POST SEASON RECOGNITION

ALL INTER-AC OFFENSE

Mike Riordan OL, Wally Shields RB

All INTER-AC DEFENSE

Bob Carey DE, Herb Beck DL, Dan Riordan DL, Joe Rosati DB

Honorable Mention

Joe Sheridan QB, Roddy Walsh TE, Mike Lynch OL, Kevin McMahon OL, Butch Bennett DL, Norm Kronmiller DB

** MIKE CAPPELLETTI- LEAGUE MVP **

MAIN LINE TIMES ALLSTAR FOOTBALL TEAM

Wally Shields RB, Mike Cappelletti RB, Bob Carey OL, Kevin McMahon OL

BULLETIN ALL-CITY FOOTBALL TEAM

1st Team

Bob Carey OL

2nd Team

Wally Shields RB, Mike Cappelletti LB,

Honorable Mention

Mike Riordan OL, Herb Beck DL, Dan Riordan DL, Joe Rosati DB

INTER-AC NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION AND HALL OF FAME SCHOLAR ATHLETE

Mike Riordan

All DECADE ALL INTER-AC 1970-1979

Players who started on the 1972 team

Bob Carey OL, Wally Shields RB, Herb Beck DL, Dan Riordan DL, Joe Rosati DB

BACKGROUND

I have a phrase I use with my children. When I start a sentence with “back in the day” they roll their eyes and they know I am going to tell them something from long ago. Well, the 1972, 1974, and 1975 teams, led by Jack “Shark” McGuinn were “back in the day”. If you are counting, it is half a century. I think that all of the guys on these teams qualify today as OLD. There was some good football, great players and some great teams at MP before Gamp etched his legendary career into the Friar football record books. Like today, these teams sent players to Brown, Penn, Penn State, Delaware, Princeton, Miami, Georgia, Lafayette and many other notable colleges. In the 1970s the coverage of high school football was not even close to what it is today. Yardage and stats for these years will not be as complete as I was able to dig up for the Gamp years. Ted Silary (www.tedsilary.com) started his team pages in 2000 and I am grateful to have been able to lean on his wealth of information to write the previously posted undefeated tributes currently on Carey’s Corner. For the three Shark teams I am flying solo and will give it my best shot.

To set the stage for these three teams there needs to be a starting point, so here goes. Malvern joined the Inter-Ac in 1950 and over the early years had some mixed success, some winning years and some losing years. In the 19 years up until 1969 MP had only shared 2 IA titles, in 1959 and 1962. The Malvern football team never had an undefeated season in the Inter-Ac. The co-titles were under the great Mike Mayock, Sr. I had the distinct honor to know Mr. Mayock and played against his son Mike,Jr. who attended Haverford School. Mr. Mayock was a great guy. He was a true gentleman and ambassador of the Inter-Ac. He later went on to win back to back titles at Haverford School in 1970 and 1971. In my opinion, his two teams rank up there as two of the best in the annals of IA football. Mr. Mayock also had the pleasure of watching his grandson Mike, play for Gamp on the 2008 undefeated team. Rest in peace Mr. Mayock, an IA legend.

In 1969 Malvern hired a young, brash Jack “Shark” McGuinn to lead a football turn around on Warren Avenue. Shark had come from the CYO and St. Dot’s in Drexel Hill and had posted a record of 44-1 over his previous years at the helm. In the two years prior to his coming to Malvern the football team was 2-13 overall and winless in the Inter-Ac. Shark took his 1st team within a first down versus GA of winning an outright title (the missed 1st down measurement at GA is a story unto itself). Playing many freshmen and sophomores, Jack was laying the groundwork for future success and that groundwork would take 4 years to fully pay off. Haverford School made sure they got in the way in 1970 and 1971. The Fords went 16-0 in those two years.

It was up to the 1972 team to put their name and their team in the MP football record books.

COPIED FROM THE 1973 YEARBOOK

When Malvern’s football team began practice in early September, they decided that this season would be a part of Malvern history. Because of this juggernaut of determination, the 1972 Friars wrested their first Inter-Ac football championship and became the first undefeated team since 1946 ( a future Careys Corners tribute).

The phenomenal success of the team can be attributed to the fine quality of players. Senior stars Mike Cappelletti, Bob Carey and Mike Riordan, and Junior Wally Shields were the leaders of an already impressive squad. And like every great team, the Friars had a rugged backbone of players who doggedly fought in every play to do their best for Malvern- particularly seniors Jay Calhoun, Roddy Walsh, John Carullo and Kutter McMahon.

The most important game of the year was played early in the season against Germantown Academy. Most people picked this to be the game that would decide the Inter-Ac title. For the seniors it was an ignominious reminder of the time four years ago when Germantown won the game and the title had to be shared. However, four long years of frustration came to an end, for there was to be no title sharing this season. A crucial fumble in the last quarter gave the Friars the ball inside the opponents five yard line, and the ensuing score sealed the Friars come from behind victory.

This year Malvern could boast of its large contribution to the ranks of the All Inter-Ac team. Mike Cappelletti, who was voted the league’s most valuable player, headed the group which included the two Riordan behemoths, Mike and Dan, Bob Carey, Wally Shields, Herbie Beck and Joe Rosati.

There was jubilation at Malvern Prep this year for the outstanding accomplishments of this magnificent team. But this only goes to show that whenever talent and determination combine in a group of athletes, there is no possible way to stop them.

DEFENSIVE NOTES OF INTEREST

The yearbook stated that “there was no possible way to stop them.” I would like to flip that a bit and say, this defense stopped everyone.

It would not be a championship Malvern team if we didn’t talk about defense, defense, defense. This team certainly played defense, only giving up 29 points on the year- 2 rushing TDs, 1 pass, 1 KOR, 1FG and 2 extra points. That is all she wrote folks. The Friars gave up 23 of the 29 in the first 4 and only 6 points the rest of the way. The 1972 team is in the MP record books for least points allowed with a meager 3.6 a game. A very predictable rule in football is the other team cannot win if they cannot score. If you post 4 shutouts and the most a team could score against you all year is 10 points, I am predicting that you will probably win a lot of football games. This team did just that. When you had the big beef up front like the brothers Dan and Mike Riordan, Herb Beck, Butch Bennett, and John Carullo it was very difficult for anyone to generate much offense at all.

You know this Jack McGuinn defense had the makings for something special when they squashed Valley Forge in the opener. For the game the Friars forced seven turnovers and held the Cadets to only 35 yards of offense. Interceptions by Bob Carey and Mike Cappelletti and fumble recoveries by John Carullo and Mark Kolmer set up 4 of the scores on 4 short fields.

Malvern jumped right into the IA season with the next game against Penn Charter. In previous articles I mentioned how so many games at Penn Charter were either tight or crazy. This qualifies as one of the tight ones and a bit crazy. Penn Charter picked off an early MP pass and ran it down to the 12. The Malvern D held then and also held the rest of the day. Penn Charter finished with 133 total yards on 40 plays (3.3 yard a play). 69 of those PC yards came on a 3rd quarter drive that the defense stuffed at the one. Only gave up 64 yards the rest of the way. Bend but don’t break definitely worked on this day.

Malvern shutdown and almost shutout EA in game 3 of the season. In the previous week the Churchmen, led by star running back Craig Renfrow’s 170 yards, shutout Germantown Academy 14-0. This was going to be another IA challenge. The Friars knew that their success on the day would revolve around stopping Renfrow. MP held him in check most of the day. He got EA’s only score on an early, second half run of 18 yards. The rest of the day Craig only generated 39 yards. A Joe Rosati pick and a Butch Bennett fumble recovery stifled two other Episcopal drives.

The GA game was played on Friday the 13th. That is usually not a good sign but for the Friars they overcame the adversity and gutted out a very tough and nail biting 13-10 win. The Patriots were the only team to score more than 7 points against this staunch Malvern D all year. A late GA field goal before half had the Friars in the unusual position of trailing 10-7. Back in the 70’s, kicking field goals was not a common occurrence. It made this Friday the 13th game all the more uncommon. The Friars scored with 8:47 left in the game. After that, the Malvern D led by Herbie Beck, the Riordan brothers, Jimmy Welsh and Joe Rosati made sure GA never sniffed the end zone again. GA finished the year 7-2. With many returning starters from this team, GA won the IA title and went undefeated in 1973.

I have to mention the 27-0 shutout of Roxborough for one very big reason. Reserve DT Rich Marra had a pick six and rumbled in from 6 yards out. As in previous Carey’s Corners, when a big fatty scores, the only verb to use is rumble, unless of course you are CJ Mooney ( MP standout 2008). Big fatty shout out to Rich Mara.

The Malvern D continued its turnover parade in the IA clinching game against the Haverford School. This was the school’s first outright title since joining the league in 1950. This win and title started the plethora of titles over the next 50 years (Yes, I did use the word plethora. A nod to my MP English teachers Father Carney, Bill Doyle and Chip Hoffman. They would be proud). Two fumble recoveries by Herb Beck and Bob Carey set up short scoring drives of 31 and 32 yards . Four sacks of HS QB Mike Mayock,Jr prevented the Fords from mounting any kind of offense for all 4 quarters. In this deciding game the Friars held Haverford School to 136 total yards and recorded their 3rd shutout of the year, blanking the Fords 33-0. Mike Mayock, Sr. said it best, “They dominated the entire game”.

This perfect season ended with a perfect 52-0 rout of St Joe Prep, the Friars 4th shutout of the year. All everything MVP Mike Cappelletti led the defense with 10 tackles and a pick six. Would you expect anything less from the league MVP?

Amazing to think that when you give up a meager 16 points in league play that only 4 guys would make All Inter-Ac 1st team on the defensive side of the ball.

OFFENSIVE NOTES OF INTEREST

“Back in the day” high school teams did not throw the ball a ton. Most offenses were based on a ball control ground attack. There was no artificial turf in the early days. On some playing field grass was an “option”. The 4 yards and a cloud of dust phrase was a very appropriate description of football in the 1970’s. This 1972 edition was no different as they ground out many, multi-play, time consuming drives. When you have backs like Wally Shields and Cap who are ably backed up by Pat Cook and Brian Maguire there would not really be a need to throw the ball much anyway. Seems like I am mentioning the name Cappelletti quite a few times. When you are voted the best player in a very competitive league your name is probably going to be front and center in many of the highlights on both defense and offense.

Wally led the team with 11 rushing TDs. I was only able to document 668 yards rushing but I am pretty confident he was close to, if not over,1000 yards for the year. The 668 yards were accumulated in under 4 games. Cap supported Wally with 785 yards and 6 rushing TDs. Just like the defense showed in the Valley Forge game that they would be formidable, so did the offense. The Silver and Blue scored 6 TDs by 4 different players. TD passes Sheridan to Dolente and Jay Calhoun to TE Roddy Walsh, 2 runs by Cap and one by Joe Sheridan highlighted the day. Kicker and notable hoop’s star Paul McShane added a new weapon for the Friars as he converted a field goal and added 3 extra points. For the day the Friars racked up over 350 of offense. An example of what was to come was when the offense ground out a 15 play 91 yard drive that consumed most of the 3rd quarter and lasted well into the 4th. Cant score if you don’t have the ball.

More of the same at Penn Charter. It was the duo of Wally and Cap who did the damage. Cap had 24 carries for 109 yards and Wally had 21 carries for 108. Receiver Tom Howley hit the box score with a key 24 yard TD reception from QB Jay Calhoun. The Friars took over the ball with 8:52 left in the game and Penn Charter never got it back. Yes, you guessed it. Can’t score if you do not have the ball. When you rush the ball 52x for 247 yards there is a good chance you win. Final 12-0.

The paper headline read “Shields steals show as Friars swamp EA”. He didn’t really steal the show as much as he put on a show. Wally had 33 carries for 214 yards and scored all four of the Friars TDs. EA knew they had to stop the MP ground game. Nothing better than the other team trying to stop the run and then realizing it is not going to happen. The opening drive was 59 yards as Wally and Cap took turns carrying the ball down the field. Five minutes later a Shields TD gave the Friars an early 7-0- lead. The 2nd TD was typical of this team- 15 plays 90 yards and Wally from 3 yards out. And no, he was not done. An early 4th quarter run salted the game away at 25-6. Inter-Ac win #2 in the books.

The Friars offense capped off the league championship with 33-0, sweet revenge of Haverford School. In a change of pace from most of the year, the Friars showed excellent balance with 284 yards rushing and 121 yards passing. Leading the passing attack was TE Rod Walsh who caught 5 balls on the day for 62 yards and a TD from QB Joe Sheridan. Malvern’s 1st two drives let Haverford know it was going to be a long afternoon.- 8 plays and 74 yards followed by 10 plays and 74 yards. Wally Shields led the ground game with 101 yards rushing and 3 TDs, QB Joe Sheridan found the edge for 84 yards and FB Mike Cappelletti pounded the Fords for 78 yards. Can’t score if you don’t have the ball.

Like the other accomplished teams in MP football history there is always a chance of a letdown after winning a title. The 1972 squad did not allow the word letdown to enter their vocabulary. In the final two games of the season the Friars outscored their opponents 91-6. Against West Philadelphia, Shields scored from 28 and 23 yards, Sheridan from 4 and 3 yards, Brian Maguire from 8 yards and Pat Cook tacked on the last TD. The icing on the cake for the year was 7 TD outburst against St. Joe Prep. The headlines read “Malvern Massacres St. Joe Prep”. Yes, they did. As he did all year “Cap” ended a great career with 3 rushing TDs of 24, 5 and 2 yards. Like the Haverford School game, MP showed a potent passing attack with 4 TDs. Three TDs of 40, 45 and 25 were by receiver Carl Friedel. The other score was from reliable Tight End Rod Walsh. The four passing TDs were tops for the year with the dynamic duo quarterbacks of Joe Sheridan and Jay Calhoun throwing 2 apiece.

Can’t score when you do not have the ball and you certainly do not win when the Friars put up 52. In a previous Careys Corner article (By the Numbers, Oct 2020) I highlighted the fact that Malvern has scored 50 or more points in only 14 games since 1950. The 52 against SJP was another one in the record books for the 1972 team.

MY BIG FATTIES

This a shout out to the fatties up front who made it all possible. Mike Lynch at center, Kevin “Kutter” McMahon, Mike O’Brien, Pat Lynch at guards and Mike “Tuba” Riordan, Bob Carey and John Koziol at the tackles. Honorable mention big skill fatty Rod Walsh ably held down the edge at the tight end position. MP only played 8 games that year as Chestnut Hill decided it was in their best interest not to play and forfeited. As best as I could dig up, Wally and Cap gained 1453 yards. I don’t have the yards for Pat Cook, Brian Maguire or dual threat QB Joe Sheridan. The final rushing number was well north of 1453 yards. The fatties up front moved the pile and moved the chains. “Back in the day” it was ball control. You can’t score if you don’t have the ball. It was another reason this team only gave up 29. The opposing teams never had the ball. And speaking of fatties who only gave up 29 points, I have to include the other big skill on defense. When you only give up 29 points on the year you earned your shout out. Additional kudos to Herbie Beck, Dan “Bear” Riordan, Butch Bennett and the Rullo Monster, John Carullo.

“SPECIALS” NOTES OF INTEREST

Punting was handled by receiver Carl Friedel. Carl’s most important punt of the year came against GA. Coming into the game, the GA coach stated that this was arguably the best team he had ever had. With 8 minutes left in the game and the Friars trailing 10-7 Carl’s punt was recovered by MP on the 3 yd line. Wally Shields 1 yard run was the margin of victory. Kicking for the year was handled by multi-sport Paul McShane.

Lastly, it was a Wally Shields 80 kick-off return that was the back breaker in the 25-6 win over a formidable Episcopal Academy squad. Special teams can always influence a game and on this day they did.

ONE LAST ROLL CALL

As with all undefeated teams, one last roll call of the seniors on this very special season

Jay Calhoun, Don Dougherty, Paul McShane, Elverson Brown, Mike Cappelletti, Fred Scuilli, Blair Mullen, Kutter McMahon, Pat Lynch, Bob Carey, Bill Hopson, Don Foster, Mike Riordan, John Carullo, Carl Pierce, Rod Walsh, Carl Friedel, Rich Scott, Rich Yelovich, Butch Bennett, Murray Bennett.

Brothers forever.

POSTSCRIPT

I have always said that your senior year is something you will never forget. Playing football at MP was something special.

The coaches and the players always make it a year to remember. Long 3 hour practices, 40- 40 yard sprints after a 3 hour practice, bus rides, a lot of hot weather with no water breaks, sleeping in the old gym for camp, Coach Flip showing the O-line how to block on the sled and then breaking it in the process, showers with no hot water, getting to the #9 of 10 perfect plays then hearing the word “ZERO” yelled out, the unforgettable Father “Caccababba” Carney and Basil Sullivan patrolling the sidelines at games, and Sunday practices (yes we did). It was all worthwhile. Like all teams, “Oh the stories everyone could tell”. And to this day we still do.

This article is dedicated to:

Mr. and Mrs. Alan Ameche. I do not have enough space to express our gratitude for the Ameche family and what they meant to Malvern Prep and the Malvern Prep football program. Today, the success of the school and the football program have very deep ties to them. I honestly do not think Malvern would be here today if it wasn’t for Mr. and Mrs. Ameche. There are a multitude of graduates who got the chance to experience Malvern because of their commitment. I am one of those benefactors. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Ameche.

Two Wall of Famers Jack “Shark” McGuinn and Frank Ryan. Both were coaches, teachers and administrators at Malvern. Two larger than life people who left their mark on Warren Avenue.

“Doc” Kolmer. He walked the MP sidelines for a very long time and got to watch his sons John, Kevin, Brian and Mark play. All 4 had the distinction of being named All Inter-Ac. John played for Mike Mayock’s 1962 Inter-Ac co-championship team. Mark was the other book end, being named All IA in 1974. Dr. Kolmer was our “de facto” team doctor. Always in a coat and tie, he was an institution at all MP games. Every player could count on Dr. Kolmer to be there when they got banged up. On a personal note, I am in is his debt for putting me back together more than once.

Speaking of a Malvern family, I have to recognize the legacy of Norman and Dorothy McMahon. I played next to Kutter McMahon on the ‘72 team. Kutter went on to play at Lafayette. He was one of 7 McMahons who graduated from MP. That is not a misprint, 7. Jerry, Class of ’65, Norm ’66, Dick and Dan ’67, Bob ’69 and Brian in ’76. Kutter recalls that he can’t ever remember a game, home or away where his mom was not in the stands cheering her sons on. If that is not what loyalty and commitment looks like I do not know what does. Thank you Norman and Dorothy McMahon.

Trainer Nick DeFillipo. For those who knew him, what is there to say. He did more magic with salt tablets and tape than Houdini. You name it and the salt tablet was the answer. When all else failed, put the salt tablet on the piece of tape.

The one and only……Ernie the Cook. He was our beloved “chef”. He was quite the personality on the Malvern campus. There was no one who was a stronger supporter or who was more passionate about the football teams “back in the day”. If they were both around today, Nick and Ernie could have their own reality show and it would be extremely entertaining.

To construct a building that will last you have to have a strong foundation. We will miss all of these cornerstones of Malvern Prep.

Many thanks to Herb Beck for going deep into the attic for pics and articles for both the 1972 team and the upcoming undefeated 1974 team tribute.

More to come…..

Back to top