Muldoon disappointed after Bonner & Prendergast’s latest loss

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BRISTOL TWP. — No one clocked Jack Muldoon’s postgame talk with his Bonner-Prendergast players. No one needed to. In less than a minute, the Friars coach assessed them, lauded the play of most, told them to keep their heads up, and then dispatched them.

Muldoon figured he didn’t need to tongue-lash them. Saturday night’s final score was enough of a wound for one night.

Bonner-Prendergast dropped its fourth consecutive game, falling to Conwell-Egan Catholic, 55-6, at Harry S Truman High School. The Friars amassed only 58 yards of total offense, failing to secure a first down until the midpoint of the second quarter. Their only touchdown came via broken play, with tight end James Welde pouncing on a loose ball after quarterback Kyle Lazer had fumbled it into the end zone.

Defensively for the Friars, it was worse. Conwell-Egan racked up 448 yards rushing on 47 carries, including 209 from Boston College commit Patrick Garwo.

The lopsided numbers tell one story. Muldoon saw another.

“To be honest, and I’m not pulling punches here, there were some guys who didn’t play. We had a couple guys who quit,” Muldoon said. “We haven’t had that happen yet until tonight. … It’s unacceptable.”

Bonner-Prendergast (2-5, 0-4 Catholic League Blue) did its best to slow down Conwell-Egan (7-0, 4-0), and looked surprisingly strong in the early going. The Friars ended the Eagles’ first two drives with turnovers – a fumble recovery by linebacker Derrick Jackson and an interception by defensive tackle Chilekasi Adele.

But the Friars’ first-quarter drive chart, featuring four punts, was not impressive.

Garwo had three first-half touchdown runs, including scores of 50 and 80 yards. Garwo went untouched on that latter sprint, from a pitch by quarterback Alex Goldsby to the right.

“My line did a great job, and I trusted the speed of my blockers out in front, which allowed me to cross the field and take it the rest of the way,” said Garwo.

Adele’s interception provided a rare bright spot for Bonner-Prendergast, as were his three tackles for loss.

“I wish I could’ve run (the interception) back for a touchdown, but hey – it’s my first one. I’ll take it,” Adele said.

The junior is a two-year starter. Last season was Adele’s first in organized football. The Aldan native, following the encouragement of a friend in eighth grade, decided he’d try out for the Bonner-Prendergast team as a freshman. (The freshmen team didn’t play in 2016.) So the 6-foot, 260-pound Adele committed himself to other areas of development.

“Just try to go into the building, get good grades, and give back to the community as much as you’ve gotten from it,” he said.

From there, Adele has demonstrated the kind of skill that Muldoon and his coaching staff praise.

“Chile’s technique and his hands have gotten better. He finishes plays better,” Muldoon said. “He’s understanding how to get his eyes up and find a ballcarrier, and then tackle him. We probably shouldn’t have played as much as he did last year, but it helped him.

“If he keeps progressing the way he did from last year to this year? I think we’ve got ourselves a heck of a football player.”

Said Adele: “It’s important to watch, from my first year to now and even after games like this, what I did and what I did poorly to try to make yourself better. We’ll get there.”

Christopher A. Vito

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