Times All-North Section 3 Football Co-MVPs: General Brown’s Malcolm, Natali record surprisingly similar stellar seasons

For their efforts, Natali and Malcolm, who are both running backs, have been selected as All-North football co-Most Valuable players from Section 3.

“It is unique,” General Brown coach Doug Black said of the honor being shared between the two. “It’s just kind of the way those two mirrored each other, I don’t think one would have done as well without the other one.”

“It’s awesome, we’ve been playing football since we were children,” Malcolm said. “We’ve been playing the same position on opposite sides, so for both of us to get MVP, it’s a really great feeling.”

Natali said: “We finished within one tackle of each other overall for the season and within like a 100 yards of each other on offense,”

The duo spearheaded the Lions’ drive through the regular season and into the postseason, capped by their run through the state playoffs.

“Looking back on it, I think we had an amazing season,” Malcolm said. “I’m really proud of every one of our guys. I thought everyone played very unselfishly and we all played as a team. We were able to accomplish some amazing things.”

The pair’s offensive production throughout the season as well as their final statistics are eerily similar.

“The great thing about both of them is they’re pretty unselfish, they didn’t really care about getting the spotlight,” Black said. “Depending on the games, one day Kaleb would have a big game and the next week it would be Gabe. There was no animosity, they were just as happy when the other one did well.”

Natali rushed for 1,333 yards and 20 touchdowns this season, while totaling 214 receiving yards and two scores through the air.

Malcolm wasn’t far behind in the ground game as he ran for 1,231 yards and 14 touchdowns, as well as hauling in a scoring catch.

“Gabe’s more elusive, I’m more ‘I’m just going to hit you,’” said Natali, who stands at 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds. “Gabe definitely has more speed, but I feel like when it comes down to it, you can hand either of us the ball and we’re both going to get you where you need to go.”

Both also played at outside linebacker, with Malcolm totaling 177 tackles and Natali making 116.

“It was new, because last year me and Kaleb played at cornerback, so we moved to linebacker this year because we lost all three of our linebackers from last year,” said the 5-11 and 165-pound Malcolm, who also forced two fumbles. “It was new, it was a new feeling, but I think it turned out pretty well and I had a blast playing linebacker.

“It was lot more contact, a lot more physicality.”

“It was fun, it was a lot of physical pain on your body,” Natali said of playing linebacker. “But it was helpful because it helped me get stronger, because I had to be bigger for the other kids that I’m tackling and all that. So it was a fun experience.”

The pair also each recorded a pair of sacks and made two interceptions, with Natali returning both of his picks for touchdowns and also returning a fumble recovery for a score.

“They were the two leading rushers on the team, the two leading tacklers on the team and they just did a great job of complementing each other on defense,” Black said. “You really didn’t have a weakness really running from one side to the other because (the other team) was running into them. So they were kind of are catalysts on defense, too.”

After defeating then reigning sectional champions Skaneateles in the first round of the Section 3 playoffs, General Brown went on to defeat second-seeded Cazenovia, 30-22, in a semifinal, with Malcolm rushing for two scores and Natali running for the game-clinching touchdown in the fourth quarter,

The Lions went on to blank Holland Patent, 41-0, in the Class C final at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse to claim the program’s first sectional title since 2014.

“It was a great feeling,” Natali said of the team’s run. “This team’s come a long way, we were just hoping that we could have won one more game, but outcomes are different sometimes.”

After defeating Section 4’s Waverly, 29-14, in a state quarterfinal at Cicero-North Syracuse, the Lions advanced to a state semifinal to face Section 6 champion Lackawanna, an admittedly bigger team physically.

“With Lackawanna, we knew it was going to be a tough game going into it,” Malcolm said. “They were pretty much behemoths compared to us. So it was kind of like David versus Goliath with the size comparison. But I thought we were able to hold our own and make plays when we needed to and managed to come out with a win.”

Trailing at halftime, General Brown shut out the Steelers in the second half to prevail, 29-20. Fittingly, Malcolm and Natali each ran for two touchdowns on the day, with Natali scoring twice in the second half, including the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter.

“I think our team and especially those two kind of had a chip on their shoulder when it came to that because we were always, especially as we moved through the state playoffs, we were always kind of counted about because of our size,” Black said. “But these kids were extremely tough and I think those two players embodied what the team did. We weren’t always the biggest or the fastest, but we weren’t about to give up.”

General Brown’s run came to an end in a 29-14 loss to Section 9’s James I. O’Neill in the state championship game, also at the Dome.

“It was close,” Malcolm said. “It felt like a physical stinger, going into the fourth quarter being up and then losing by two touchdowns, it’s kind of a bad feeling. But looking back on the entire season, it’s really a great thing that we accomplished.”

General Brown led 14-13 entering the fourth quarter, but was shut out in the final period as it yielded the game’s final 15 points.

“That fourth quarter really got us,” Natali said. “I don’t know what happened in the defense, but we couldn’t tackle, we couldn’t stop their pass game. They got what we gave them.”

On the season, Natali and Malcolm paced a balanced ground game which generated 4,792 yards and 63 touchdowns.

Senior fullback Sheamus Devine rushed for 1,057 yards and 11 touchdowns of his own while junior quarterback Aiden McManaman ran for 570 yards and five scores, while throwing for 873 yards and eight touchdowns.

“Aiden was great all year getting the ball to where it needed to be on pitches and handoffs and running it up on his own and making the great reads,” Natali said. “Sheamus, he’s just fast and strong and very hard to bring down. It’s just crazy how we all can do everything.”

Both Natali and Malcolm also credit the development of the Lions’ offensive line over the course of the season.

“Over the year, they progressed so much and it was just great to have them there and have them blocking for me this year,” Natali said.

Also fittingly this season, Natali and Malcolm usually blocked for each other while the other one carried the ball.

“As the season got going, they just seemed to get better and better,” Black said. “Understanding the offense a little bit better, and they both did a great job of following their blocks, and again, they maximized every ounce of talent that they had.”