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Haverford >> In a hard-hitting contest that included six turnovers, Malvern Prep defeated host Haverford School, 24-6, Saturday. The Friars (6-1 overall, 2-0 Inter-Ac) forced two fumbles that led to Malvern touchdowns and grabbed two interceptions against the Fords (3-4, 1-1).
“This was a game we had circled for a year,” said Malvern Prep head coach Dave Gueriera. “We couldn’t wait to get back here because our (6-0) loss to them last year ruined our chances of an Inter-Ac championship. We’ve been training for it, and thinking about it, for 365 days, so to come out here and play as well as we did was great. Haverford is a good team.
“I think we played a complete game. We ran the ball really well, and we made plays when we had to make them. Defensively, we were stout, and on special teams, Jack Ploszay kicked a 77-yard punt.”
Late in the first quarter, Malvern Prep put together a 10-play, 76-yard touchdown drive, culminating when junior back Andrew Pellicciotta scored on a 26-yard run down the left side to give the visitors a 7-0 lead.
Early in the second quarter, a 19-yard pass from Malvern sophomore quarterback Jackson Melconian to junior wide receiver Zade Johnson helped set up a 34-yard field goal by Ploszay that gave the Friars a 10-0 lead with 7:58 left before halftime.
Just four plays later, a Haverford fumble was recovered by Malvern at the Fords 35 yard line. Three plays later, Pellicciotta did some nifty broken-field running for a 32-yard touchdown that gave Malvern a 17-0 lead.
“Andrew is such a special player,” said Gueriera. “He does stuff out here that amazes us when we watch it. But he couldn’t be more of a humble kid. He plays pretty much 90 percent of our snaps, both sides of the ball, and he’s a special player.”
Malvern Prep junior linebacker Jake Bauer, who leads the Friars in tackles, said, “Andrew’s second touchdown kind of got us going. After that we were ready to go.”
A smiling Pellicciotta said, “It was a little bit of a broken play, but everything fell into place, and everyone did their job, and it worked out.”
Late in the third quarter, a Ford fumble was recovered by Malvern at midfield. Three plays later, Melconian scrambled to the left for a 45-yard gain down to the Haverford 6 yard line, and on second-and-goal, Bauer carried the ball from the 3 yard line and burst into the end zone to give the visitors a 24-0 lead.
Midway through the fourth quarter, the Fords scored on a 12-play, 65-yard touchdown drive that consisted of several pass completions from senior quarterback Connor Scanlan and solid running gains from senior running back Matt Brosko and sophomore RB Jaidyn Rivera. When Rivera grabbed a 9-yard touchdown pass from Scanlan, it cut Malvern’s lead to 24-6 with 8:59 left.
A Malvern fumble gave the ball back to the Fords at the Friars’ 23 yard line. The hosts moved the ball all the way to the Malvern 7 yard line before Friar senior outside linebacker Chris Lake picked off a pass in the end zone on first-and-goal.
Lake said, “We were in a goal-line defense, I was anticipating the corner, and I kind of jumped it a little bit, luckily I got in front of it and made the play. We prepared on defense all week for Haverford, and Coach Carr (defensive coordinator Joe Carr) really helped us out.”
Pellicciotta said, “Our defensive coordinator (Carr) really knows what he’s doing; he coaches us up so well in practice, and the scout team during the week of practice gives us a great look, so we’re always prepared for the matchup.”
Gueriera said, “Chris Lake has been playing really solid football all year, so it was great to see him get that (interception) at the end.”
The Malvern head coach also praised Bauer, who leads the team in tackles.
“Jake is captain of our defense and does a phenomenal job,” said Gueriera.
Haverford School head coach Brian Martin said, “Our team didn’t throw in the towel today, they kept fighting all the way through to the end. We need to continue to fight, we need to clean up our mistakes, and with one win in this league you never know what will happen, we still have a chance (at a title) so we’ll keep on fighting until the end. Hats off to Malvern, they’re a well-coached, physical team.”
After the game, the Malvern players lingered on the field for a while with the fans, savoring their victory.
Pellicciotta said, “We won it for the seniors last year who couldn’t be back here for another shot (against Haverford School). And we won it for the seniors this year, too – they’re going to have something good to talk back on when they’re older (smiles).”
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