Coaches Time Out

Winter sports are winding down as we get ready for postseason play and league championships. Both the boys and girls basketball teams will return to the Final Four after a loss in the PAC-10 Championship last year.

Wrestling does not compete for a league championship, but will face Boyertown tonight to see who is second best in the PAC-10. Owen J. Roberts sits atop the leaderboard. The sectional competition is in two weeks. Winter track is looking at a busy weekend as more kids try to qualify for states.

The winter sports coaches took a midweek break to chat with Patch about sports.

Boys Basketball to Face PJPII in First Round of Final Four

The Spring-Ford boys team will have a chance, again, at a PAC-10 Championship this year, after losing to in the finals last year. They achieved a berth in the Final Four last week with their win over Owen J. Roberts.

"We knew we needed to win that game," said head coach Mike Young. "We went out and took it to them right from the beginning. We played hard and put a lot of pressure on them. We got some turnovers and played a real solid game. Got balanced scoring from lots of different people and played good defense. That's great to see."

The Rams face off against Pope John Paul II on Friday night at 7:45 p.m. This is the third straight year they've made it to the Final Four.

"It was certainly a long battle to get to this point, but throughout the year, I think really our non-league schedule did prepare us for playing in our league," said Young. "The kids really did a good job in the league, especially down the stretch. Last week, of course being able to control our own destiny is a good thing."

If they win Friday night's game, the championship will be on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, at 7:00 p.m. They'll take on the winner of Pottstown vs. Methacton, which is being played this Saturday at 7:45 p.m. at Spring-Ford High School.

The boys also took on Perkiomen Valley last Saturday and won that game, as well.

"We kind of thought of it as another Senior Night because the Saturday before that, we didn't play that well," Young said. "We went out and gave a really good effort."

Young said all of the guys have showed balanced scoring from starters to bench players. He was happy with the offensive contributions.

Girls Basketball to Face Phoenixville in First Round of Final Four

The Lady Rams are set to square off against Phoenixville High School on 6:00 p.m. on Friday at Spring-Ford High School.

"It's a long season," said head coach Jeff Rinehimer. "I told them, the toughest thing you have to do is to win league games. It's very difficult, because those teams know you. To get in the Final Four is a big accomplishment. We're going to play a really athletic Phoenixville team."

Pope John Paul II will take on Methacton on Saturday night. The winner of that matchup will take on the winner of the Spring-Ford game on Feb. 15 at 7:00 p.m.

The girls lost to Boyertown in the championship last year. However, they defeated the Lady Bears twice this year.

Last week the girls defeated Owen J. Roberts on Senior Night (Thursday) and Perkiomen Valley on Saturday. Guard Sammy Stipa did not play in either game. Rinehimer paid homage to the girls who stepped it up in her absence. Each game showed a different side of the Lady Rams.

"It was a different starting lineup because of senior night and a lot of things are swirling around on a night like that, but they kept their focus and did a good job," Rinehimer said. "P.V., we just played very sound defense. That was the thing that carried that game."

The Rams have no further action this week. Rinehimer has been happy with the girls' progress. They only lost two games, and remain undefeated in the PAC-10.

"It's been a good regular season," he concluded. "We've given everything we have and hopefully we can do the same in the postseason."

Wrestling Out of States, on to Sectionals

The wrestling team participated in District Duals last week, beating Pennsbury, West Chester Rustin and Council Rock North. A 40-31 loss to Norristown decided the Rams' fate at for the tournament.

"We were the third seed, but the top six or seven teams were all pretty even," said head coach Tim Seislove. "Norristown and Owen J. Roberts were by far the two best teams. West Chester Rustin was probably the best match we've wrestled all year."

The boys wrestled the first round in the state competition on Monday night, but lost to Parland. Unfortunately for the Rams, that tournament is one-and-done. Spring-Ford could only pull off five out of 14 wins in the match.

"Parkland was the second seed coming out of District 11," Seislove said. "They're traditionally one of the better teams in the state. They beat us last night 41-15. We knew they were going to be tough. They have a couple of kids ranked very high in the state. We've seen them around. It's a top-notch program. We were happy to wrestle them and it was a good atmosphere for the kids."

The boys face Boyertown tonight and then are done until the sectionals tournament, which takes place on Feb. 18. Tonight's match will determine who the second best in the PAC-10 is, though, with Owen J. Roberts at the top of that list. The Bears and Rams both sit at 7-1, currently, and are tied for second place.

Seislove said the break after the match will be nice.

"Getting ready for sectionals, we're going to take a break here, pull back on these kids and we have all next week to prepare for sectionals."

Swimming

Swimming did not submit a report this week.

Winter Track Gears Up for Busy Weekend

The indoor track team will be participating in two meets, including the Maroon and Gold Invitational, held at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday at Kutztown University, as well as the PTFCA Track Carnival, held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, at Lehigh University.

Head coach Danielle Stauffer indicated the boys 4x800-meter relay team will be trying to make states by hitting the qualifying time this weekend. Also, senior distance runners Jesse Magolon and are going to try to hit qualifying times. Magolon will try to hit the qualifier in the 800-meter open, while O'Such will try the 400-meter open.

On the girls side, senior will make an attempt at the hurdles again for state qualification, and Brandy Nice will go after the 400-meter open.

"I expect both 4x400 relays to do well," Stauffer concluded.