Malvern offensive line from left to right: Anthony Addis, Lukas Zalota, Orazio Nastase, coach Dave Gueriera, Jake Frank, Brian Johnson, Bryce Willey
MALVERN — They like the anonymity. But they know that their teammates are very aware of who they are and what they mean. Spend just a few moments with them and collectively they are an engaging, enjoyable group of characters.
Face them on a football field and they become quite different.
Tackles Bryce Willey and Anthony Addis, guards Jake Frank, Brian Johnson and Lukas Zalota and senior center Orazio Nastase, the anchor, are Malvern Prep’s immovable offensive line.
They started the season as a gaping question mark. They are ending it as one of the foundational pieces towards the Friars’ drive in repeating as Inter-Academic League champions.
On Saturday, Malvern pounded Inter-Ac rival Penn Charter, 42-14, behind 403 yards of total offense, churning out 280 yards rushing, including Jake Bauer’s first-quarter 87-yard touchdown run.
The Friars (6-2 overall, 3-0 Inter-Ac League) now control their destiny in looking for a second-straight Inter-Ac championship with Germantown Academy and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy left to close the season. If the Friars sweep their final two league games, they will repeat as sole Inter-Ac champions.
Malvern Prep can thank its front for being in this position.
Malvern coach Dave Gueriera and offensive line coach Jeff Carroll had to rebuild a unit that graduated Peter Jones, now at Notre Dame, Logan Demchyk (Harvard), Dylan Kraiza (Bloomsburg) and Liam Horan (Penn State). Nastase, who played left guard last season and will be attending Carnegie Mellon for mechanical engineering, was moved to center.
Once Nastase was established, Gueriera and Carroll began inserting pieces around him. There was a rocky beginning.
Though Nastase eased some of the growing pains.
“Orazio is super smart, and he is a super smart football player. This group put in so much time together in the weight room and worked extremely hard for this,” Gueriera said. “We found an identity through this group and coach Jeff Carroll has done a really good job of getting them ready. Since we lost to Roman Catholic, we have had really hard practices. Getting the better live practice reps built the cohesion.
“This is a fun group. They’re characters. This group did not get any time last year. They came into this season with a chip on their shoulders. These guys are all really first year starters. They took some lumps, but they have come back and really answered the bell.”
Nastase attributes the Friars’ success to the bonding they endured.
“There was definitely a learning experience, once that happened, we were good to go,” said Nastase, who is first cousins with right tackle Addis.
Addis and Nastase have been playing together since they were kids. This is Addis’ first season starting. He was moved from right guard to right tackle after the Friars’ season-opening loss to La Salle.
Once Nastase walked away, Addis opened up.
“Orazio has been amazing, he’s our Jason Kelce,” Addis said. “He’s our leader. He’s not only my cousin, he’s my center. We grew up together and we have had a bond forever. Raz and I had the bond, but after La Salle, there were rocky moments (in establishing the line), but we adjusted and learned.”
Now the Friars find themselves in position to repeat as Inter-Ac champs.
Penn Charter was supposed to pose a threat. The Quakers were not. Malvern led from start to finish, sacking Penn Charter quarterback Tom McGlinchey, the younger brother of former Penn Charter great Mike McGlinchey, six times for minus-65 yards.
Malvern, which extended its winning streak to five games and had outscored its first two Inter-Ac opponents 68-0, gave up its first points to an Inter-Ac opponent this season, when Tate Taylor took in an 18-yard pass from Tom McGlinchey with 2:33 left in the first quarter.
Malvern immediately replied with Bauer’s 87-yard touchdown run to spark the first of 35 unanswered points for the Friars.
Penn Charter (6-2, 1-2 Inter-Ac) added a late score when backup quarterback Nate Hartman hit Dominic Comitale with an 18-yard scoring pass with 1:49 left to play.
By that time, the Friars’ starting offensive line was resting on the sidelines, enjoying themselves, laughing among each other after chalking up another victory.
Scoring Summary
Penn Charter (6-2/1-2 Inter-Ac) 7 0 0 7-14
Malvern Prep (6-2/3-0 Inter-Ac) 14 14 14 0-42
1st Quarter
MP – Chris Smith 5 run (Austin Trout kick), 5:31
PC – Tate Taylor 18 pass from Tom McGlinchey (Ryder Stearn kick), 2:33
MP – Jake Bauer 87 run (Trout kick), 1:00
2nd Quarter
MP – Andrew Pellicciotta 45 pass from Jackson Melconian (Trout kick), 5:33
MP – Danny Riely 11 run (Trout kick), 1:25
3rd Quarter
MP – Zeke Bates 19 run (Trout kick), 8:37
MP – P.J. Holmes 7 pass from Skyler Smith (Trout kick), 4:18
4th Quarter
PC – Dominic Comitale 18 pass from Nate Hartman (Stearn kick), 1:49
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter @JSantoliquito. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball.
