Friars wrap up preseason; Yaahdir Nash to be 'a home run hitter'
August 31st, 2022
It was a quiet day offensively for Malvern in their preseason scrimmage against DePaul, as they dropped the contest 17-0.
The one highlight of the day was Yaahdir Nash though, as he tallied 11 rushes for a strong 52 yards on the ground.
"Yaahdi's gonna be a home run hitter for sure," Head Coach Dave Gueriera said after the loss. "He only had two series today -- we kind of wanted to limit his touches until next week. We're excited about Yaahdi."
A strong DePaul team gave Malvern plenty of trouble on offense in both the varsity half of the scrimmage (first half) and the JV half of the scrimmage (second half).
Senior quarterback Bryce Pippin was 4-of-6 through the air though was held to a total of just 12 yards while sophomore QB Skyler Smith didn't throw the ball once across his set of snaps. Freshman QB Jackson Melconian, who was taking JV reps, went 1-for-4 in the air.
"I thought Bryce and Sky' had their moments where they played really well and also had some mistakes -- which we obviously need to fix. But overall, I thought they were fine."
Despite being shut out by the Spartans, Gueriera wasn't upset with the team's performance -- saying they both showed plenty of fight in the performance.
"I loved our effort," Gueriera said. "Offensively I think we wasted a couple of plays that we should have converted in that first half, but it was a learning experience. It was a practice -- it was a great overall practice for us and we definitely got better."
Malvern's preseason is officially behind them -- as this week, which also is the first week of school, the Friars take on La Salle at Ocean City High School in New Jersey. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. ET.
"I think today was good for us -- it was a good litmus test. That's a really good football team over at DePaul," Gueriera said.
Freshmen drop season opener
On the afternoon of the preseason scrimmage, the freshmen team also took on DePaul. The Spartans handed them a 33-20 loss to open the season.
A similar feat that Malvern was challenged with earlier in the day, the Spartans defense gave the Friars plenty of trouble. Quarterbacks Brady Abate, Luke Reilly, and Dylan Colvin went a combined 3-for-12 through the air.
The two biggest highlights of the day were Daniel Riely's 90-yard touchdown run and Lucas Moore's 20-yard pick six.
Caden Chisholm had five rushes for 28 yards and a touchdown.
Quinn Riley '25
