Malvern’s playoff run ends with 34-14 loss to Monroeville after late-game surge

When you go to battle against a two-headed monster, you’ve got to watch out for third options. For the most part, the Hornets held the line against Monroeville’s vaunted running back tandem in their Div. VII, Region 25 quarterfinal playoff game at Monroeville Nov. 7. Malvern was stung, however, by the Eagles’ third option in the fourth quarter of a 34-14 loss.

“They definitely found something in the fourth quarter and we couldn't stop it,” said Hornets coach Matt Chiurco of fourth-seeded Monroeville after the Eagles scored 20 unanswered points in the final 12 minutes to slam the door shut on Malvern’s season.

And much of the damage was done by RB Cooper Cleary, Monroeville’s third back in its run-heavy offense that features back Connor Bores and QB Colton Clark. Cleary, who had a 74-yard TD run in the first quarter, tacked on scoring runs of 29 and 27 yards in the fourth as the Eagles broke up a 14-14 logjam.

“Cleary had his best game of the season,” said Chiurco. “They are used to running Clark and Bores a lot and just use Cleary sparingly, but that kid ran hard and determined and we had no answer for him.”

Cleary entered with a respectable 636 yards rushing, well behind Clark and Bores, who totaled 984 and 881 yards, respectively. Against Malvern, however, Cleary was the man, exploding for 233 yards on only 15 carries for an average of 15.5 yards every time he touched the ball.

The game began more to the Hornets’ liking as it was Malvern that struck first on senior back Julius Gore’s 1-yard touchdown plunge. Quarterback Jaxon Jones found Roy Simmons in the end zone for the two-point conversion and the Hornets had an 8-0 advantage. Cleary and the Eagles responded with his long TD run to close the gap to 8-7 as the quarter wound down.

In the second period, it was Malvern’s defense that came up big as senior defensive lineman Darnell Jackson picked off a pass by Clark and rumbled 60 yards for the score. The two-point conversion attempt was no good, so Malvern led 14-7. Clark made up for his interception, though, as he led Monroeville on a drive capped by his 3-yard scoring run to tie the game.

After a scoreless third quarter, the Eagles turned up the heat in the fourth, scoring three unanswered touchdowns to take control of the game.

I thought we played well for three quarters, but we just had a bit of a disastrous fourth quarter,” said Chiurco. “We had Monroeville pinned down deep in their territory and they made plays. They definitely found something in the fourth quarter and we couldn't stop it.”

Statistically, Gore led Malvern (7-5) on the ground with 57 yards on 19 rushes, while Simmons added 29 yards on five touches. Jones was 19 of 37 for 152 yards and three interceptions. Simmons hauled in nine of those passes for 62 yards and Josh Untch caught five for 44 yards. Defensively, Owen Ball paced the Hornets with eight tackles. Jackson and Luke Thomas each recorded six tackles, including one for a loss, respectively. Jackson had the pick six and Thomas logged a sack.

Malvern bids goodbye to a sizeable senior class – including Gore, Simmons, Untch, Ball, Jackson, Aiden Sprague, Rocco Marinucci, Brodie Powers, and Elijah Heropolus – that contributed to one of the program’s most successful runs.

“I told our seniors after the game that they've won 35 games over the past four years and have played in 48 total,” said Chiurco. “That means we've been pretty darn successful. We wish we could have had a few more games go our way this year, but this was by far the toughest away schedule that we've faced. Sometimes those things just happen. We'll definitely miss the play of our seniors.”

Monroeville (9-2) advances to play at McDonald (11-0) next week.