[tps_title]Bonner-Prendergast Friars [/tps_title]
O’Hara wide receiver Justin Santilla catches a pass behind Bonner defensive back Brandon Bettole during the first quarter at Cardinal O’Hara High School. (Special to the Times / ERIC HARTLINE)
Killian helping to keep Friars perfectly in tune
UPPER DARBY >> Wherever the football season pushes Bonner-Prendergast, no matter what the stakes, no matter how bright the lights, coach Jack Muldoon will know Michael Killian will not be intimidated by the situation … or by the size of the stage.
As a rugby player of some accomplishment, Killian gladly will accept any physical challenges as he moves this season from right offensive tackle to left. And as a high-level musician who can be found performing at Bonner-Prendie events from school musicals to Masses, he likely will hit every right note.
“He’s just a really talented kid,” Muldoon said. “Very smart. National Honor Society. And a really solid, tough kid, too.” 
While Killian is a noted battler – that would be him shoving opponents around during Bonner’s club-level rugby matches – he is also a serious performer. He first walked up to a piano in the fourth grade and soon started playing … and without taking a lesson. Then he picked up a saxophone, a guitar, some drumsticks and a passion for playing something other than sports.
How?
“It just kind of comes to me,” he said. “You listen to something and you just figure it out by yourself. It’s just the way it works.”
For some, evidently, it does. For the same reason, he accepted the challenge of learning rugby.
“My mom, Martina, is from Ireland,” Killian said. “She came here in her twenties. So I had heard of rugby. Then I found out in my freshman year that we had a rugby team and it was a club sport. So I wanted to try out. It was either that or lacrosse. I loved it.”
Killian played as a freshman, then had a concussion as a sophomore, but played rugby as a junior and will play it as a senior.
“It’s great,” he said. “It is an intense sport. No pads. High intensity. No breaks. There is something about having no pads, but I feel like I hit harder in rugby than I do in football. I think I might have a better shot at rugby. I am looking to play D-3 or D-2 in football. But if not, some schools do offer rugby scholarships. You’ve got to find them. That’s the hard part.”
Until then, there will be the challenge of putting his rugby skills to use protecting Shon Nelson, the Bonner junior ready to start for the first time at quarterback. Sufficiently protected, Nelson should often connect with Kyrin Jackson, a wide receiver who can be one of the best players in the Catholic League, according to Muldoon.
Still staggered from not having a freshman team for two years, Bonner-Prendie will not be deep. But linebacker David McMullen and nose tackle Gerald Smith will provide sturdy defense, with senior defensive back Ryan Beck and Jackson adding stability in the secondary. Senior Bill McGoldrick will run the ball, Muldoon will know that his freshman team is deep in long-term promise, and the Friars will look to improve on a 4-7 season that ended with a postseason loss to Cardinal O’Hara.
“I’m expecting a great year,” Killian said. “If we all work together and listen, I think we are going to be a great team this year.”
If so, that will be him, belting out the celebratory tunes.
“I love football, and I love the musicals as well,” he said, smiling and referencing a ‘High School Musical’ character. “I am kind of the Troy Bolton of Bonner right now. I love being up on stage. But there is nothing as thrilling as being on the football field.”
COMING AND GOING
According to Muldoon, Bonner-Prendie lost nine transfers since last season, for various reasons. But the Friars also picked up a good one in junior running back and defensive back Nasim Cooper from Cardinal O’Hara.
“He’s going to help us,” Muldoon said.
READY FOR THE CHALLENGE
Bonner-Prendie will trust a first-year quarterback in junior Shon Nelson.
“We’ll do a lot to help Shon out,” Muldoon said. “He’s coming along. He’s working real hard. We’ll have to take care of him.”
PROVIDING A LIFT
Junior guard and nose tackle Gerald Smith is 5-8, 190 pounds and can dead-lift 480 pounds, Muldoon said.
“He is freakish in the weight room,” said the Friars’ coach.
MODEST HOPES
Muldoon: “I’m hoping we will be in the middle of the pack and get a chance to go head-to-head with O’Hara and see if we can win in the 4-A. The kids know that’s our goal, to win the Catholic League. I don’t think about state championships and things like that yet. Our goal is to win the Philadelphia Catholic League. That’s our goal.”
By Jack McCaffery; jmccaffery@21st-centurymedia.com
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