Malden faces familiar foe in powerhouse Everett

Everett beat visiting Malden, 42-27, last Friday in a much closer game than most anticipated. Even though Malden hasn’t beaten Everett since 1991, Pappagallo insists his players are ready for the challenge.

“We’ll go in there Friday night, we won’t be intimidated by them,” Pappagallo said.

First, there’s psychology. Everett is the sectional’s top seed, so Pappagallo is making sure his players are in the right mind-set before kickoff.

Though motivation is typically key, Pappagallo knows his players will already have that. Because the cities are connected, the players all know one another. There are no secrets, especially with last week’s matchup fresh in their minds.

The message Pappagallo tells them is simple.

“The Everett guys are 16-, 17-, 18-year-old student-athletes, exactly like you,” he says. “They’re prone to make mistakes, and they’re prone to be defeated by the laws of physics and the angles of geometry just as much as anybody else.”

That’s where physics and geometry come into play. Pappagallo laughs as he shares his thoughts on physics.

“Force equals mass times acceleration,” he shares. “Do we have the physicality to match up? Do we have the size to match up?”

The Golden Tornadoes will likely get 6-foot-4-inch, 270-pound left tackle Mack Brunot and starting tight end Isaac Bethea back Friday. Both are nursing injuries, but Pappagallo says they should be ready to go.

Even with the two returning players, Pappagallo knows his team will have its hands full against the likes of Lukas Denis, Nick Orekoya, and Jordan McAfee, as well as strong offensive and defensive lines.

File/The Boston Globe

Malden coach Joseph Pappagallo.

“Sometimes Everett kids have more size and more talent,” Pappagallo said. “I don’t know what’s in the water there, if they grow them big, or what the deal is.”

But Pappagallo insists physics will help his team. He encourages his players to put aside the mental aspect for just one second, and simply use their size and speed to just make a play. Forget about the situation and read the geometric angles, he says.

It’s a unique perspective, yes, but it’s one Pappagallo uses to convince his players they’re capable of making game-changing plays.

“When we put it in those terms, it rings a bell for those guys,” Pappagallo said.

Everett’s going to make plays, like Denis’s 65-yard pick-six and Gary Clark’s 44-yard touchdown reception [last Friday]. For Malden, the key is countering and not letting the game spiral out of hand.

Pappagallo said he was genuinely surprised Everett scored so many points, considering how dynamic the Malden defense has been this season. He added that his team made mental mistakes last week, mistakes they can’t make when the stakes are magnified.

Last but not least is history. Pappagallo is the first to admit history is not on Malden’s side. Winning games over Malden is a tradition that essentially never gets interrupted for Everett.

Malden is out to change that streak and shake up the playoff picture in Division 1 football.

“This team isn’t one of those 20 other teams,” Pappagallo said. “We’re only last week’s team, and last week’s team played them pretty tough.

“History only goes back one week. If we learn from history, we won’t be doomed by repeating it.”

Quick hits

Central Catholic faces Thanksgiving opponent and division rival Andover Friday night. The Raiders beat the Golden Warriors 49-35 earlier this season … Chelmsford, which nearly beat Central Catholic last week, gets a crack at St. John’s Prep … Catholic Memorial and Bridgewater-Raynham face off, and the winner likely gets a date with Xaverian … Surging Duxbury faces a tough test in Natick, which lost to Walpole last week.