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(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption: SECONDARY CONCERN: Hun School defensive back Matt Malleo, right, breaks up a pass to a Hill receiver in Hun's 26-7 opening day win. Last Sunday, Malleo had two interceptions to help the Raiders to a 41-7 romp over Mercersburg. Hun, now 2-0, plays at Penn Charter on October 2.end of caption

Malleo Following in Brother's Footsteps In Leading Hun Football to 2-0 Start

By Bill Alden

Matt Malleo was in the stands two years ago when his older brother, Chris, quarterbacked the Hun School football team to a breakthrough 6-3 season.

Deciding that he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his brother, the younger Malleo came to Hun this fall as a postgraduate student after completing a stellar career as a star defensive back for Wall Township High.

Last Sunday, the younger Malleo drew cheers in the secondary by making two interceptions to help Hun thrash visiting Mercersburg 41-7 and improve to 2-0.

A smiling Malleo acknowledged afterward that he is relishing the chance to add to the family tradition at Hun.

"Chris had a great experience here," said Malleo, who topped the Shore Conference with 7 interceptions last fall.

"He loved it here. Coming out of high school, he didn't really have any [college] offers. Coming out of here, he ended up at Northwestern. The coaches really helped him get into the best school possible. Right after my senior season at Wall, I started gearing up for Hun."

The 6'0, 175-pound Malleo is currently gearing up to help Hun continue its winning ways.

"My role on this team is to help them win," said Malleo, who is looking to continue his football career next year at a school like Yale, Cornell, Princeton, Richmond, or William and Mary. "Last year I led the Shore League in interceptions, that's what I pride myself on."

Malleo, who is one of Hun's team captains, is also dedicated to making sure that the Raiders don't suffer any letdowns.

"We showed today that we're going to come out every week and play hard," asserted the curly-haired Malleo. "That's what football is all about and that is what the coaches preach to us."

Hun head coach Dave Dudeck maintained that the effort his charges put in Sunday demonstrates that they are getting that message.

"We could've gotten lax and lethargic today, but we didn't," said Dudeck, noting that his team was playing a regular season game on a Sunday for the first time in his memory. "I was proud of the way we came out and took care of business."

Indeed, after jumping to a 7-0 after the first quarter, the Raiders poured it on in the second quarter with a 28-0 outburst that put the game out of reach for outmanned Mercersburg.

The Raiders excelled in all facets of the game in the second quarter as Myron Rolle scored on a run and a reception, Jas Lee Rouson had a touchdown run, Richard Weidel kicked a field goal, and the defense produced two safeties.

Dudeck pointed to Malleo's leadership as a key factor in his club's suffocating defensive effort.

"Matt Malleo is a phenomenal, phenomenal defensive back," declared Dudeck. "He has great instincts. He just has a nose for being a defensive back. It goes from covering the pass to the way he attacks and makes open field tackles. He's been incredible week in, week out. He's been very reliable."

Another reliable weapon for Hun is the rushing brilliance of junior running back Rolle. The 6'3, 210 Rolle barreled through the Mercersburg defense for 125 yards on 6 carries.

"I think we understood that we could give Myron the ball today and things would happen," said Dudeck. "Myron has been phenomenal, he's at a different level. We have a lot of real good players so we want to spread the ball around. We try to get a team type of a concept and have everybody pitch in."

With his team having outscored its first two foes by a margin of 67-14, Dudeck believes he is getting a lot of people pitching in. "You make progress each week," said Dudeck, whose team plays at Penn Charter on October 2.

"We continue to work on different things. I think our running game is going well. Our passing game came a little bit today and it will continue to come I think our special teams improved tremendously today. The other thing is just getting kids experience and to get kids together who haven't played with each other."

Malleo, for his part, is determined to add to the legacy established by his brother. "Chris helped start this up," said Malleo. They had a great season that year. Last year they built on that (going 7-2) and we are just trying to finish it. We want to go 9-0 for the coaches and everyone who has been playing here."