Josiah Brown, Malverne run away with season opener
Malverne’s Josiah Brown runs downfield for an early touchdown during a Nassau Conference IV football against host East Rockaway on Friday. Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
On this one, you can believe the hype.
Malverne kicked off its most-anticipated football season in decades on Friday night and looked every bit as good as it was advertised to be. Actually, it might be even better. The already formidable Mules added Penn State-bound wideout Josiah Brown — a transfer from Holy Trinity — and, judging from their debut, have become a team to be feared.
Malverne needed to snap the ball just twice to score their first two touchdowns and three more times to reach the end zone a third time as it rolled over host East Rockaway for a 51-0 Nassau IV victory.
And don’t get the idea this was the dismantling of a weakling: the Rocks were the No. 5 seed and expected to fare well in the conference.
“We never back down from a challenge and always give 150%, but that is one good football team,” Rocks coach Russ Pajer said. “They’re strong all over: offense, defense, kicking game.”
Malverne attacked this game like it had been waiting for it since the end of last season. After holding East Rockaway to a three-and-out, Roy Brandon McLaughlin Jr. got blocks from Kevin Estime and Olivier Durasile and went 43 yards for a touchdown.
“He was itching to get the ball all the way over,” Brown said. “On the bus he was, like, twitching.”
After Malverne stopped the Rocks again, Brown also scored on his first touch of the season. He took a sweep down the right side 35 yards to the end zone. The third Mules touchdown was a quick sideline pass from quarterback Chad Wesley to Brown that went 27 yards.
“We, me and Josiah, people are going to have to pick their poison,” McLaughlin said.
In addition to Brown’s three touchdowns, McLaughlin rushed eight times for 112 yards and two touchdowns, Wesley had four carries for 107 yards and a 35-yard TD and Isaiah Jolly and Cameron Lewis added TD runs.
But while the Mules offense has drawn most of the attention, the defense looked every bit as good. The Rocks have good pass rushers in Anthony Grimaldi and Lucas Cortazar but there was no eluding the fierce play of Hugh Wilkinson (11 tackles) and Dylan Reyes (seven tackles). East Rockaway managed 16 yards in its first four possessions as the Mules built a 26-0 lead.
“Our defense is our brand,” Wilkinson said. “What you saw tonight is what we are supposed to do.”
Malverne also flashed intangibles that every team hopes to have. Brown used his exceptional speed to race downfield to throw blocks on long runs by Wesley and McLaughlin.
“He does that and it’s pure heart,” Malverne coach Kito Lockwood said. “That’s him saying ‘I’m better than you and I’ll outwork you. . . . Plays like that make everyone want to play [better].”
All this said, Malverne was not flawless. It committed hard-to-swallow penalties — the kind that could derail a team in a postseason game — including one that took a touchdown off the board.
“Every one of us made a mistake today,” Brown said. “We still have work to do.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
