2023 Team Preview: Great Valley Patriots

Written by: David Mika on Saturday, August 12th, 2023. Follow David Mika on Twitter.

Head Coach: Jeff Martin

Assistant Coaches:
Chuck Chiccino
Abdul Madyun
Dave Brown
John McAllister
Dana Keith
Pat Ricci
Tom Calvario
Raheem Bey

Team Name: Great Valley Patriots

2022 Record: 8-4

District: 1

Class: AAAAA

League: Ches-Mont League, American Division

Key Starters lost:
Justin Nadwodny
Nick Pellicciotta
Lawron Short
Gavin Greco
Ryan Shim
Jackson Callahan
Seth Turner
Jack Coffey
Colin Kiselak
Raheem Orr

Offensive Starters Returning:
Braeden Melia (QB)
Tommy Crouse (WR)
Gavin Maslowski (WR)
Jack Deegan (WR)
Nate Ricciardi (RB)
Joey Newell (H-Back)
Jack Clearfield (OL)
Carter Stedman (TE)

Defensive Starters Returning:
Jack Clearfield (DE)
Gavin Rhodes (LB)
Nate Ricciardi (LB)
Tommy Crouse (DB)
Gavin Maslowski (DB)
Cole Callahan (Edge).

Special Team Starters Returning:
Falls Johnson (PR)
Nate Ricciardi (KR).

Key Newcomers: Jr. DL/OL Dane Wolfrom, 6’4” 220; Sr. OL/DL Owen May, 6’3” 240; Jr. OL/DL Aidan Granger, 6’1” 230; Jr. RB/LB Sam Snyder, 5’9” 190; Jr. WR/DB Daiyaan Reyes, 5’7” 135; So. RB/DB Brodie Camp, 5’10” 165; Jr. WR/DB A.J. Diamond, 6’0” 165; Jr. OL/DL Marcus King, 5’5” 215; Sr. OL/DL Jake Teague, 6’0” 180.

2023 Returning Player Stats:
Braeden Melia 1,465 yards passing, 12 TD’s, 270 yards rushing, 5 TD’s
Gavin Maslowski 21 rec. 265 yards, 4 TD’s
Tommy Crouse 17 rec 296 yards, 1 TD, 31 tackles, 2 int’s
Jack Clearfield 35 tackles, 3 sacks
Nate Ricciardi 20 tackles, 1 sack, 1 int, 1 DTD, 5 rec., 75 yards
Jack Deegan 10 rec, 72 yards; Carter Stedman 8 rec., 83 yards
Joey Newell 8 rec., 70 yards, 1 TD; Gavin Rhodes 26 tackles.

2023 Outlook:After losing in the second round of the playoffs last year, our returning players are eager to have the chance to compete in our league and make a push for postseason play. We lost key players from last year but have key returning players this year. Our younger players have been impressive in the off-season and will push our upperclassmen for playing time. Offensively, we return the majority of our skill positions including our QB. Defensively, we have more roles to fill but we are optimistic about the collection of returning starters and newcomers.

Offense: The key to our offense will be for our first-year starters on the offensive line to become accustomed to playing varsity football and to maintain depth at this position. If our offensive line comes together, we have experience and talent at QB, WR, and RB. We essentially have all of our WR’s and TE returning from last year and our QB, Braeden Melia returns after having an impressive year at QB. We have to replace our starting RB but, we are optimistic that Falls Johnson, Sam Snyder, and Brodie Camp will fill in nicely at the RB position. Ricciardi and Newell both have plenty of experience at RB/H-Back as well.

Defense: We have key spots to fill on defense. We return most of our DB’s from last year, two LBs, and 2 defensive linemen. Jack Clearfield and Cole Callahan will anchor our defensive line. Gavin Rhodes, Sam Snyder, Joey Newell, and Nate Ricciardi will play linebacker. Tommy Crouse and Gavin Maslowski solidify our backend at DB. Our key on defense will be for the new players to make a smooth transition to starting roles, run to the ball, and stop the run.

Special Team: Our kicker/punter, Seth Turner is playing Division 1 football this year and we will need to fill that void. We have a soccer player who will be trying out for the position and have our backup who returns from last year. We return two of our returners from last year- Falls Johnson and Nate Ricciardi.

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