Hawks Stave Off Malvern Prep; Holden Notches Win in First Start
Tagged under: District 12, Gameday Hub, Non-PIAA, pfn
Cody Brady | September 20, 2026
It’s not the script that St. Joseph’s Prep had in mind entering their week 4 matchup against Malvern Prep. Maxwell Rogers, sidelined due to an injury, gave way to Nickee Holden for his first varsity start at the QB position. With the run game heavily contained, it was his 38-yard completion to Jett Harrison in a short scoring drive in the third quarter that put the Hawks on their way to a 12-7 victory.
Scoring, as you can tell from the final score, was at a premium, due to a combined 22 enforced penalties and six combined turnovers. The first of those turnovers came as the Hawks came knocking on their first drive. Nickee Holden had led his squad down the field, connecting with Jett Harrison for 23 yards to near the Malvern Prep red zone. On 3rd & Goal from the 7, he fired to the end zone where the ball was intercepted by Jack Schuster.
The interception was great for for the Friars, but the field position at their own 1 was not. After being forced to punt, the Hawks took over in plus territory at the Malvern 48.
But Malvern Prep stood strong and persevered. George Parkinson IV, who buzzed around the field all night, brought Holden down in the backfield. That came after the Hawks had converted a 4th & 5 on a 10-yard gainer to Abdul Burgess. St. Joe’s was ultimately forced to try the 40-yard field goal. Colin Stoner got the kick to go for a 3-0 lead with 10:06 to go in the opening half.
On Malvern Prep’s ensuing drive, Tyjon Hamilton stepped in front of a ball intended for Luke Leam. After just three plays, the Friars defense was back out on the field with their backs against the wall. The Hawks took over on the Friars 27 but were stuffed from there. Colin Stoner booted a 44-yard field goal to increase the Hawks’ lead to 6-0 with 6:42 to go before halftime.
Brayden Fallon then engineered a lengthy drive. In 11 plays, the Friars covered 80 yards, including a Fallon 23-yard scramble. Fallon used his legs all night to weave in and out of trouble in the backfield and pickup nice gains when his receivers were covered. Howver, on a 3rd & 10 call from the Hawks 21, the pass intended for Cade Cooper ticked off his hands and into the awaiting arms of Dariel Jaquez.
Fortunately for the Friars, Parkinson continued his awesome defensive night, strip sacking Holden five plays later to keep the halftime deficit at 6-0. Naim Hammond also kept the pressure on, sacking Holden for a loss of seven.
The Friars got the ball first in the third quarter, but penalties and bad bounces started to mount against them. After a deep ball was nearly Hamilton’s second pick of the night, Malvern had to punt the ball away. A holding call forced them to re-kick. This time, the punt was much shorter and took an incredible St. Joe’s bounce backwards to the Friars 44, netting just 13 yards. For the third time on the evening, SJP started in plus territory.
The Hawks did not let this opportunity slip away. Nickee Holden made a great throw in single coverage, completing the 39-yard pass to Jett Harrison, barely beating out Jack Schuster. From there, Ameen Williams took it the final five yards up the gut for the two-score lead. With 8:11 to go in the third, St. Joe’s led 12-0.
— LSV Sports (@LSVSports) September 20, 2026
The Friars desperately needed a response. And they had one. Aided by a Hawks personal foul, Malvern Prep marched from their own 25 to the SJP 25 in six plays. Then, as he continued to do, Fallon kept a play alive, eventually taking off up the middle and going 25 yards to the house. Momentum seemed to be all in favor of Malvern Prep, now trailing 12-7.
Brayden Fallon 25yd TD!
414 q3 Malvern Prep trails 12 7@braydenfallon24 @MalvernPrepFB @PaFootballNews pic.twitter.com/Wl9nUVAsAw— LSV Sports (@LSVSports) September 20, 2026
The Malvern defense was doing everything right when another bizarre bounce went against them. The ball came loose in the backfield on a strip sack of Holden. However, the ball bounced into the hands of Cayden Ohler, who ran it ahead 20 yards down to the Friars 30. Holden took a shot into the end zone for Harrison, trying to kill off any and all Friars momentum. However, Cooper got the height and Harrison slipped, allowing Cooper to come down with the pick.
With the ball back and 11:54 to play, the Friars controlled the ball for the next 7:30. The drive lasted 11 plays, but was marred by back to back holding calls that led to a 1st & 30 situation. Earlier in the drive, St. Joe’s roughed the kicker, giving Malvern second life. But that was snuffed out on a 4th & 3 call where Julius Riddick was stopped short.
The Friars had one more chance, getting the ball back with 42 seconds left. A 31-yard completion to Cooper put Malvern across midfield. However, Fallon had his bell rung as time dwindled. His head appeared to bounce off the turf. Kayden Wallace was called on for the final play. He, too, was hit in the backfield, ending the ballgame and preserving the Hawks victory.
St. Joseph’s Prep(2-1) will now enjoy a bye week before opening league play at Cardinal O’Hara in two weeks. The loss marked the second straight one-score defeat suffered by Malvern Prep. The Friars host Our Lady of Good Council(MD) next week.
St. Joseph’s Prep 12, Malvern Prep 7
Score by Quarters
Malvern Prep – 0 0 7 0 – 7
St. Joseph’s Prep – 0 6 6 0 – 12
Scoring Summary
Second Quarter
SJP – Colin Stoner 40-yd field goal, 10:06 8-26
SJP – Colin Stoner 44-yd field goal, 6:42 4-2
Third Quarter
SJP – Ameen Williams 5-yd run(Stoner kick failed), 8:11 2-44
MP – Brayden Fallon 25-yd run, 4:14 7-75
Passing: SJP – Holden 14-16-155-0-2; MP – Fallon 17-24-157-0-2
Rushing: SJP – Williams 11-12-1, Dairsow 5-12, Holden 3-(-8), Ohler 1-19; MP – Riddick 11-16, Fallon 11-51-1
Receiving: SJP – Harrison 9-119, Wilson 3-17, Burgess 2-19; MP – Smith 3-21, Cooper 5-72, Riddick 1-(-3), Schuster 1-15, Hammond 3-24, Sindoni 2-16, Fett 2-12
INTs: SJP – Hamilton , Jaquez MP – Schuster, Cooper
