Haverford School tops Malvern Prep, remains unbeaten
After dispatching rival Malvern Prep, 13-8, in the semifinals of the Inter-Ac Challenge on Friday night, Jake Hervada and Grant Ament strode toward a victorious Haverford School locker room clad with matching ear-to-ear grins.
After dispatching rival Malvern Prep, 13-8, in the semifinals of the Inter-Ac Challenge on Friday night, Jake Hervada and Grant Ament strode toward a victorious Haverford School locker room clad with matching ear-to-ear grins.
The beginning and middle of their conversation could not be heard. The end, however, was clear.
"We ain't done yet, though," said Hervada, just before the pair disappeared through the open door. "We ain't done yet!"
Seconds later, boisterous cheers could be heard as the door closed behind them at PPL Park. When Hervada reemerged, however, his mood seemed business up front, party in the back.
"We have two more games," said Hervada, who won Player of the Game honors for his dominance during faceoffs. "We play Hun on Monday for the championship and Culver (Ind.) on Friday. So we have to keep working hard. We've been working really hard for this."
The Fords (24-0, 10-0) are the consensus No. 1 team in the nation, a title that sounds nice, but they also want to finish undefeated. An early five-goal blitz in the first quarter helped move them one step closer.
Hervada took eight of the first 10 faceoffs from Malvern's X-man, North Carolina-bound senior Charles Kelly. By game's end, Hervada had won 15 of the 21 attempts in the X.
"I always put it into another gear playing against Malvern," he said. "It was really cool playing against all of these people in this type of game. I just zoned up, focused in, got in a groove and got it going."
In the championship game Monday against undefeated Hun School at PPL Park, Hervada's play will again be important.
And to think, competing at faceoffs was just a way to see some action.
"I just tried to play midfield when I was younger," he said. "But facing off was kind of my way to get on the field here because you have a lot of good middies here. So I didn't see a lot of playing time."
Midfielders Dox Aitken and Forry Smith scored four goals apiece for the Fords. Aitken, ranked the No. 1 junior in the country, needed just four shots.
"This was big," Hervada said. "We lost to (Malvern) three times last year, and they're pretty much our biggest rival. We've been playing really hard all season, especially against them so this was just an awesome win."
Now Hervada and the Fords are poised for perfection.
"What more can you ask for," he said. "We've been working so hard, and since we were freshmen we've been looking forward to our senior year. This is awesome."
Malvern Prep 0 2 3 3 - 8
Haverford School 5 1 3 4 - 13
MP: Quinn McCahon, Adam Goldner 2, Billy Coyle 2, Zach White 2, Drew Schantz 1.
H: Forry Smith 4, Dox Aitken 4, Grant Ament 2, Phil Poquie 2, Keyveat Postell 1.
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