Great Valley counting on experienced O-line

East Whiteland >> One of Great Valley’s biggest strengths as it kicks off the 2021 football season is a veteran offensive line that lost only one starter through graduation last spring.
“We have a lot of experience on our offensive line,” said Great Valley head coach Jeff Martin.
Leading the O-line is senior right tackle and co-captain Brandon May (6-3, 285), who has played on both sides of the ball since his sophomore year.
“We’re trying to communicate more on the offensive line this year,” said May, who noted. “We also have some other veterans on the [offensive] line.”

Those seasoned veterans include senior tight end and co-captain Ryan Magargal (6-1, 210), who has started since his sophomore year; senior center Archer Crane (6-1, 200), who started at guard last fall; and senior guard and co-captain Sean McNamara (6-0, 180), who has been a starter since his sophomore year. The other projected starters up front (as of mid-August) are junior guard Justin Nadwodny (5-11, 200) and junior left tackle Jose Caballero (5-10, 195).
Of the five senior captains for Great Valley, three of them are on the offensive line – May, Magargal and McNamara. The other two Patriot captains are quarterback Andy Talone (6-0, 180), in his third year as a starter at the signal-calling spot; and linebacker/running back Jake Snyder (6-0, 190).

“I’m excited to be playing 10 games as a team this fall,” said Snyder. “Last year, we were 2-2 going into our final game, which would normally mean we’d be fighting for a playoff spot, but they only took four teams [in 2020].”
Talone said, “Most of our guys have been here all summer, which I think has made us closer as a team, whereas last year it just got put on us that we were playing in October, and we just had to go with it and play five games.”
The Patriots’ running attack will be led by Snyder, and other backs who should see action this fall are junior Jake Pellicciotta (5-8, 160), sophomore fullback Nate Ricciardi (5-11, 195) and sophomore Falls Johnson (5-9, 165). At quarterback, Talone is another solid runner.
“Andy’s a dual threat, running and passing,” said Martin. “He’s a composed player, knows our system, and has plenty of athletic ability.”
Last year, Great Valley’s offense was gearing more toward running the football, but in 2021 there should be more of an emphasis on the Patriots’ passing attack.
“We have some nice receivers, who have some good size,” noted Martin.

Great Valley pass receivers include Magargal, senior Dylan Cave (6-2, 160), junior Lawron Short (6-3, 225), sophomore Gavin Maslowski (6-1, 160), junior Jackson Callahan (5-11, 160) and junior Aidan Poggi (5-8, 150).
On defense, the Patriots’ linebackers will be led by Snyder, a third-year starter.
“Jake is very physical, plays downhill and his work ethic is second to none,” said Martin.
Snyder said, “This is my third year as a starting linebacker so I try to do my best to pull the defense together, make sure everyone is in the right spot and knows what their assignments are. I’m usually the one who calls out the signals the coaches give us from the sidelines.”
Snyder and another starter from last year, senior Riley Craven (5-9, 190), will man the outside linebacker spots. The Patriots have four players who should see playing time on the inside two LB positions – Nadwodny, Crane, Ricciardi and junior Jack Coffey (5-10, 220).
Up front, May is the starting nose guard (Caballero also should see time at the NG spot). The rest of the defensive line features what Martin calls a “nice rotation” among Short, McNamara, Magargal and sophomore Jack Clearfield (6-0, 185).
In the defensive backfield, senior Cullen McDaniel (6-0, 165) will return as the starting strong safety; Pellicciotta will be the free safety; and the cornerback position has four candidates – Callahan, Cave, Maslowski and Poggi.
The Patriots will kick off their 10-game schedule at Phoenixville Aug. 27, one of two non-league games on their slate (the other is against Penn Wood).
“We’re in a tough [Ches-Mont] league,” said Martin. “It will be important for us to rely on our seniors who have plenty of playing experience to carry us through a 10-game season after playing just five games last year. That being said, we’re going to need our underclassmen to step up and replace starters that we lost [through graduation].
“Our coaching staff feels very optimistic about our young players and what they’ve shown this summer and in Heat Acclimation Week. I’m impressed with how many of our players have come in to do the off-season training – lifting, conditioning and agility.
“Our senior class has led the way for the underclassmen. We went to Millersville for an overnight camp at the end of July and got some really good work in there, with 7-on-7s against some other local teams from Pennsylvania.”