Friday at Garaway Football Field, something will have to give.
Two proud football programs will put perfection on the line as defending Inter-Valley Conference North league champion Malvern takes on IVC South champ Garaway for only the third time since 2018.
Both teams have rangy All-Ohio quarterbacks at the helm of explosive offenses, both sport stingy defenses, and both possess winning streaks—Garaway boasting a home winning streakdating back to 2020 and the Hornets on a seven-game road roll.
Make no mistake; Malvern coach Matt Chiurco has the utmost respect for the dynasty that Jason Wallick has forged at Garaway(4-0, 0-0).
“Coach Wallick has been there for over 20 years now and has really made Garaway football well known throughout the state” said Chiurco. “The players know what to expect year in and year out and the community rallies behind them. Garaway never rebuilds anymore, they just reload and that’s a credit to him and his staff.”
Malvern (4-0,0-0) is on the same trajectory; Chiurco, in his seventh season, has instituted a culture of winning, and much like Garaway, a run in the state playoffs is to be expected. On a38-9 tear since 2020, the Hornets have now qualified for the state playoffs every year save Chiurco’s inaugural season in 2018.
One matchup sure to have fans salivating will be between two All-Ohio quarterbacks. Malvern’s 6-foot-5, senior quarterback Jared Witherow (2,400 yards, 30 TDs in 2023), who was named first team All-Ohio in Division VII last season, will duel the Pirates’ 6-foot-4 senior QB Brady Geibel, who threw for 2,800 yards in 2023 while leading his team to the Division VI semifinals.
Look for Witherow to go to his star receiver, 6-3 Rodney Smith.The senior collected 47 receptions for 971 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, earning All-Ohio honors, and the duo has picked up right where they left off this season, already combining for seven TDs over four games.
“Rodney and Jared have played together since youth football and have developed a great relationship on the football field,” said Chiurco. “Jared knows when he’s in trouble and he needs to find somebody, most of the time, he’s able to find Rodney and we’ll need them both to have big games on Friday night.”
Other keys to the game include playing smart and disciplined football, says Chiurco, which are hallmarks of the Hornet tradition.
“We have to go out and execute our game plan, take care of the football, and not make mental mistakes,” he said. “We really need to get off to a good start down there and that doesn’t necessarily mean we need to score first, we just need to move the ball on offense, get stops on defense and have good special teams.”
Looking to make up for a 30-7 home loss to the Pirates in 2021, don’t look for the Hornets to be bothered by the boisterous Garaway crowd.
“Over the last five years, we’ve played very well on the road,and we also tell our kids that road games are business trips, nothing more and nothing less,” said Chiurco.
For the Malvern faithful, here’s to hoping the Hornets take care of business this Friday.
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