Malvern Prep Football 1988 Team Page

FINAL RECORD

6-2-2 overall, 2-1-1 league

156 PF, 156 PA

POST SEASON RECOGNITION

ALL INTER-AC

1st Team Offense

Mario DeLiberty OL, Mike Hauer, Ed Deal REC, Rob Levan RB

1st Team Defense

John McBratnie DL, Chris Fay DB, Mike Buono LB

HM- Anthony Tabasso, Mike McDermott, Ron DellaVecchia OL, Frank Carr DL, Kevin Pellegrini DB

DAILY NEW ALL CITY

2ND Team Defense

John McBratnie DL

3rd Team Offense

Ed Deal REC, Rob Levan RB

HM- Mario DeLiberty OL

ALL MAIN LINE TIMES (ONLY A 1ST TEAM AND HM)

NOTABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

The 1988 Friars finished 6-2-2. While doing my research on their games, the word resilient kept popping into my head. The definition of resiliency is the ability to bounce back from misfortune. These Friars had bumps and setbacks along the way. You could have easily counted them out and they could have easily folded… but they did not. They stuck together and fought hard to the end.

All season long the defense played “Friar Defense”. Every yard and every TD had to be earned by their opponents. It showed up in the 1st game, a scoreless tie against C.B. East. They only gave up 49 total yards for the game and only gave up 6 yards rushing. C.B. East never got past midfield. The O had their chances but could not convert. Levan led with 66 yards rushing. Resiliency check #1

Malvern came out against Council Rock and jumped on them 14-3 in the 1st quarter and controlled the game the rest of the way. I know Gamp said it wasn’t a revenge game from the 1987 loss but as a player I know when a team beat me the previous year I had that in my head. Levan was 17-106 and Mike Colledge pounded out 96 more yards as the Friars controlled the ground and the clock. Levan had one score and Colledge two. Levan’s score was set up by a Risnychok pick. The Rock could only manage two FGS against a stout Friar D.

Resiliency check #2. After a tough loss to Glen Mills the Friars had Downingtown East staring them in the face. It is Downingtown. They are never a cupcake. Could the Friars bounce back? Yes, with alittle extra on top. It was a big away win at DeSerafino stadium. The coach of East summed the game up this way, “ We played some tough people this year but we did not get beat up like we did tonight”. Malvern ran 57 plays to Downingtown’s 30 plays. The big fellas upfront controlled the line of scrimmage to the tune of 48 rushes for 267 yards- Levan was 13-98, Colledge 12-66 and Risnychok 10-73. The trio also contributed all 4 TDs- Levan getting 2 of them. The defense made some adjustments at half and shut down Downingtown East star running back Boggs. He only managed 18 yards on 10 carries in the 2nd frame.

The Haverford School game was a battle as most Haverford School games in the 1980s seem to be. A Grace one yard run and an Altomonte 23 yard field goal summed up the scoring for the day. Chris Fay’s pick set up the Levan 1 yard run. The Friars defense stopped the Haverford offense on 3 other occasions with 3 more picks. A goal line stand saved the shutout.

Malvern went to the air against GA with Ed Deal catching 4 balls for 102 yards and the sole TD. Malvern led 7-0 at half but GA scored on a halfback pass to forge the tie. GA RB Burwell had 286 yards the prior week against EA. The Malvern defense held him to 68 yards on the day and the GA offense to 117.

Resiliency #3. The Penn Charter game was not for the weak of heart. It was 14-14 at half and 14-14 with 2:36 to go in the game. Rob Levan picked off a fake 4th down punt to keep the Friars alive. 6 plays and 23 yards later Levan bullied it in from 6 yards out. On the day he was 24-163. Joe Sells, subbing for an injured Gamp, picked up the win. I think Sellsy wanted to make it a memorable win! After the win Rob Levan could not say enough about his offensive line- Mike McDermott, John McBratnie, Ron DellaVechia, Mario DeLiberty and Anthony Tabasso. Way to go fatties!

Resiliency #4. The EA loss was as tough as they come, but just like facing D’town after Glen Mills the Friars faced V.F.M.A. The Cadets were only 8-0 and had only given up 43 points coming into the game. Scoring line looked like this- 14-6, 21-6, 21-12, 31-12, 31-18. Led all the way. The 1st drive of the second half put it away- 10 plays 76 yards, Levan from 4 yards out. QB Leslie was 7-13 for 189 yards. Special’s guy Joe Altomonte contributed his own “unique touchdown” with a FG and 4 extra points. The Friars could have folded and they didn’t. The Friars could have mailed it in and they didn’t. That is resiliency.

Let me see. It is Thanksgiving, its Carroll, it must be another win? For the 3rd time in 4 years the Friars pitched a shutout 21-0. Levan, Levan, and Cullen with the scores. Friars led 14-0 at half. 5th Turkey Bowl win in a row. Friar’s offense 339 yards. Levan had 169 of them. Carroll’s offense 139 yards. Fitting that that the game was a shutout and the last TD was 15 plays and 76 yards. If you want more insight and information on the Friar-Pat Turkey Day rivalry check out Careys Corner-Happy Thanksgiving June 2020 and MP History- Thanksgiving Day Games and Top Performances.

MP finished #10 in Ted Silary’s City Top 10. Malvern opponent Carroll (9-4) was #4 and #15 in the Daily News Top 15. Carroll played in the Southern Division final. Council Rock (8-3) finished #9 in the Daily News Suburban Top 10.

Team Leaders

Rushing- Rob Levan 181- 941 yards and 10 TDs

Passing- Luke Leslie 35-75 for 660 yards and 3 TDs

Receiving- Ed Deal 26 catches for 465 yards and 2 TDs

Some West Chester Daily Local Stats I found:

1. Team Offense- ranked 3rd in the area.
2. Team Rush Defense- ranked #1 in the area giving up only 89 yards a game.
3. Total Defense- #1 giving up 169 yards a game- 89 rush and 80 pass.
4. Rob Levan was 5th in scoring and 6th in rushing with 181 carries for 941 yards*
5. Joe Altomonte was 4th in Specials with 3FGs and 17 extra points.

*One of the challenges in research is I can find 2 or 3 different articles on a game and the stats for the game are not the same. Same goes for year-end stats. For example, the Daily Local had Rob Levan with 181 rushes for 941 yards. Ted Silary had Rob with 171 rushes for 908 yards. If there are different stats I always go with the higher number. Call it writers choice!