Connor Martin ’14: Episcopal football faces a daunting task. Not only have the defending champions lost a significant amount of leadership and talent, many of whom are collegiate level athletes such as Inter-Ac player of the year and Penn Quaker Adam Strouss ‘13, but the team also has a bigger target on its back as opponents are more focused and determined to beat the best.
When asked about being compared to last year’s squad, Captain Evan Butts ‘14 stated, “We try not to bring up last year too much. We’ve kind of moved on and turned the page. New year, new team, new goals.”
Even though the past is simply history at this point, there’s no question that the departing seniors left a huge impact on this year’s team. Butts, who committed to the University of Virginia over the summer, reminisced on their leadership, stating, “They had a huge impact on us upperclassmen in terms of how to lead. They taught us how to consistently give it our all in practice, in the weight room, in film session, and obviously on game day.”
Episcopal Head Coach Todd Fairlie has raised the stakes even higher for the squad by scheduling tougher opponents than past years. Although EA has already triumphed over Catholic League and Class AAAA opponent Father Judge 30-22, they still have quite some work to do. Aside from the typical headline games such as Malvern and of course Haverford, EA will have a special game in the upcoming weeks versus defending Delaware state champs, Caravel Academy. This game will be broadcast live on the Comcast Network, EA’s first televised game since the 100th anniversary game against Haverford in 2011.
Similar to EA, Caravel is also coming off an undefeated year, posting a 13-0 record en-route to a division II state championship. Captain Mike Watkins ‘14 sees the tougher schedule as a plus, declaring, “It really helps for exposure of our program. Now kids who had always considered other Inter-Ac schools can see us competing at the highest level against Catholic League and state championship teams. It also helps us better prepare for a championship run in November.”
Fairlie will lean heavily on a core group of veteran players to lead the team through this treacherous journey. “In terms of filling the void of talent we lost, we feel like we still are very talented…making up for the leadership lost will take care of itself, we have a great group of seniors.” Senior tri-captains Evan Butts, Cody Russell ‘14, and Mike Watkins are joined by other returning senior starters that include Terrell Smith ‘14, Kevin Morgan ‘14, Richie Palazzese ‘14, and Anthony Feliziani ‘14. Along with a group of talented underclassmen, these leaders certainly made a statement in the first half against Father Judge. The team was firing on all cylinders, storming out to a 30-3 halftime lead. Although being outscored 19-0 in the second half, the defense had just enough energy to prevail in the waning moments. Amongst all the uncertainty as to how EA would fill some of the holes left from graduation, QB Ryan Whayland ‘15, RB Dee Barlee ‘16, and WR/DB ‘16 Christian Feliziani among others silenced some of the critics with impressive debuts. Though it may appear daunting for the team to build upon its first Inter- Ac championship since 1983, they strive to make it clear that last year was no fluke, and that they are still serious contenders.