Carey's Corner
FROM THE MALVERN ARCHIVES
A LOOK BACK
August 2023
In the Olympics you have the standard of the top three- gold, silver and bronze. On ESPN and various other recognitions of accomplishment you have the proverbial Top 10. For this article on MP football kickers, I looked at the top 6 performances and/or performers. I know, are we talking kickers? I mean are we really talking kickers? Yes, we are. I am a special teams coach so kickers are near and dear to my heart. Next to the offensive center I think the most thankless job on the team is the kicker because you can easily be the hero or goat. Make an extra point or a game winning FG and you are the big man on campus. Miss them and everyone pretends they don’t know you. At times it can be a very, very lonely job. The kicking game has come a very long way since I played high school football. The kicking game, in fact, has become integral to the success of high school program, especially at Malvern Prep. In today’s game it is not uncommon for the kicker to trot out and attempt a field goal from 30, 40 or even 50 yards out. This is because there is a bigger emphasis on the importance the kicker can play in the game. In years gone by, once you reached the opponents 30 yard line you were usually in 4 down territory. It was a TD or turnover on downs. There was no thought on kicking a field goal. In today’s game, if a drive stalls, many teams have a kicker who can salvage some drives and put points on the scoreboard.
The attempt here is to compile stats for a game, a season and a career- extra points and field goals. Just as important as extra points and field goals are, I would be remiss for not mentioning kick offs into the endzone. I do not have a pile of stats on that but I can assure you that any kicker on this list regularly kicked the ball into the endzone for a touchback. It is a huge advantage when the opponent cannot return the kick and has to start many drives from their own 20 yard line. If any of the stats look off or there is additional stat information to add please send to Rcarey5171@aol.com I am also reviewing and updating as needed. Thanks for your help.
Thanks again to Ted Silary at (www.tedsilary.com). Most of these stats are from 1999 onward. Working on previous years. Enjoy.
OTHER NOTES OF INTEREST
I don’t know if Malvern switched the drinking water but they have had an incredible run of legit kickers.
Brendan Carney, Joe Buckley, Jon Dolfus, Sebastian Constantini, and Mark Tiberi were All-City selections. Brendan Carney was the clear leader of the pack by making the team 3 times (2 1sts and 1 2nd). Tiberi, Carney, Constantini, Reilly, Chiazza, Dolfus and Reid were All Inter-Ac selections.
Joe Buckley recorded 12 points in a 48-0 win over Haverford. Joe tacked on 6 with a rushing TD and another 6 in extra points. That’s an interesting way for a kicker to scored 12 points in a game.
I need to give a special shout out to Andrew Mackrides. Talk about an all-around multi-purpose player. WOW. In 2002 he scored 10 of the 24 points in a 24-21 win at Wyoming Seminary. However, it was in 2003 that he accomplished something I have not seen in any other year. He led the team in rushing and receiving yards, rushing TDS, while kicking 24XPTs and 7 FGs. This led him to a team high 117 points on the season. To the best of my knowledge no other player has led a team in this many categories in any given year that I have researched. Andrew’s accomplishments and versatility were noted as an All Inter-Ac and All City selection.
Jon Dolfus had a tired leg after the 2013 season. The team scored 361 points which led him to kicking 43 XPTs and 4 FGs. He tallied 7 points in a game an incredible 4 times.
Mark Tiberi had the distinction of never having to kick a FG in the 2008 season. Wasn’t Mark’s fault. The 2008 team, highest scoring team of all time, never needed to kick one. Add to the fact that half the games were mercy rule by halftime. My best memory of Mark was the away game at Penn Charter. The scoreboard was behind the goal post, seemingly out of the way. Adding insult to injury, Mark spent the day banging extra points off the scoreboard. He clanked 7 in total as the team racked up 55 points on the day. Marks’ brother Chris was an MP kicker in 2011 accounting for 20 XPTS and 1FG. Together, the brothers Tiberi racked up 94 XPTs and 6 FGs. Very productive brother combo.
POINTS IN A GAME
*Multiple players with 7 to also include. Joe Buckley, Jon Dolfus, Dan Giannascoli, Sebastian Constantini, Andrew Montheith
POINTS IN A SEASON
POINTS IN A CAREER
*Jake only kicked in 4 games in the 2020 covid years. If he had played in ten his totals would have been much higher.
More to come……………
08.06.23
