Hornets knock off unbeaten Trojans

By Carol McIntire

Editor

Malvern Head Coach Matt Chiurco believed the more physical and tougher team would win a showdown between his one-loss Hornets and the undefeated Newcomerstown Trojans Friday night in Malvern.

He was spot-on with his prediction. The battle was a tough, hard-hitting contest won by the Hornets 38-28, who now sit atop the Inter Valley Conference North standings with two games remaining on the schedule. 

“We stressed physicality and toughness all week to these kids because we believed that was what it was going to come down to,” Chiurco said Friday following the game. “I felt like in the second half we were more physical and the tougher team. It was awesome to see.”

The Hornets fell behind early and, at one point early in the third period, trailed by 13 points, 21-8.

“We faced adversity there in the third period,” Chiurco said referring to the deficit his team faced. The Trojans took the second half kickoff and mounted a 54-yard, eight-play drive with the team’s star running back, junior Dominic Singer, biting off large chunks of yardage with each carry. Junior Josh Harvey went the final yard for the touchdown with 7:53 on the third quarter clock. When Ethan Foster booted the extra point, it looked like the Trojans were headed for the victory. 

Malvern wasted no time responding.

On its first possession of the third quarter, the hosts put together a 69-yard scoring drive that was aided by two Trojan facemask penalties. 

Junior Julius Gore, who became Malvern’s workhorse in the backfield after teammate Drake Hutchison went down early with an injury, ran through and around Trojan defenders, ultimately setting his team up with a first and goal on the 9-yard line. 

Three plays later, quarterback Jared Witherow found Rodney Smith for a seven-yard touchdown with 2:53 left in the quarter. Gore added the two-point conversion to pull Malvern within 21-16.

Six plays later, the Hornets found the end zone again. 

Instead of kicking the ball deep when the Hornets lined up for the kickoff, sophomore Kaden Dennis executed an onside kick which teammate Clayton Abel recovered. Three plays later, Malvern was facing a fourth-and two on the Trojan 41. Gore picked up eight yards and moved the ball to the 33. Gore added two yards on the next play and Witherow connected with Smith on a pass to the 12-yard line as time expired in the third period. 

Witherow ran up the middle through the Trojan defense for the final 12 yards and the touchdown. Roy Simmons added the two-point conversion to give his team a 24-21 lead. 

The Trojans were not going to lie down and roll over.

Facing a fourth-and-inches on their own 36-yard line on the next possession, Singer’s number was called. He responded with a 64-yard run right up the middle to give the visitors their last lead of the game 28-24.

Chiurco turned to the running game on the next drive with Gore and Witherow splitting the carries on a 68-yard drive. Gore went the final four yards for the score dragging three Trojans across the goal line. Simmons added the two-point conversion to put his up 32-28 with 3:43 left on the clock. 

Special teams sealed the win when Dennis’ short squib kick bounced around and evaded three Trojans before Malvern’s Tyler Cobb recovered the ball. Three plays later, Witherow threw a 35-yard strike to Smith, who took two steps and was in the end zone to seal the victory.

When asked about his young kicker and the fact he hasn’t been a regular in the lineup, Chiurco smiled.

“That second kick wasn’t planned,” he said. “It just kind of happened. He works hard at kicking. He’s put a lot of hours in practicing. He kicked late in the game at Buckeye Trail, and we said, ok, let’s make the switch.”

Each team had a 100-yard rusher: Gore with 120 yards on 30 carries and Singer with 172 yards on 18 carries. Smith also reached the 100-yard mark, hauling in seven Witherow 

“He (Gore) ran his butt off tonight,” Chiurco said. “I’m so proud of him. He’s a big kid, he’s fast, he’s shifty and he was very physical tonight, which is what we preached.”

Singer put the first points of the game on the scoreboard with a one-yard run in the first period. Gore’s first touchdown came on Malvern’s next possession when the capped off a 56-yard drive with a two-yard run. Witherow’s pass to Detchon was good for the two-point conversion. Singer scored his second touchdown on a nine-yard run in the second period.

Newcomerstown won the battle for yards on the ground with 238 on 33 attempts compared to 169-yards on 45 carries for Malvern. The difference came in the passing game, where Malvern found success. Witherow completed 13 of 16 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns while the Trojans completed three of nine passes for 32 yards. 

Owen Ball led the Hornet defensive effort with nine tackles. Darnell Jackson was credited with seven tackles and Simmons six.  

Malvern is scheduled to travel to New Philadelphia to play Tuscarawas Central Catholic Saturday. Chiurco said the school would evaluate the football situation Monday or Tuesday to determine if the contest will be played.