REVIEW OF THE 1974 UNDEFEATED FOOTBALL FRIARS

POST SEASON RECOGNITION

ALL INTER-AC OFFENSE

1st Team Offense

Mike Ameche OL, Ronnie Ronzone OL, Pat Sheridan OL, Herb Beck OL, Steve Donnelly B, Jim Della Franco B

1st Team Defense

Sammy Dolente DL, Dan Riordan DL, Mark Kolmer LB, Billy Corbett LB, Joe Rosati DB , Brian McHugh DB

Honorable Mention

Brian Maguire RB, Rich Devine DB, Dom Mercuri DB

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Herbie Beck OL/DL

BULLETIN ALL CITY

1st Team

Herbie Beck, Pat Sheridan OL, Dan Riordan DL, Joe Rosati DB

Honorable Mention

Jim Della Franco RB, Steve Donnelly QB, Ronnie Ronzone OL, Mark Kolmer LB, Brian McHugh DB

MAXWELL AWARD WINNER

Herbie Beck

ALL MAIN LINE

Herbie Beck OL, Joe Rosati DB

AP ALL STATE

1st Team

Herbie Beck OL

Honorable Mention

Joe Rosati DB

BULLETIN ALL -SCHOLASTIC

1ST team

Herbie Beck OL, Joe Rosati DB

Honorable Mention

Pat Sheridan OL, Ronnie Ronzone OL, Steve Donnelly QB, Sam Dolente DL, Dan Riordan DL, Billy Corbett LB, Brian McHugh DB

TODAYS SPORTS ALL AREA

1st Team

Herbie Beck OL, Dan Riordan DL, Herbie Beck DL, Joe Rosati DB

2nd Team

Jim Della Franco RB, Mark Kolmer LB

Honorable Mention

Steve Donnelly QB, Mike Ameche OL, Sammy Dolente DL, Billy Corbett LB

MAIN LINE TIMES TOP 15 GRIDDERS

1st Team

Herbie Beck DL (PLAYER OF THE YEAR), Joe Rosati DB

Honorable Mention

Dan Riordan DL, Steve Donnelly QB, Jim Della Franco RB ( my comment here. Dan Riordan HM, seriously?)

STARTERS ON THIS THIS TEAM WHO MADE ALL-CITY ALL DECADE AND ALL INTER-AC ALL DECADE

ALL- CITY ALL DECADE

1st Team

Herbie Beck OL, Dan Riordan DL, Joe Rosati DB

ALL INTER-AC ALL DECADE

1st Team

Dan Riordan DL, Herbie Beck DL , Joe Rosati DB

2nd Team

Pat Sheridan OL, Rich Devine DB, Steve Donnelly QB

BACKGROUND.

These guys were coming off a junior year of 6-2-1, having lost the IA title to a very, very good GA team. This team and these seniors were ready to make a statement and leave their mark on MP football history. After seeing the Friars early on, a reporter stated “The Friars have an offense that is developed to control the ball more while the defense totally shuts down any offensive drive of the opposition. Jack McGuinn believes in basics. You won’t see this team do any razzle dazzle stuff that other teams throw in just to please the fans. You won’t see the Friars run any double reverses or flea flickers. And there is something else you won’t see this team do…LOSE. Shark stated “I don’t care for trick plays. We use basic fundamental plays almost exclusively traps, off tackle, power sweeps, short passes, things like that. The more basic your plays the better chance you have of holding onto the football and that’s what we want to do.” And yes, that is what they did in 1974.

The yearbook recounted.. Undoubtedly the 1974 football team was one of the finest group of athletes that Malvern has ever assembled. The team went undefeated and untied through a schedule that included some of the toughest teams in the area. Archbishop Carroll, Penn Charter and Haverford School were all highly ranked in area polls, and all were defeated by the Malvern gridders. The key game of the year was against Penn Charter for the IA title. Malvern’s brilliant defense led by linemen Herbie Beck, Dan “Bear” Riordan and defensive back Joe Rosati shut off the opposition consistently.

That about sums it up for this team. Multiple players making multiple plays all over the field. As one reporter noted “Malvern started the 1974 season with a magnificent display of versatility and talent as they overran Conestoga in a scrimmage last Saturday night.” You just had a feeling that these guys were going to put something special together. Alabama football has a phrase, “Roll Tide”. I would like to steal that and say the 1974 team was “Roll Friars”.

The 1974 squad is in the record books of Careys Corner Touchdown Club list. Of course, they are. We are talking defense. Probably, one of the many records that this team can be most proud of is the fact that they were the 1st team in Malvern history to win 10 games. Malvern’s football records trace all the way back to 1924. To put this record in context, there are only 6 teams in these 97 years of Malvern football that have won 10 games or more in a season (2018 won 11. Tribute upcoming). They did it first. It just shows how hard it is to run the table, to be consistent over the entire season and to never let down. These guys did just that- ran the table, were consistent and never let down. And they did it with the dominance you would expect of an undefeated Malvern Prep. What struck me as I did the research was every game was like ground hog day. Same story, different team. The offense would score four or five times while accumulating 300 to 400 yards. The defense did what all great Malvern defenses do. They held the opponent to under 65 yards rushing a game and created a ton of turnovers and I mean a ton of turnovers. Somewhere north of 35 (couldn’t verify the Lawrenceville game).

“Shark football” executed by a very large contingent of extremely talented football players.

DEFENSIVE NOTES OF INTEREST

If a Malvern team goes undefeated you will absolutely know the defense shut people down. All 11 guys who were on the field could step up and make the play at any time. The turnover parade started in the very 1st game against Chichester How about 3 fumble recoveries and 3 picks to set the tone for the year? Constant pressure and sacks by Dan Riordan and Herbie Beck led the way (you will be hearing that phrase repeated quite often in this tribute). Chi played tough but had no real shot. The Malvern D always answered the bell. Turnovers set up the 1st and 3rd score. A goal line stand with consecutive tackles by Kolmer, Dolente, Sheridan and Mercuri prevented a late 1st half score. Top Chi running back Al Kennard never got going as he could only scratch out 26 yards on 11 carries. For the 1974 season Al Kennard was not the only top running back who got shut down. This Friar D made a habit out of shutting everyone’s top running back down.

Game 2 was the proverbial out of the frying pan and into the fire. Malvern faced a very talented and formidable Archbishop Carroll. Carroll boasted an All City, All State duo of QB Mike Bailey and receiver Mike Saska. Both of these players are top two, all time performers in the record books of Carroll football. In 1974 Carroll won the Southern Division and missed the Catholic League title, falling to Wood 19-15. This was nowhere near a “show up and go through the motions kind of contest”. An early game saving tackle by Dom Mercuri on Mike Saska and a fumble causing tackle by Rich Devine prevented the Patriot offense from getting on the board first. A Herb Beck sack on a 4th and 5 at the 25 ended another Carroll threat and preserved a 0-0 half time score. In the 2nd half it was the D and a torrential rain storm that prevented Carrol from mounting any sustained threats. Three times Carroll made a move only to be snuffed out by sacks from Riordan and Beck.(yeah them again). A late score Bailey to Saska was not enough as the MP defense led the team to victory.

Game 3 was New Jersey prep school Peddie. I will sum up the game with a reporter’s opening statement in his article. “Talk about massacres. This one made Little Big Horn look like the junior prom. A race between Secretariat and Jackie Gleason would have been closer (an obscure reference for some reading this). Malvern Prep dominated, decimated and destroyed visiting Peddie that was three quarters longer than the mercy rule should have allowed. Believe it folks, this game was not even as close as the final score indicated as the Friars had two additional touchdowns called back.” The final damage read like this- 22 rushes for 51 yards, 72 total yards, 2 interceptions, a pick six by the team’s Swiss Army knife, Brian McHugh (more on Brian below), another pick by Dom Mercuri and a shutdown of Peddie’s lead RB who only had 33 yards.

Tom Monaco of the Times writes “Malvern Prep demolished Nether Providence 39-12 to add yet another victory to its undefeated season. Their Friars claimed another win with a total domination”. Here we go again. 30 rushes for 31 yards, 134 yards of total offense, 4 turnovers, top running back 13 carries 37 yards. Great linebacker play from the duo of Corbett and Kolmer prevented Nether Providence from having any sustained offense all game long.

Not wanting to look ahead to the revenge game against GA, the Friars kept their focus and held Lawrenceville to a typical 135 yards of total offense and a late TD against the reserves. A tough 15-8 loss to GA in 1974 prevented the Friars from another IA title. This squad, a year older, was going to make sure there was not a GA repeat…and it wasn’t even close. Stop me if this sounds familiar. GA had 49 yards on 38 rushes(1.3 yard a rush), 87 total yards in the game, NEGATIVE 13 yards at halftime, didn’t get a 1st down until late in the 3rd, held GA’s top running back Dan Brooks to 23 yards and yes, they created 5 turnovers. Let reporter Julius Thompson from the Bulletin give you his view, “The battle was drawn along the line of scrimmage. The Fighting Patriots from GA looked menacing. However, the Big Bad Friars gave a loud cry and put on a tremendous onslaught. In a display of brute strength Malvern didn’t let Germantown Academy raise a finger in opposition. To quote Jack Turner Germantown’s HC “They hurt us. Malvern beat us off the ball then shoved it down our throats and kept us from doing what we wanted to do offensively”. Multiple sacks and pressures by Dan Riordan, Herb Beck and Sam Dolente and two picks and a fumble recovery by DB Rich Devine led the charge. These guys were hitting their stride and were on a big time roll.

Next up… PENN CHARTER AT PENN CHARTER. What can I say? If you have read any previous tributes you know any game AT Penn Charter can be a challenge (except the 2008 mauling). 1974 was no different. Malvern came into the game ranked 3rd in the Dunkle rankings while Penn Charter sat at 8th. Both teams were undefeated. PC came in averaging close to 30 a game…..and as they say let the battle begin. The Malvern D held Charter to 95 yards of offense and 5 first downs and top back Leo McCleland to under 50 yards. The Friars were last man standing with 6-0 final. Only time the Charter was shut out all year. They finished a very respectable 7-2.

No rest for the weary as EA and Haverford were left on the IA schedule. Tom Jeremiah relayed, “The Malvern Prep Friars completely overwhelmed the Episcopal Academy 34-0 to boost their record to 8-0 overall and 3-0 in the Inter-Ac. The Malvern defense recorded their 2nd straight shutout and held Episcopal to 85 yards total offense plus forced two fumbles and an interception with fine play by All Inter-Ac candidates Dan Riordan, Herb Beck, Joe Rosati, Mark Kolmer, Bill Corbett, Dom Mercuri, Sam Dolente and Brian McHugh”. Billy Corbett and Brian McHugh had the picks and Joe Campagna the fumble recovery to end three Churchmen drives. Last but not least, the Fords of Haverford School. The Fords boasted a 6-1 record, only losing to Penn Charter. Haverford School were led by Mike Mayock Jr, ( Boston College, New York Giants) and coached by the legendary Mike Mayock Sr. This one was tight all the way through as Malvern held true to their winning formula. Haverford School had 39 yards on the ground on 24 carries. Top rusher DeSipio had 17 and as usual the defense produced 4 drive stopping turnovers. It was the Dan Riordan show early. You might say the early score was Dan Riordan 8 Haverford 0. Dan 1st caused a safety for a 2-0 lead then caused a fumble that the Friars recovered at the 2 yard line. Haverford tried to put together two drives in the 2nd half but both times interceptions cut the Fords down. Brian McHugh picked off Mayock at his own 29 yard line and Rich Devine came up with another key, goal line stand grab with 3:29 left in the game. The Friars took over at their own 7 and sealed the deal.

Well, it wouldn’t be a completed season unless the Friars didn’t finish with a win over the Hawks from St. Joe. In 1972 it was MP 52- SJP 0 , in 1973 it was a 33-19 win and 1974 was no different, a 27-12 win. The Friars defense ended the season the way they started it with turnovers, 5 to be exact. A Dolente fumble recovery and a Brian McHugh pick set up the 2nd and 3rd scores. A fumble recovery by Mark Kolmer and Rich Devine and a pick by LB Billy Corbett stopped 3 other drives. You can’t score when the other team just keeps taking the ball away from you. These guys kept taking it away all season long.

OFFENSIVE NOTES OF INTEREST

Openers can always be a 50-50 proposition. It can be an indicator of how ready your team is or how not ready they are for the season. For the 1974 squad, no problem, they were ready. As the newspaper reported. The Malvern Friars thumped the Chichester Eagles 20-6 in their non-league opener. Senior halfback Brian Maguire rushed for 77 yards while Rich Devine, Jim Della Franco and Brian McHugh tallied one touchdown apiece to lead Malvern to victory. 1-0 beats 0-1. Next victim.

“A classic gridiron clash was played on a rain soaked Malvern Prep football field ( let’s just say the Malvern field didn’t drain very well back in the day). Malvern Prep 13 Archbishop Carroll 7. The Friars, behind a stellar performance of QB Steve Donnelly’s 85 yards and one TD pass defeated the Patriots.” Dons was ably supported in the rushing attack by Dell’s 7-43 and Brian Maguire’s 19-47. On the day the Friars rushed for 257 yards. A Maguire rushing TD and a Donnelly to Devine TD pass was all that the Friars needed to secure this win.

Peddie School was up next and I am guessing that the final score indicated that Peddie maybe wished they could have stayed home. Charlie Henderson, Post correspondent wrote, “Brian Maguire waltzed (waltzed means he wasn’t touched) across the goal line three times during the sundrenched afternoon while Jim Della Franco scored two more. After the 3rd period even the most hyperactive insomniac would have fallen asleep”. Why you ask? The Friars led 41-6. In a seven minute and 45 second span the Friars scored three times- 10 yard run by Dons, Dell for 60 and Brian McHugh’s pick six. Game over. For the game another Friar repeat. 276 yards on 35 carries (7.8 a rush for my math majors out there). Most of the damage was done by a team leading Maguire with 114 yards, Dell with 60 yards, McHugh with 37 yards and Steve Donnelly with 30. An example of spreading the wealth. On this team there were so many guys that could hurt you, and they all did, each and every game.

Lawrenceville could have been the perfect trap game before GA. But like the defense, these offensive players did not lose focus. They did their job with Dell and Steve Redding scoring once and Steve Donnelly continuing to up his game, contributing 3 TDs. On the day Dell outgained Lawrenceville 136 to 135 yards. That should give you an idea how the day went. Make sure you pause and let that stat sink in. Dell 136, ALL of Lawrenceville 135. For the Germantown Academy game, a headline read Malvern Prep crushes GA 34-8. “The Friars jumped out to a 28-0 halftime lead as Donnelly scored twice and passed for a third TD. Two quick drives and it was 14-0 at 9:24… of the 1st quarter. This game was over too. Dons rushed for 72 yards and threw for another 59. Dell was his usual workhorse self with 17 carries for 93 yards. Steve “Squirrel” Scheuerle stepped up for the injured Brian Maguire and pitched in with another 46 yards. The TD pass was Dons to Sammy, 9 yards. Other receptions were Brian McHugh 3 for 34 yards and the always reliable Rich Devine 1 for 16 yards. As HC Jack Turner stated. “There was nothing we could do. They were just meaner and tougher than we were.” Sometimes revenge is sweet. This one tasted real sweet for the Friars. And meaner and tougher works too!. “ROLL FRIARS”

After a challenging win on the road against PC, Malvern was primed to let loose again. Unfortunately for Episcopal they happened to be next on the schedule. The Friars scored 4 out of the first 5 times they had the football and like the GA game this one was over early- 27-0 at half. It only took the Friars an efficient 14 minutes and 4 seconds to score all 4. As the reporter observed “ Episcopal was winless and had zero chance on Friday”. He was spot on. How quick was it? MP scored on their very 1st play from scrimmage. Dons to Joe Rosati for a 30 yard scoring pass. Next series was Dell from 33 yards out and then Steve Scheuerle scored his 1st of the year from the 6 yard line. In the 2nd it was a Steve Donnelly pass to Richie Devine down to the one and then Dons took it in from there. 27-0 with 7:55 still left in the first half. Dell broke free for a 63 yard scamper( scamper, a great football verb) for their final score of the day. Jim Arnold was busy converting four out of five extra points. As a team, the Friars amassed 365 yards of offense. Steve Donnelly contributed 37 on the ground and 95 in the air while Dell did his “Dell thing” and cranked out the usual 9-125. 49 of Steve’s 95 passing yards went to Junior TE Sonny Michaeliszyn . All in all, a typical day for the fatties up front- run block, pass block, crush the other guys. Lastly, I had to add this reporters conclusion after the Friars went up 34-0. “The only thing holding the interest of the fans was the exceptionally good Malvern hot dog stand. Forty cents for the dog and a prize winning roll”. Where do you get that kind of reporting today? You know it had to be a rout when, for this reporter, his highlight of the game was the hot dog he ate.

As the 1972 team had to do, the 1974 team needed to defeat Haverford School to win the IA title outright and to continue on their quest for an undefeated season. Like the Carroll game this one was no gimme either. This was a very solid Haverford School team and this game, before an overflow crowd, turned out to be a very entertaining contest for the fans on both sides. Going in Coach Mayock felt his team “needed to stop Steve Donnelly from running. Della Franco also poses some problems for us too. We have to shut off their running game and force them to pass”. That didn’t work too well. After Dan Riordan helped the Friars to an 8-0 lead (Steve Scheuerle from 2 yards out) it turned into the Steve and Dell Show. The Friars, as they usually do with the big boys up front, rushed for 276 yards. Dell and Steve combined for 228 of the 276 yards. How well did they shut down Dons? 17 carries 147 yards and 3 TDS. Your good players always step up when the game is on the line. Let me set it up for you. This one was 21-14 Friars late in the 4th. What does one of your best players do on a 3rd and 8 with the Friars buried deep at their own 9 yard and less than 2 minutes remaining? IA title and undefeated season on the line? Dons goes 91 yards and seals the game 27-14. That is the kind of player Steve Donnelly was. He did it in his junior year and repeated it in his senior year (1975 tribute to come).

The St. Joe Prep game was the home stretch for the 9-0 Friars. History for this team was just a game away. How did this one go? Tom Monaco reports “The Malvern Prep Friars finished their 1974 season undefeated with a 27-12 win over the St Joseph’s Hawks, gaining close to 400 yards while recording their 10th win in as many games. Malvern’s squad posted its second undefeated season in three years and established a record for the most number of wins by a Malvern football team. The Friars were led by the fine running and passing of quarterback Steve Donnelly who accounted for 280 of Malvern’s total yards. Steve Donnelly also added 2 rushing and one passing TD. As they say, Leave no doubt. The Friars left no doubt on the very 1st drive. 9 plays 77 yards and took 2 minutes and 33 seconds off the clock. Dons and Dell for a combined 12 rushing, Brian Maguire back from injury barrels for 20, Dons to Devine for 15, Dons to Sammy for 24, Dell plows over from 6, Arnold converts and the Friars are up 7-0. 2nd TD much the same. Runs by Steve Donnelly and Brian Maguire, Donnelly to Devine again for 16 yards down to the one, Dons takes it in, Jimmy Arnold perfect and its now 14-0. Picking up a pattern and seeing familiar names? 3rd score- Dons to Brian Maguire for 22, then Richie again for 13, Dell and Dons combine for 16 yards, Donnelly to McHugh for 15 yards, Dons runs for 11 then he passes to McHugh for a 9 yard TD pass, Arnold for his 3rd conversion. Its 21-0 with 25 seconds left in the first quarter. GAME, SET, MATCH, UNDEFEATED SEASON.

“SPECIALS” NOTES OF INTEREST

Big fatty Pat Sheridan (All IA and All City lineman) more than adequately handled the punting duties His punts in the Carroll game forced long field positions for Carroll and were an important key to the victory- one punt to the four yard line and another one rolled out at the one. Pat also did a Lou Groza imitation (some may get this old time reference) as he shared extra point and kick off duties with Jim Arnold.

Leave it to Brian McHugh to step up and win the game at Penn Charter. Could it have been anyone else but Brian? Not in my view. This was a back and forth affair with neither team giving an inch. A Pat Sheridan punt and a great defensive effort forced Penn Charter to kick it out of their own end zone. Brian caught the ball at the Charter 41 yard line and tight roped down the sidelines for the only score in this 6-0 battle. It seems that every talented, undefeated team has that one guy who seems to be able to make an impact all over the field. In my opinion, that guy on the 1974 team was Brian McHugh. It’s the old saying he parked cars, filled water bottles, gave out oranges at half time and cleaned up the field after, and yes, always played a hell of a game all over the gridiron. The punt return decided the IA title and probably the undefeated season. In every article I read about the team I was continually amazed how Brian’s name always seem to pop up at key times- a drive stopping tackle, a fumble recovery or an interception. In addition to the punt return Brian rushed, caught and picked off a pass for TDs. Offense, defense. special teams, Brian just did it all.

MY BIG FATTIES

Had to do some calculating and some projections but my very educated guess is a running game that accumulated somewhere close to 255 yards a game or 2550 yards, and 27 points a game over the course of the season. On defense ,on average, they gave up 62 yard rushing a game and a total of 159 yards. Throw in 35 plus turnovers and 79 points over 10 games and you have a formula for an undefeated season. They played “Shark football”. Shout out to the big boys up from on offense and defense. Michael Ameche at center, guards Ronnie Ronzone and Pat Sheridan, tackle Herbie Beck, John Koziol, Lou Colameco, and Joe Campagna. Tight end was a three headed monster with Sammy Dolente, Sonny Michaeliszyn and Gil Nassib. These guys did double duty on the defensive side with Dan Riordan, Herbie, Joe, John Koziol, Sonny on the D line and Sammy Pat and Dennis Murray holding down the edge at defensive end. What a group of guys. Shove it down your throat on offense and squash you on defense. Not only did they squash you on defense they to the ball away in record numbers. A job well done my big fatties.

JUST AN OBSERVATION

As I do my research on these undefeated teams, there always seems to be a stat or player that makes me stop and just say WOW. Here is the accomplishment and wow for the 1974 team. This accomplishment of note actually belongs to 3 players, Joe Rosati, Herb Beck and Dan Riordan. Teams in the Shark era were known for their defense and the 1974 Friars were no different. What Joe, Herbie and Dan did was something I have not seen on any other MP team, or in the IA for that matter. All 3 started on the defense their sophomore, junior and senior campaigns. All 3 were selected to the all IA team 3 years in a row. That by itself is unique and would be an accolade to be proud of. However, these guys took it to another level. All 3 were named 1st Team All-City their senior year. This was topped off by all 3 being named 1st team All Decade All Inter-Ac AND All Decade All-City for the 1970s. To put that in perspective All Decade Inter-Ac is every player from 1970 to 1979. All Decade All-City is every high school player from the Inter-Ac, Public and Catholic League from 1970 to 1979. THREE GUYS FROM THE SAME TEAM!!! When you star on a defense that only gives up 223 points over 27 games in 3 years (8.3 a game) you are going to get noticed. One of the old adages in football is you cannot win if you do not score. When these 3 players stepped onto the field, the ability for the opposing team to score was drastically reduced. I will take it a step further and say that Dan and Herb may be the best defensive tackle duo in MP football history. It would be a fun discussion if someone can name me 2 other D-tackles for MP that started for 3 years and put up the numbers and the post season recognition they did. In their 27 game (24-2-1) span of utter dominance MP gave up a TD or less in 17 games and posted 8 shutouts. Only two times did an opponent score more than 20 points. Now I know some folks might be reading this and point out that a defense is made up of 11 players. And yes there were some great defensive players on the 1972, 1973 and 1974 teams. However, there is a common thread through all 3 years and that common thread is Dan, Herbie and Joe. Congratulations to these truly great players. Three of Malvern’s best and three Malvern Prep Wall of Fame inductees.

ONE LAST ROLL CALL

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

Dom Mercuri, Brian McHugh, Sam Dolente, Mark Kolmer, Brian Maguire, Joe Rosati, Ron Ronzone, Dennis Murray, Bill Corbett, Pat Sheridan, John Koziol, Herb Beck, Dan Riordan, Joe Brennan.

Brothers forever

POSTSCRIPT

I would like to remember fellow Friar Brian Maguire who has passed. Brian was an integral part of the success of this team. He was well on his way to a 1000 yards season before an injury in the Lawrenceville game shortened his senior year. Up to that point, in the 1st 4 games, Brian had gained 421 yards on 68 carries (6.1 yards a carry) and 5 touchdowns. A Malvern guy and great teammate who is missed.

I would like to thank Herbie Beck and Dom Mercuri for the wealth on information that was contained in their scrapbooks. I had so much info it was a bit of a challenge to make this a tribute article that did not contain multiple chapters.

What can be said about this team. Some absolutely amazing accomplishments. 1st team to win 10 games, only one of 6 teams in 97 seasons to win 10 games at MP. To give you an idea how hard it is to do, Penn Charter has had one 10 win season (1891) Haverford School one (2015), EA one (2012) and Chestnut Hill and GA none. The all IA team had 23 positions- 12 out of 23 positions on the team were Malvern guys, a total of 15 Malvern players out of 22 field positions got recognition as All IA. They went 24-2-1 from soph to senior years with 2 IA titles, 2 undefeated seasons, won their last 14 games from mid junior year through the end of their senior season and are a member of the Careys Corner Touchdown Club. The list could go on and on. Players make the team and what a team this was. They finished the year as a consensus top 4 team in area football rankings.

This team set the stage for the 1975 team (upcoming tribute),

I will always say that you never forget you senior year. The memories, the blood, sweat and tears, playing for Shark and his staff. I am sure there are many great stories that can be told.

Congrats to the 1974 Malvern Prep Friars. You are in the history books as one of the best ever.