Malvern Prep Defense Forces Five Turnovers in Victory Over Hun School
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Willie McGonigle | September 30, 2023
MALVERN: With the weather forecast calling for rain on Friday Night Malven Prep Head Coach Dave Gueriera knew taking care of the ball and forcing turnovers while taking care of the ball themselves would be huge in their non-league against undefeated Hun School from Princeton NJ. Fortunately for Gueriera his defense forced five turnovers, had a monumental goal stand has Friars down the Raiders 17-7.
“Defensively we stood on our head again today.” Gueriera said of his defenses effort.
On the Raiders first offensive possession the marched right down the field on the Friars’ defense reaching the one yard before the Friars tighten up and kept the Raiders off the scoreboard. It was Philip Tabasso and Peter Jones who teamed up and brought Chase Enlow down in the backfield on the fourth and goal play.
“That goal line stand was probably a huge turning point in this whole game it was early in the game but it gave us confidence.” Gueriera said adding that “We got some hungry dogs here and when they made that stand they knew that this was a ball game.”
It was the Friars’ second turnover of the game an interception of Miles O’Neil by Jake Bauer that set up the game’s first points a 28-yard field goal by Jake Ploszay that gave the Friars the 3-0 lead after one.
The lone Raider score of the game when Liam Thorpe intercepted Skylar Smith and returned it 61 yards to the endzone to put the Raiders’ up 7-3 heading into halftime.
On the Raiders’ first two possessions of the second half Bernard Blakey and Owen Mears came up with fumble recoveries for the Friars and after Mears’s fumble recovery, the Friars took the lead with an eight-play 43-yard drive that was capped with a one-yard touchdown run by Bauer.
On the ensuing Raiders’ drive, they drove down to the Friar 16-yard line before the Friars defense tightened up forcing a 39-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide left. On the very next play from scrimmage, Andrew Pellicciotta broke several Raider tackles and raced 74 yards down to the Raiders’ six-yard line where on the very next play Bauer capped the scoring with his touchdown run.
With the win, the Friars close out the non-league portion of their schedule with a record of 4-1 with their lone loss coming to Imhotep. They will enjoy a bye week before their Inter Ac League schedule begins with a showdown with Episcopal Academy
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