Malvern wraps up Inter-Ac title and perfect season
PHILADELPHIA >> Malvern Prep’s players gathered near the 40-yard line to hear from and cheer their head coach one last time.
The loudest response came as coach Dave Gueriera prepped his players for the happiest of offseasons, one in which his players can gloat about their recently reserved places in school and Inter-Ac League history.
“We’re off tomorrow,” Gueriera said, “and Monday, too.”
Malvern Prep completed its undefeated season and clinched its outright hold on the league title with a 41-20 victory Saturday over Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. The Friars (11-0,
5-0) won the Inter-Ac crown for the third consecutive season and put the wraps on the first
11-win season in Malvern Prep’s storied history. The Friars needed to topple Springside Chestnut Hill (6-5, 1-4) to retain their place as Inter-Ac’s royalty. Following their season-ending win, they can head into the offseason with a 16-game winning streak overall and a run of 14 consecutive victories against league teams, dating to 2016.
“There was never a doubt in my mind that this team had the potential to go undefeated,” said linebacker/wide receiver Keith Maguire. “It feels good to finish it and get it done, because we knew from the start of the year we had something special. We just had to go out and prove it.”
Maguire, a Clemson commit, accounted for three touchdowns, two receiving and one rushing. He pulled down touchdown passes of 31 and 18 yards from quarterback Drew Gunther, who this week committed to Virginia Tech, in the third quarter. Maguire took a fourth-quarter sweep for a 59-yard score, giving the Friars a comfortable four-score lead and all but icing the win.
Fellow senior Quincy Watson, a Delaware commit, logged a season-high 219 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 22 carries. Watson’s 23- and one-yard scoring runs erased an early deficit for Malvern Prep, as the Friars took the lead in the second quarter and never looked back.
Going 11-0, according to Watson, was never the plan. “For us,” he said, “it was all about 1-0. We wanted to win each week. So the goal for us was to go 1-0, then 1-0 next week, and 1-0 the week after that. If you do that consistently enough, you get where we got this season - 110, league champs, and making some history.”
Springside Chestnut Hill, attempting to play the role of spoiler, looked poised to do just that.
The Blue Devils’ defense forced fumbles on Malvern Prep’s first three drives, but failed to score on any of those turnovers. But then the Devils controlled the clock with a subsequent drive of 21 plays, 75 yards that stretched 10 minutes across the first and second quarters.
“It felt great to get a start like that,” said Springside Chestnut Hill receiver Ke’Shawn Williams. “Malvern Prep is a great team, one of the best in the area. We knew we had to put them on their heels if we were going to beat them.”
Williams finished with 13 catches for 150 yards. One of them accounted for a 15-yard touchdown connection with quarterback Aaron Angelos in the second quarter, giving Springside Chestnut Hill an unexpected lead.
That didn’t last. Malvern Prep scored touchdowns, two by Watson, on three of their next offensive snaps.
“I just remember telling our guys, ‘Leave no regrets on the field, because we’ll never get another shot like this in our lives,’” Watson said.
“This is the best feeling,” added Maguire. “We did it. We earned it.”