11/05/2025
Week 12: Meet the Opponent: Malvern Hornets
Malvern comes in at 7-4 on the season to take on our 8-2 Eagles at Marsh Field.
Malvern has appeared in the playoffs 16 times, first appearing in 1991 and hasn't missed the playoffs since 2018. They have a 13-16 record with one state semifinal appearance in 2008. This will be our 20th appearance and third year in a row. Our playoff record is 14-19.
Go Eagles!
Protect the Marsh.
As a bonus read, here is the 2025 Malvern preview from the New Philadelphia Times Reporter:
The start of the 2025 Ohio high school football season is right around the corner.
Most teams open Week 1 on Friday, Aug. 22, with a handful playing their season opener on Thursday, Aug. 21.
Here is one in a series of previews for Tuscarawas County-area football
teams: Malvern Hornets
Winning will continue for the defending Inter Valley Conference North champion Hornets.
Need a few examples of how dominant the Hornets have been over the past five seasons? Consider this: During that time, they have gone 44-11, won four IVC North crowns and advanced to the postseason playos in each of those five campaigns.
The Hornets must replace one of the top passers in Malvern history in graduated Jared Witherow, who threw for 2,742 yards and 30 touchdowns while repeating as an All-Ohio signal-caller last autumn. Another standout lost to cap and gown was receiver Rodney Smith, who caught 68 passes for 1,244 yards and 18 six-pointers.
But despite the loss of those two great stars, Malvern returns 13 letter-winners, including many talented All-IVC players to carry on the tradition. Those all-conference returnees include senior oensive lineman/middle linebacker Owen Ball, senior tailback-outside linebacker Julius Gore, senior wide receiver-defensive back Roy Simmons, senior wide receiver-linebacker Josh Untch, and senior oensive lineman/defensive lineman Darnell Jackson.
Malvern will play two new opponents on its 2025 schedule. It will travel to Martins Ferry to play the Purple Riders in Week 2 and will host fellow small-school state power Modadore in Week 4. Martins Ferry and Mogadore replace Conotton Valley and Garaway on the Hornets’ 2025 slate. Malvern opens the season Friday, Aug. 22 at Youngstown Valley Christian. “For us, we’ve got a tough non-league schedule,” said Malvern coach Matt Chiurco. “We added Martins Ferry, and they’re a really good team, and we added Mogadore and then you mix in Harrison Central and Tusky Valley, so we’re going to be battle-tested through five weeks. I don’t know what our record will be after those five weeks, but we do this in
preparation for our league schedule and for that playo run. It’s worked, and we’re hoping it works again this year.”
In the huddle
Coach: Matt Chiurco (eighth season, 53-24 record)
2024 record: 11-2, including playoffs
Classification: Division VII, Region 25
Playoff appearances under current coach: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Key returners: Owen Ball (OL/LB), Julius Gore (RB/OLB), Roy Simmons (WR/DB), Josh Untch (WR/LB), Darnell Jackson (OL/DL), Aiden Sprague (WR/OLB), Rocco Marinucci (WR/DB), Brodie Powers (RB/DB) Promising underclassmen: Jaxon Jones (QB/DB), Grady Barkley (WR/DB), Camrin Detchon (WR/DB), Andrew Walters (OL/DL), Bryson Casler (OL/DL), Stephen Harmon (OL/DL), Brennan Mitchell (OL/DL), Jeremiah Fach (RB/OLB), Nathan Ezell (WR/OLB) Coach Chiurco’s take: “Really, we’ve got a good senior group back,” said the Malvern coach. “Owen Ball, Julius Gore, Roy Simmons, Josh Untch and Darnell Jackson are really our key ones, and they’re all-league guys from last year. And then we mix in some other seniors like Aiden Sprague, Rocco Marinucci and Brodie Powers. We’re probably not as deep as we have been in the last couple years but we have a good bit of talent. Obviously, we’ve got to stay healthy, that’s key, but how we utilize things kind of remains to be seen early on.
"We have a new quarterback in Jaxon Jones. He’s a junior, and he’s kind of like (graduated) Jared (Witherow). He’s a very smart kid, a 4.0 student, and I love it. We’re trying to build that confidence for him. Body-wise, he’s 6-4, and he’s a little bit thicker than Jared, and he’s not afraid to run the ball, so I think that will be kind of an added dimension with him.”
IVC North Outlook: Despite losing some key players to graduation, the defending IVC North conference champion Hornets, along with Newcomerstown and Buckeye Trail are expected to be the frontrunners in the race for the conference crown again this season.
“I think on our side (the IVC North) it’s kind of been a little lopsided, but I really feel this year it’s going to be the most balanced it’s been,” Chiurco said. “You still have your teams like us and Newcomerstown who are probably a little bit above everybody else, but I think East Canton is going to be much better, I believe Strasburg only had two or three seniors (last year) and I think they have a lot of good skill, and Buckeye Trail always plays us tough and they’ve beaten Newcomerstown the last two years, and I know (Tuscarawas) Central is trying to build up. We feel like four of those five are going to be competitive games, which is good for us, that’s what we want.”
