The difference, after Billy "Moose" Ford's 50-yard pass to Ryan Ammerman put the Friars ahead by 27-14 early in the fourth quarter, was Kabir Basil's block of Jonathan Dollfus' extra-point try.
"We were stressed there for a while, but I was confident we would come back," said Logan, a 6-foot-4, 335-pound right tackle.
In the second half, slashing and darting behind Logan and company, sophomore tailback Dimetri Kelly totaled 137 yards on 10 carries. His fourth-quarter scores covered 27 and 56 yards. On the latter, he broke at least two tackles.
"He's just a great running back," said Logan, a 17-year-old from Port Richmond. "I don't really know how much we had to do with what he did out there. He was carrying dudes on his back."
Kelly, who also scored in the first quarter on a 5-yard burst around left end, finished with 159 yards on 16 carries.
Roman managed 162 of its 265 rushing yards after intermission. In addition to Logan, who can bench-press 305 pounds, the line included center Mike Joyce, guards Frank Remolde and Collin Shields, left tackle Steve Henry, and tight end Phil Forrence.
"Malvern wasn't really giving up anything on the pass," said Cahillites senior quarterback Mike Keir, who hit on 9 of 18 passes for 137 yards. "Our running game had to be on point."
In taking a 14-7 lead at halftime, the Friars' wing-T attack, spurred by Ford and halfback Eric Purnell, posted 111 rushing and 101 passing yards.
In the third quarter, after Malik Jones' 91-yard kickoff return evened things, Purnell, on a left-side pitch, went 10 yards to put the defending Inter-Ac League champions back in front.
"They're a very difficult team to prepare for," Roman coach Joe McCourt said. "They run the wing-T like they invented it."
Ford, showing poise in the pocket, completed 11 of 19 passes for 202 yards. On the ground, Malvern gained 196 yards on 34 attempts.
"I'll find a lot of positives from the game," Friars coach Kevin Pellegrini said, "but we need to fix the negatives."
Malvern Prep 7 7 7 6 – 27
Roman Catholic 7 0 7 14 – 28
MP: Bohs 10 run (Dollfus kick)
RC: D. Kelly 5 run (Isaac kick)
MP: Purnell 17 run (Dollfus kick)
RC: Jones 91 kickoff return (Isaac kick)
MP: Purnell 10 run (Dollfus kick)
MP: Ammerman 20 pass from Ford (kick blocked)
RC: D. Kelly 27 run (Isaac kick)
RC: D. Kelly 56 run (Isaac kick)
Contact Rick O'Brien at 610-313-8019, robrien@phillynews.com, or @ozoneinq on Twitter. Read his blog, "The O'Zone," at www.philly.com/ozone
