Oct 31, 2025 By Rob Burchianti 5 min read

Name: Malachi Peak

School: California

Class: Senior

Sport: Football

Peak’s week: Peak ran for 270 yards and four touchdowns to help lead California to a 36-14 win at Jefferson-Morgan which gave the Trojans sole possession of the Tri-County South Conference title last Friday night. California trailed 14-12 at halftime but Peak, who had a 9-yard touchdown in the first half, added scoring runs of 4, 10 and 16 in the second half as the Trojans out-scored J-M 24-0 over the final two quarters. Peak finished the regular season with 189 carries for 1,490 yards and scored 20 touchdowns and three two-point conversions, one of which gave the Trojans an 8-7 win over Bentworth.

Revenge: California suffered an agonizing home loss to Jefferson-Morgan last year in the regular-season finale on a late failed two-point conversion in a battle for the TCS championship. The gut-wrenching defeat stuck with Peak and the Trojans as they eyed up revenge in this year’s clash. “Of course you always try to take it game by game, but that one was definitely one of those in the back of my mind all season,” Peak said. “The whole week the team was confident. I was confident, too. Coming off a loss like we had last year, it’s fire, it fuels you. It feels great to win that one, for me and a lot of our seniors who’ve been playing together since peewee football.”

Bruiser: The 6-foot, 231-pound senior isn’t one to avoid contact when running the football. “I’m more of a run-at-you-type guy,” Peak said. “I love to run at people. I can make a move if I need to but I just like running through people. That’s my thing.” Some have compared Peak to former Steelers running back and Hall of Famer Jerome “The Bus” Bettis. “I’ve heard that plenty of times,” Peak said as he chuckled. “I’ve seen highlights of him. That’s certainly a good compliment.” California head coach Ed Woods describes Peak as “a very strong, powerful downhill runner.”

Don’t forget the D: Peak, the 17-year-old son of Luren and Charlet Peak, also is one of the Trojans’ top defensive players as a defensive end. “It’s honestly kind of the same mentality for me,” Peak said of the difference between playing offense and defense. “Run at ’em, go get ’em. Being aggressive running the ball helps me be aggressive on defense, also. That’s basically what we teach in practice anyways, aggression. I feel like to play defense that’s really what you need. All of our guys are aggressive to begin with. It’s easy to just feed off of each other.” Peak feels California’s defense doesn’t get the credit it’s due sometimes. “We let up, excluding Jeff-Morgan, I think 10 points in the conference this season,” he pointed out. “Our defense definitely gets overlooked I think. Our guys are solid, from the secondary all the way down to the D-line.” Woods pointed out Peak’s importance on defense is also cerebral. “His defensive awareness makes him a constant threat to opposing teams.”

Kudos from Coach: Peak is a fan of Woods and the respect is mutual. “Malachi’s leadership on and off the field is very inspiring,” Woods said. “He plays with a fire that fuels the entire team and his enthusiasm is a powerful reminder of why we play the game. I like the way he faces pressure with poise, proving his strength is mental as well as physical.”

Preparing for the playoffs: California was the lone Tri-County South team to win a playoff game last season and the Trojans will attempt to do that again, and more, in 2025. “I don’t speak for the whole Tri-County South, but California, we’re a solid team and I think we have the potential to make a good run in the playoffs,” Peak said. “We want to do it for us and just for the school in general. We haven’t made it to the WPIAL semifinals since 2017 so doing that would be amazing.” The sixth-seeded Trojans were set to host No. 11 Frazier in a Class A first-round game Friday night that featured two of the top running backs in the WPIAL in Peak and the Commodores’ Derek Diamond. “The film doesn’t lie. The kid’s a tough runner,” Peak said. “But I don’t try to view it as an individual battle. I just go out there and play with my team.”

Odd and ends: Peak hopes to continue his football career in college but is big on academics as well. “I definitely intend to play football at the next level,” he said. “I’m more focused on education than anything though.” … Peak has two sisters and one brother. … Peak will again be on the Trojans’ wrestling team this winter. … He loves music. “I like to play the guitar,” Peak said. “That’s a hobby of mine. I’m still learning. I’m definitely into music.”

– Compiled by Rob Burchianti