MALVERN -- This season, expectations are no different for Malvern.
Dave Gueriera will begin his eighth season at the helm of the Friars, and he attempts for his sixth Inter-Ac title. The 37th in Malvern's history, that would be.
The season opener against La Salle is in just over a week, the fourth annual Beach Bash between the two schools down the shore at Ocean City High School. Prior to that, however, the Friars have a preseason matchup on Thursday, August 22, against DePaul Catholic HS (NJ) at home which marks the official end to training camp.
The freshman team kicks off their season at 1:00 p.m. that day before the varsity and JV team scrimmages the Spartans at 5:00 p.m. on their home turf. It's a team they've played a preseason matchup against for the past five seasons (not including 2020), flip-flopping the location every season. The varsity teams play the first half of the game and the JV teams face in the second half.
“A scrimmage like that helps us level up quicker -- whereas before we weren't getting those same looks at our defects when we faced easier opponents in the past,” said Gueriera. "They are always in the mix at the end of the season for their state championship in New Jersey. They have a lot of talent and they have great coaching, so for us, it's a great look to see where are we as a team, what things do we need to work on, and also what things are working, and what we want to build on.”
On Monday, August 26th, the regular practice schedule picks up with practice slots being as they would be on a regular school day. Two days later, class officially begins on the 28th -- before they face La Salle at Ocean City High School on the 30th to kick off the season.
~ Non-conference opponents: La Salle comes in returning a large portion of their offense, led by 6-foot-3 junior quarterback Gavin Sidwar that the Friars have faced twice now, who also committed to Rutgers this offseason, as well as three-star receiver and cornerback Julian McFadden that had 796 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2024.
The Explorers also come into next week's matchup with a new head coach in Brett Gordon, but someone who isn't exactly new to the program. Gordon graduated the high school in 1998 and went on to quarterback Villanova, before becoming the offensive coordinator of the program for 14 seasons under longtime head coach John Steinmetz -- who retired following the 2023 season.
“It's interesting because it's a whole new coaching staff -- new head coach, but he's not new to the program,” Gueriera said. “They were really young last year and they return almost all of their production on the outside similar to us. We expect La Salle to be really really good this year, they have talent all over the field, they got a great coach leading them, so it's gonna be a heck of a beach bash once again.”
Following La Salle, Malvern once again features one of the more interesting non-conference schedules. They travel to Delbarton (NJ) in Week 2 to face a team they took down 20-17 on their home turf last season, and they host their first Friday Night Lights at Quigley the following week against Roman Catholic -- who the Friars beat at home back in 2022, 10-0.
For Week 4, they once again cross the state border to face regional rival Salesianum (DE) in their brand new multi-million dollar stadium under the lights; Sallies went 12-1 last season and had 34 or more points in 11 of their 13 games. And lastly, to round out the non-conference September schedule in Week 5 -- in arguably the most scheduled game on the calendar -- Malvern travels to downtown Washington DC to take on Gonzaga Prep (DC). Gonzaga's program has breed a haul of recent NFL draft picks, including Caleb Williams, and is likely the Friars' toughest opponent on paper.
“(The non-conference schedule) is really exciting. Being an Inter-Ac school and not having the ability to have a deep playoff run into Novemeber and December, I think it's kind of the next best thing to challenge yourself as a team against some of the best programs in the tri-state area -- or at least close enough to get to on a bus,” Gueriera said. “I think it's great, we've been doing this for a long time where we've been challenging ourself in the non-conference as much as we can, and really it is to get us ready for the Inter-Ac conference schedule. We love doing it; there's nothing better than getting up to play a nationally-ranked team or a state champ.”
~ Back-to-back?: To say the Friars have expectations of an Inter-Ac title this season is an understatement, and they attempt back-to-back titles facing likely their two toughest opponents to begin the conference slate of games.
Following the bye week, they travel to Episcopal Academy on October 11 in a Friday Night Lights contest that begins 'Rac play, before hosting Haverford the following week in another Friday Night Lights matchup at Quigley, on October 18. Malvern then takes on Penn Charter for their homecoming day-game matchup (Oct. 26). After that, they travel to Germantown Academy to kick off November (2nd), and senior night is on the 8th to wrap up their 10-game campaign.
~ Position battle: Malvern's offense comes into the year with several notable things to point out, though by far the most popular one seeming to be who's going to be under center for the Friars this season.
Skyler Smith, or Jackson Melconian?
Both quarterbacks aren't strangers to position battles though. Two years ago as a sophomore, Smith beat out senior Bryce Pippin for the starting quarterback job out of camp, as Smith would get the start against La Salle Week 1. Now in a similar spot as Pippin was, Smith fights for the QB1 spot as a senior.
At the time, Pippin then quit just one game into the season not wanting to be the backup, therefore making then freshman Melconian the QB2. However, Smith went down with a wrist injury for a pair of games in the non-conference schedule, and Melconian got the job done to have the Friars remain undefeated through the non-conference that year. Then came the Inter-Ac schedule, and Smith ended up tearing his ACL in the opening matchup against Penn Charter -- once again forcing Melconian to step in. The then freshman in Melconian struggled mightily against both EA and Haverford, as the Friars finished out the 2022 Inter-Ac schedule 3-2 generating just 11 points of offense between the two losses.
Entering 2023, Smith was as a result the clear QB1. However, another injury plagued Smith as he went down in Week 6's homecoming matchup versus EA. Melconian took over, before leading the Friars to a blowout win over Haverford the next week to redeem himself. And, when Smith came back in Week 8 against Penn Charter, he wasn't exactly handed the job back -- Melconian played well enough to earn split reps with Smith instead of being demoted to the backup.
That's the way it was for the final three weeks of the 2023 season, and that's the way it currently stands. Entering Thursday's scrimmage, neither have been named the starting quarterback.
“We're not opposed to a two-quarterback system, where both play in any game,” Gueriera explained. “Both have a special set of skills, with Skyler being a dynamic athlete and Jackson Melconian being just a really good classic pocket passer. We feel like we got the best of both worlds, if either of these guys were at another high school they would be QB1, but here they're both QB1. It's probably the biggest compliment I can give them.
“The best part about them is they're really close and they push each other," the head coach added. "So, I feel like we're in a good spot there where we have two really good varsity quarterbacks.”
For Smith, being a senior, he has the security of knowing where he'll be suiting up come the fall of 2025. Smith announced his commitment to Lafayette, a D1 FCS program in the Patriot League about an hour north of Malvern, back in February.
"Skyler's biggest weakness has unfortunately been his injuries,” said Gueriera. "There's definitely been a lot of injury adversity for Skyler but I give him a lot of credit for how he's handled it, he's worked really hard to get his body back to where it was as a sophomore. He deserves a lot of credit for that ... When you come to a place like Malvern, you're gonna get a lot of qualified quarterbacks and athletes, and it's no different here at Malvern," Gueriera remarked. "It's gonna be a microcosm for (Skyler) at college, he will be in a battle pretty much when he gets there as a freshman.”
~ The rest of the offense: The biggest question for most, aside from the quarterback controversy, is the offensive line. Coach Jeff Carroll's line only returns one starter from last season in senior Orazio Nastase, as all four starters last season went on to play college ball -- three of which at the D1 level.
The starting line taking over though is pretty set in stone, as with Nastase at center, to his very left and right at the guard spots will be sophomore Brian "Bus" Johnson and senior Anthony Addis. Johnson received time at the JV level as a freshman last season while Addis started on the punt team. Senior Jake Frank will also be rotating in at Johnson's guard spot.
At left tackle its junior Bryce Willey, who was a backup last season, and senior Luke O'Hair at right tackle -- O'Hair received meaningful snaps on the defensive line last season and looks to contribute on both sides of the ball in 2024.
“We were senior-heavy last year on the line,” said Gueriera. “I'm really impressed and proud of how hard the returning offensive lineman have worked since December. Our Strength Coach Erik Miller put them through a great winter program, and so our offensive line is strong -- they just lack experience at the moment and they're not really game-tested. They're gonna have to level up quickly and that's why going up against a team like DePaul is great, they have a couple D-Linemen heading to FBS schools. I feel good about where we are right now.”
When your senior class is fairly offensive line heavy though, you don't end up losing much at your skill positions. Junior tailback Zeke Bates who had eight touchdowns/461 rushing yards on 83 carries in 2023 seeks to have another strong year as now an upperclassman, and senior halfback Chris Smith also returns who picked up 274 yards on 66 carries.
At receiver the team returns senior Colgate commit PJ Holmes and senior Luke Hardy -- who had over 200 yards receiving including an 80-yard performance against Delbarton, and there's sophomore Cade Cooper, who's received plenty of Power-4 interest after seeing meaningful snaps in 2023 as a freshman, as well as senior Ian Files. While he's more of a defensive back, senior Zade Smith-Johnson who committed to Air Force this offseason is also featured in the passing game. Tight end features senior Ben Kumpon and Pheonixville transfer in junior Jackson Ford, who's also picked up plenty of Power-4 interest thus far and will be a force on the defensive line as well.
Then of course, the 2023 Inter-Ac MVP in Andrew Pellicciotta, who recently committed to Navy. Pellicciotta was used as a slot receiver by the Friars, also picking up plenty of jet sweep runs and was used dynamically in wildcat packages as well. He had 63 rushes for 656 yards on the ground while through the air he picked up 20 catches and 261 yards, totalling nine touchdowns. Oh, and that's just on the offensive side of the ball.
How about the defense?: Malvern comes into this year with arguably the best DLine in the state, seeing the overall defense gain much more than they lost.
The Friars picked up two key additions through the "transfer portal" this offseason for the defensive line, as they get back the well-known four-star junior Cam Brickle that's racked up his fair share of offers at his 6-foot-3, 295 frame; after his freshman year at Malvern, Brickle spent 2023 at Santa Margarita in California before transferring back to Malvern. "We're all excited to have Cam back home at Malvern. He is back home,” Gueriera commented.
The junior transfer in Ford pairs up with equally tall 6-foot-5 senior Bernard Blakey -- both Power-4 names -- as edge rushers. Alongside Brickle, defensive tackle will see several names already mentioned from the offensive line rotated through.
“Coach Carr is really excited about his defensive line,” said Gueriera. "We have four or five guys on that defensive line that can play at a really high level. They got motors and they're strong. It's been not a lot of fun for the offense this summer running against those guys but I'm excited that they're on our side.”
Pellicciotta hawkeyes things at safety, while the defense did lose both Chris Lake (Coastal Carolina) at outside linebacker and cornerback Peri DiBartolomeo (Penn State lacrosse). Replacing DiBartolomeo has been a battle this offseason of the senior Files and junior Trey Gibson, while Max Mohring received a number of meaningful snaps as a sophomore in 2023 and takes over Lake's spot; "Max is a high-level potential guy who's had a good camp so far, I feel like he'll do a good job replacing Lake," said Gueriera.
The defense retains a key part in corner Smith-Johnson, an Air Force commit, while linebacker is a stacked position for the Friars; three out of the team's four captains are at the position. A headline of this defense is Navy commit Jake Bauer, someone who led the defense last year with a team-high 90 tackles and tied-for-best three interceptions. And the one tying him for three interceptions was Duke Lacrosse commit and fellow captain, senior Owen Mears -- whose highlight of the 2023 season was the game-saving pick six in the Inter-Ac Champoionship against Springside Chestnut Hill. The senior Kumpon joins the two as captain while junior linebacker Joe Rosano also looks to have an improved role in 2024.
~ A hole to fill: With Jack Ploszay leaving to kick/punt for Wake Forest, it leaves a hole that was safely secured for two seasons. The Friars have a ton of depth in the kicking room, but who will be the one to kick?
See, it gets interesting here. The Friars received the transfer of the junior leg in Ian Gopez from Haverford, but Gopez is transferring in for this upcoming school year instead of transferring in halfway through last, like Brickle and Ford did so. The Inter-Ac prevents transfers from playing, so Gopez can likely only suit up for non-conference games -- whereas Brickle and Ford transferred in last winter to get around the rule.
“Our kicking situation has ben interesting to watch unfold this preseason," Gueriera commented.
So, that leaves several names in the kicking department for Inter-Ac play. Senior St. Bonaventure lacrosse commit Nino Sindoni returns to the football team this season in a punting capacity after a year away from things, while senior Austin Trout remains on the team as a kicker, who to Gueriera's credit "has worked very hard this offseason to improve his kicking and kickoffs.” Senior Chase Ecker also joined the team this year with a soccer background to kick.
~ Captains named: Four captains were selected by both the players and staff ahead of Thursday's preseason matchup against DePaul in Kumpon, Mears, Bauer, and Pellicciotta.
Gueriera says he likes to wait until the first preseason game to choose captains in order to invoke leadership from the entire senior class through the offseason and training camp.
“I'm just excited to get going with these guys led by a great group of seniors. Each year, your team is a new team. It may have some of if not a lot of the same players but new senior class means a new identity. Can't wait to see kind of how the season develops and what the identity of this team is.”
With an entire team and staff having voted on them, Gueriera is confident in this year's group of captains.
“It’s a testament to their hard work and dedication to your teammates and the program. With this election, comes great responsibility. I am confident that this group will be a strong unit.”
~ Too long, I didn't read:
~ Malvern hosts DePaul Catholic (NJ) at 5PM Thursday in a preseason tuneup
~ We still don't know who's QB1 between Skyler Smith and Jackson Melconian yet
~ Captains were named: Ben Kumpon, Jake Bauer, Andrew Pellicciotta, Owen Mears
~ Defensive line could be the best in the state with addition of two new transfers, while skill positions retain most of last year's production; new offensive line has been set
~ Malvern has intriguing non-conference schedule starting with Beach Bash on Aug 30th
Quinn Riley '25