The worst thing that can happen to a high school football playoff team is injuries. One sprained ankle to one key player can be a major pain to a team’s chances.

The last two weeks, Malvern has lost a top tackler to a knee injury. Defensive end Collin Brown went down against Shadyside. Linebacker Tyler Masters was lost against Hannibal River.

The Hornets will need to overcome their absence Friday when they play Hopewell-Louden at 7:30 p.m. in a Division VI state semifinal at Ashland Community Stadium.

But good things can come from a bad situation, Hornets head coach Dave Tucci said.

“The strength of our team is our role players,” Tucci said. “Our role players have continued to improve all season, and they have been more of a factor in the playoffs.

“We looked at the film, and we had five, six players who played their best game of the year in the regional final (against Hannibal River). As a coach, that’s very satisfying.”

Nick Palleschi, Doug Wood, Zach Johnson, Brett Lee, Marc Adams, Andrew Gascon and Tyler Crawford all helped the Hornets beat Hannibal River, 38-14, to reach their first final four.

Johnson caught a 31-yard touchdown pass. Palleschi hauled in a 2-point conversion pass and a key third-down grab on the team’s decisive 16-play, 83-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter. Wood had a third-down catch on a first-half scoring drive.

All three are juniors and first-year starters.

“They are three receivers not named Vince Larson,” Tucci said, referring to the team’s top wideout, who has 55 catches and 21 touchdowns. “They all had key catches, third- and fourth-down catches that kept drives going.”

Defensively, Lee and Adams at end and Gascon and Crawford at linebacker were just as important.

Lee, a junior, and Adams, a senior, by Brown’s absence. They not only picked it up, they put River quarterback Dylan Potts down on his backside more than a few times.

Lee had a 6-yard sack that Johnson followed up with a fumble recovery in the first quarter. Adams’s third-quarter sack helped set up Malvern’s eight-minute touchdown drive.

Gascon intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble, and Crawford had two fumble recoveries that led to 10 points.

Both Masters and Brown could return this week. If they are unable to go, Tucci still feels secure about his defense.

“Knowing we have kids who have stepped it up makes it easier (replacing injured players),” he said. “That’s something we’ve done all year.”