Under the leadership of Coach Gueriera, the coaching staff, and the senior captains, the Friars will be doing everything they can this season to go undefeated and win the Inter-Ac.
After just a week and a half of preseason, the players are already coming together nicely as a team.
“Everyone has pushed their egos aside for the greater good of the team,” Head Coach Dave Gueriera said. “So far, we look good, and everyday we get better.”
The team practices Monday through Friday, typically from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. However on Mondays and Wednesdays the team practices twice.
“This year’s schedule is a lot better than last year’s,” senior Quinn McCahon said. “Last year, we arrived on campus at eight in the morning and would not leave until eight at night.”
In addition to strength training and practicing, the team watches film everyday.
“We film every practice, with the intention of not making the same mistakes twice,” Gueriera said. “If a problem is not corrected on the field, then we correct it in the meeting room.”
Because of the intense heat, Malvern practiced without shoulder pads.
“These were rules from the PIAA. We just wore helmets for our first two practices,” McCahon said.
Although the weather has been quite hot, McCahon has enjoyed every practice.
“Everyone agrees that senior seasons go by so fast at Malvern,” McCahon said. “I want to enjoy it and have fun because I will never play football again after this season.”
McCahon commented on what the senior season is like.
“As a senior, I am more responsible,” McCahon said. “It is our team. We determine how the season is going to be and how we want it to be. I feel more responsibility, especially as a captain, to make sure everyone is doing their job and everyone is focused during practice. I have to make sure everyone is doing the right thing outside of practice too.”
Although junior Sebastian Costantini still has two more seasons ahead of him, he feels that his leadership role has grown.
“This season has a whole new meaning,” Costantini said. “Now, we will be leaders on the team and serve a bigger role.”
Constantini holds great confidence in this team.
“I know everyone is going to give their best effort,” he said. “We will do whatever it takes to get better.”
The Friars’ game plan this season is to take one game at time.
“We are not talking about the Inter-Ac schedule or anything past St. Augustine Prep,” Gueriera said. “St. Augustine Prep is where all of our focus is right now.”
Malvern’s new mascot will be attending this game and all of the home games.
“I love the new mascot,” Gueriera said. “I think the design is great. It is more modern than the Friar before.”
In addition to the new mascot, Friar football has new jerseys.
“We have Under Armour tops and bottom this year,” Gueriera said. “Our colors are switching to more of a navy than the royal blue they had last year.”
After suffering a season ending shoulder injury last year, senior O’Shaan Allison will be back in uniform this season.
Gueriera said, “O’Shaan is a special kid with a special talent. He has great vision, strong burst, and a very high IQ.”
With O’Shaan back in action, this will open up the wide receivers and give junior Drew Gunther the chance to throw the football.
“Drew is our offensive leader,” Gueriera said. “His arm is strong and accurate, and he picked up the offense very quickly.”
@drewgunther11 Way to go! @MPFriars @MalvernPrepFB pic.twitter.com/3O8CJRWwiy
— Joe Basiura (@JoeBasiura) August 19, 2017
This year, Coach Gueriera and the senior captains thought up of a new motto, relentless.
“Relentless means never ending, and unstoppable,” Coach said. “We will not be denied, and we are always going to look to succeed in any case of adversity that comes our way. This makes sense with our coaching staff as well. We will never be outworked.”
Gueriera cares about how the team represents itself.
“We are striving to represent Malvern with class and respect,” Gueriera said. “We want to be good examples on the football field, on the practice field, and in the classroom. We are working to earn respect and be the great examples of what Malvern is all about.”
