Hornets nipped in grid finale; Cross country seasons come to an end

It’s fitting that it came down to a single point.

Malvern, a team that has opted to go for two following its touchdowns nearly 63 percent of the time, did just that its Week 10 game at Inter-Valley Conference North rival East Canton Oct. 24.

It came back to bite the Hornets, who dropped a 7-6 decision to close out the season and fall to third in the IVC North, while East Canton took second place behind division winner Newcomerstown. The loss broke Malvern’s win streak against East Canton, which last defeated the Hornets in 2019, by – you guessed it – a single point, 37-36.

The good news for Malvern is that the Hornets were already assured of a spot in the Div. VII, Region 25 playoffs. Malvern (6-4, 3-2) will host a first-round game on Halloween night against Ashtabula St. John. East Canton (8-2, 4-1) will also forgo trick or treating as the No. 7 seed will host Lisbon.

Malvern struck in the first quarter as Josh Untch hauled in a 34-yard TD pass from Jaxon Jones to take the early lead. The 2-point pass attempt was incomplete, and the Hornets’ advantage stood at 6-0.

That score held for the second and third quarters in the low-scoring affair. East Canton, which owned a net advantage of nearly 90 yards in total yardage, was able to piece together a drive in the fourth quarter and running back Dillon Anderson scored 1-yard touchdown plunge with a little less than eight minutes remaining in the game.

Untch finished with two receptions for 45 yards and the score, while Jones was 6 for 16 passing for 52 yards and two interceptions. On the ground, East Canton’s defense denied Julius Jones any big runs, limiting him to 76 yards on 20 carries. Defensively, Brodie Powers and Owen Ball logged 12 tackles apiece for the Hornets, while Luke Thomas added 10.

Cross Country

The season may have ended for the Malvern cross country squad one week earlier than the Hornets would have liked, but nothing can detract from the effort put forth by these runners week after week.

The Lady Hornets, who qualified as a team, placed 17th in a field of 23 schools with a team score of 394. Grandview Heights won the team title with a low score of 44 points, 50 ahead of runner-up Mechanicsburg.

Emma Maher led Malvern in 37th place with a time of 21:15.01, a lifetime PR for the junior, who was six spots away from grabbing an individual ticket to state. Following her was Olivia Maher (22:32.77) in 67th, Mya Doughty (23:50.79) at the 108th spot, Lexus Buchman (25:48.52) in148th, and Annabell Renz (34:49.08) who set a lifetime PR in placing 184th.

The boys did not advance out of districts as a team so Dalton Pennington and Jacob McClelland competed individually at the regional meet. Pennington, a senior, placed 40th with a personal best time of 17:46.33, while McClelland also set a personal best time of 18:14.59, good for 61st place.

Malvern coach Jeremy Maher is already looking forward to next year.

“It was great experience for the all the girls, as this was their first experience with the regional meet,” he said. “We know this will be a springboard into next year's cross country season. We have had an absolute blast with all the kids this year and although our season has come to an end, we look forward to bringing back all but one athlete for next year.”

That one athlete? Pennington, who will bid adieu as a senior.

“Dalton has been a Hornets runner since seventh grade and has come a long way,” said Maher. “For Dalton to end with his best tell you everything you need to know about him.”