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Malvern knocks off Western Reserve

Tagged under: Beyond The Keystone, Gameday Hub, News, Non-PIAA, pfn

| August 19, 2023

Berlin-Center – Jared Witherow accounted for four total touchdowns as Malvern upended Western Reserve 26-7 Friday night in Berlin Center.

Malvern scored on their opening possession of the season and never looked back as the Hornets took a 26-0 lead into the fourth quarter.

“Anytime you go the road start the season against a quality team like Western Reserve, you know it’s not going to be easy,” said Malvern head coach Matt Chiurco. “We’re happy to come up and get the win; there are things we need to work on – but we’re pleased to start 1-0.”

Early in the contest, the Blue Devils had the momentum as they took the opening kickoff and drove to the Hornets’ 19-yard line.

Tailback Jack Darney appeared to take a handoff 19 yards for the icebreaker – however, the play was called back for holding, and two plays later, Western Reserve turned the ball over on downs.

It was then Malvern’s turn as they drove 72 yards in seven plays, capped off with Jared Witherow’s 7-yard touchdown run with 4:40 to play in the opening quarter. The drive included a fourth down and four conversion on a pass completion from Witherow to Dylan Phillips.

 

“That was a huge sequence for us, “said Chiurco. “I thought they controlled the tempo in the first half by having the ball quite a bit. We like to get the ball and go fast, but they took us out of that in the first half – but our kids responded well, and I’m proud of that.”

Late in the first half, Jared Witherow intercepted a Luke Henning pass setting up the Hornets’ at midfield. Nine plays later, Witherow finished what he started with a 4-yard scoring run with two minutes to play in the first half.

Western Reserve fumbled the ensuing kickoff at their 31-yard line but held Hornets off the scoreboard as Malvern took a 14-0 lead into the locker room.

“A lot of teams week one would look to schedule an opponent that will be an easy win, and we wanted to challenge ourselves,” said Western Reserve head coach John Armeni. “Malvern is an exceptional football team; they were a Division 6 playoff team a year ago. We had a tough challenge in week one, we did have some success, but we shot ourselves in the foot repeatedly, and if you do that against a good football team, you won’t win.”

Malvern put the game away as the second began, scoring two touchdowns to take a 26-0 lead into the final stanza.

“To build that lead was huge when we’re playing games down the road; it’s games like this that will help us out,” Chiurco said.

The Hornets went 57 yards in five plays, with Rodney Smith hauling in a 27-yard touchdown pass from Witherow to open the third quarter.

Witherow 11-0f-18 passes for 128 yards, one touchdown, and an interception while rushing for 26 yards on 11 totes and scoring three times on the ground.

Rodney Smith, meanwhile, caught four passes for 58 yards and a touchdown to lead the Hornets’ receivers. Dylan Phillips added four catches for 54 yards. Drake Hutchison rushed for 54 yards on ten carries to lead the ground game.

The Blue Devils drove into the red zone for the second time in the game on their proceeding drive, only to see it end in the hands of Hutchison, who grabbed Malvern’s second interception of the night at their 17-yard line.

“We do kind of have that bend but don’t break mentality,” said Chiurco. “Sometimes we know we give up some yards and plays, but our kids always know when they get into the red zone, it’s time to tighten up.”

Western Reserve drove inside the Hornets’ 30-yard line four times in the game but could only muster seven points.

“You have finish drives when you have opportunities, ” Armeni said. “Early on, we saw a 14-point swing from up seven to down seven. Again, it was shooting ourselves in the foot as we negated a big play with a holding penalty – when you get those chances against good football teams, you have to score. I give them credit. They hustled and played hard tonight.”

The Hornets then drove 83 yards in eight plays as Witherow scored on a 1-yard sneak.

The Blue Devils then put their best drive together, marching 54 yards in seven plays as quarterback Luke Henning scored on a 2-yard run with 10:44 to play.

 

Henning completed 13-of-22 passes for 141 yards and two interceptions while rushing for 51 yards.

The Blue Devils would put one final drive together following a Josh Stamp interception returned to Malvern’s 49-yard line.

On a second-and-goal play from the 5-yard line, Dominic Ricciardi’s rush came up a yard short ending the contest.

Western Reserve will look to bounce next Friday night when they travel to Conneaut High School.

“Our guys fought hard to the end, and I’m proud of that,” concluded Armeni. “We need to continue to focus and clean mistakes because I believe we can be successful this year.”

Malvern will have its home opener next Friday when they host Conotton Valley.

“We played a solid football game tonight, and I’m proud of my guys,” Chiurco concluded. “Football IQ is one thing we need to improve by getting better in certain situations like on third downs, but this a great way to begin the season.”

Highlights:

Malvern 26 Western Reserve 7 

Score by Quarters

Malvern – 7 7 12 0 – 26

Western Reserve – 0 0 0 7 – 7 

Scoring Summary 

First Quarter 

M – Jared Witherow 7 yd run, (Ryan Runyon pat), 4:40 – 7-72

Second Quarter

M – Witherow 4 yd run, (Runyon pat), 2:00 – 9-50

Third Quarter

M – Rodney Smith 27 yd pass from Witherow, (rush failed), 9:16 – 5-57

M – Witherow 1 yd run, (kick blocked), 1:13 – 8-83

Fourth Quarter 

WR – Luke Henning 2 yd run, (kick good), 10:44 – 7-54

Individual Stats

Rushing: M – Witherow 11-26, Drake Hutchison 10-54, Runyon 4-42, Charles Motz 2-3, Julius Gore 2-13. Totals: 29-138. WR – Luke Henning 15-51, Dominic Ricciardi 8-23, Jack Darney 7-32. Totals: 19-58. 

Receiving: Dylan Phillips 4-54, Rodney Smith 4-58, Owen Ball 2-18, Hutchison 1-(-2). WR – Darney 5-47, Ethan Cannon 4-42, Chris Pater 4-52. 

Passing: Witherow 11-for-18, 128 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.  yards. WR – Henning 13-for-22, 141 yards, 2 INT. 

Interceptions: M – Witherow, Hutchison. WR – Josh Stamp.

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