Defense highlights Spring-Ford titles old and new

Royersford >> Cassie Marte remembers watching the Spring-Ford teams from 2012, 2013 and 2014.

The now senior forward for the Rams was in middle school at the time, watching the high school team claim three league championships, a state runner-up and a state title, which she witnessed in person up in Hershey.

What did she think was the defining qualities of those teams?

“I just remember defense being the main focal point of the team,” Marte said. “All of them worked hard as a team, and I feel like we did that tonight.”

An in-your-face, aggressive style of defense was one of the main reasons those Rams teams were able to separate themselves from the rest of the league half a decade ago, winning three straight Pioneer Athletic Conference titles from 2012-2014.

On Wednesday night, a new group of Spring-Ford players displayed a defensive prowess much like those squads, locking down Methacton 55-41 for a second straight PAC title.

“Watching it when you’re little, you always want to be like them. That helps,” said Marte, who led the Rams with 14 points and four steals in the championship win.

 “These guys here have had the fortune of the past to see that we’ve always defended well,” Spring-Ford coach Mickey McDaniel said. “A lot of our focus is on the defensive end. … What’s happening is, we’re winning on defense, so they understand that.”

After entering halftime with a 23-21 lead on Wednesday, Spring-Ford got rolling in the second half as sophomore guard Lucy Olsen twice stole the ball and went coast-to-coast. It sparked a 12-0 run for the Rams as they took control of the game early in the third quarter and did not let the Warriors get back into it.

Spring-Ford held Methacton to just five points in the third quarter and a 33-percent shooting percentage in the second half. The Rams forced 25 turnovers and tallied 15 steals and seven blocks in the game.

“We do a lot of defense in practice,” said sophomore Emily Tiffan, who picked up three steals and had the assignment of defending Methacton’s Sydney Tornetta. “It’s one of our strong skills throughout the season.”

McDaniel said this group has set a number of defensive records this season, including the least points allowed in a game, least points allowed by an opponents’ high scorer and defensive rebounding.

From day one in the Spring-Ford program, defense is preached as the key to the Rams’ future success.

It’s why McDaniel has made it a point to note defensive performances like Tiffan’s throughout this season.

“It’s up at the top,” Tiffan said of where defense ranks as a priority in the Spring-Ford program. “You’ve got to have good defense to play on the team and get in.”

This is the third different Spring-Ford group to win back-to-back PAC titles. The Rams won three straight from 2005-08 and three straight again from 2011-14. Like Marte, junior guard Skylar Sullivan said she often went and watched those teams play with her grandparents.

Sullivan, who had three steals to go along with nine points on Wednesday, admired the chemistry of those teams.

“The way that they worked together, that was the main thing,” Sullivan said. “And that’s what we did today, and we won.”

As a number of future Rams likely sat in the stands on Wednesday night, they saw the celebration of this group. But they also saw the reason the Rams ended up with another championship: Defense.

That’s what McDaniel said has made his teams so successful over the years.

“That’s part of building a program,” he said.