bauer 2 run (Austin Trout kick), 2:02

3rd Quarter

MP – Trout 28 FG, 4:11

4th Quarter

MP – Bauer 2 run (Trout kick), 8:32

RC – Scott 7 pass from Semaj Beals (Pollack kick), 5:16

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter @JSantoliquito.

Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball

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