Golden Panthers are "one" team on top

Their warmup jerseys are emblazoned with a single, stylized word: "one."

One word that can be imbued with many meanings: the merging of two schools into one, one team, one goal, one dream.

Regardless of how it's interpreted, it took the efforts of many, not one, to elevate Pope John Paul II to a PAC-10 championship in the school’s inaugural year.

On Tuesday night, 15 players, four coaches, and hundreds of students, friends and families collectively willed the Golden Panthers to a 51-45 win over cross-town rival Spring-Ford in front of a capacity-plus crowd at Perkiomen Valley High School.

More than 200 hundred fans watched from outside the glass doors, braving the bitter cold, to catch a glimpse of their beloved squads during an epic battle for the title.

“We had used the phrase, 'two into one' on the first day of school,” said PJP2 head coach Jack Flanagan. “I just took it a step further and simplified it into 'one' for us. “

The Rams and Golden Panthers exchanged blows like two heavyweight prizefighters, never allowing the other to capture a sliver of an advantage. The teams battled to a deadlock at the conclusion of each of the first three quarters.

In a lightning-fast first period, PJP2 looked poised to close out the frame with a three point lead until Rams junior Josh Dishman hit a three pointer as the buzzer sounded to knot the game at 13.

The Golden Panthers returned the favor in the second quarter, capturing a share of the lead when Paul Mills (3-of 10 from the field, 5-of-7 from the line, 12 points overall) converted with 12 seconds left in the half to send the teams into the break tied at 24.

Spring-Ford junior Darryl Branch, who shot 70 percent from the field in the first half, posted 14 of his game high 18 points prior to the break.

“I think we did what we needed to defensively,” said Rams head coach Mike Young. “We have to give them credit. We did not lose the game as much as they won it. I am very proud of my guys. They battled the entire game and left absolutely nothing on the court.”

“This is awesome,” said Mills, who has seen his share of championships as a member of Boyertown’s American Legion baseball program.

“To win this in our first year is amazing," said Mills. "We lost in the Final Fourin the last two seasons and I did not want that bad taste again in my senior year. Our defense is what gets us going. Again tonight we got a stop and a score, got a stop and a score, and that’s how we have gotten leads all year.”

When play resumed after the intermission, the Rams got off to a 7-0 run to snag the largest lead enjoyed by either squad on the evening, but again the Golden Panthers defense sparked five unanswered points off of back-to-back turnovers, pulling PJP2 back to within two.

“Coach Flanagan tells us all the time that basketball is a game of runs,” said Billy Malescio. “We knew they would have some runs, we just needed to make sure that we stayed focused on the defensive end. It’s just a matter of time and we knew knew we would have our runs as well, which ended up being at the end of the game when it counted most.”

In a seesaw fourth quarter, the Rams claimed  a 43-42 lead when Darryl Branch scored on a put back of an Andrew Scanlan shot with just over three minutes remaining in the game. It was the only miss of the night for Scanlan, who was 4-of-5 from the field.

It would prove the be the last time the Rams had the lead, as the Golden Panthers put a death grip on the championship by finishing the game with a 9-2 run initiated by a Paul Mills three pointer from the right wing with 2:52 remaining in regulation. A Jacob Gribb shot then hit nothing but net from 12-feet to boost the lead to four.

“I knew going into this season that I would be handling the ball a lot and I was looking forward to the challenge,” added Mills. “To be able to hit a shot like that feels so great. At Boyertown, [in American Legion baseball] winning a championship is expected. We didn't really know what to expect when we came into the Final Four. Winning this title is something that ranks right up there with the state championships. I will remember this forever.”

With a minute and a half to play, Branch converted two free throws to creep the Rams back to within two. Ultimately, Spring-Ford could not overcome its thirty percent shooting effort in the second half, when the lead changed hands eight times.

“I knew we could do this in our open gym workouts before the season,” said Malescio [4-of-7 shooting, 5-of-7 from the line, 8 rebounds]. “I was telling my friends, 'watch what we do this season, we are going to win the PAC-10 if we play to our potential.' To actually be here and win it is freaking awesome. I didn't even know until we got here that these guys had lost in the Final Four the past two years.”

Flanagan remembers Malescio's prediction.

“I think Billy was the first person I heard say, 'we’re going to win the PAC-10,' said Flanagan. “Up until then, we were growing together and getting to know each other, but he really got this whole thing going. That confidence and attitude caught on with everyone. I call these guys P, B & J (Paul, Billy and Jeff (Evans)) because they go together so well just like peanut butter and jelly.”

“This was huge for us,” said Evans, who uncharacteristically did not score but recorded four assists. “Our fans are the absolute best. To see all of those white shirts and even people outside was crazy, but that’s how they have been all year. This is just incredible to be PAC-10 Champs, it took us three years to do it but it was worth the wait.”  

With "one" incredible regular season under the belts and "one" conference championship to their credit, the Golden Pathers will continue to take "one" step at a time as they head into the PIAA class AAA District One playoffs starting later in the week.

Pope John Paul II has received a first round bye and will meet Frontier division rival Pottstown, to whom they dropped both regular season games, at home on February 26^th.

“We have a midnight rule,” said Jack Flanagan. “We will celebrate this win until midnight tonight and then we will start working on Pottstown. I am giving the guys a couple of days off from practice. We had a list of sixteen things we needed to do to beat Spring-Ford. Tomorrow we will start on the list of how we will beat Pottstown, which  is a very talented team with some great weapons.”

Scoring

Pope John Paul II   13   11    11   16 – 51

Spring-Ford            13    11    11   10 – 45

Pope John Paul II (51) –

Gribb 3 0-1 6, Mills 3 5-7 12, Malescio 4 4-6 12, Cotellese 4 2-2 13, Evans 0 1-2 1, Mahoney 0 0-0 0, Taylor 0 0-0 0, Stinson 0 0-0 0, Mansur 2 2-2 7. Totals 16 14-20 51.

Spring-Ford (46) –

O’Hara 0 0-0 0, Dishman 1 0-0 3, Keys 2 0-0 4, McDowell 3 3-4 9, Branch 8 2-3 18, Keefe 1 1-2 3, Scanlan 4 0-0 8. Totals 19 6-9 45.

3-point field goals: (PJP) Cotellese 3, (PJP) Mansur, (SF) Dishman.