City of Basketball Love

Dan Arkans (@danarkans)
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Junior Matt Zollers has gotten a lot of publicity at Spring-Ford High School.

That’s what happens when you quarterback the football team to a 9-3 record and a berth in the District 1 Class 6A quarterfinals.

That’s what happens when eight Division I football teams, including Penn State, have made you offers in the fall alone.

Watch Zollers on the basketball court, though, and he’s not the first name that comes to mind as the Rams have soared to a 10-3 start to the season, including 5-0 in the PAC Liberty. No, names like Jacob Nguyen and EJ Campbell roll off the tongue. Zollers is more unheralded on the hoops team, and he doesn’t mind one b​it.

“It’s a nice break from having all eyes on you,” Zollers said. “It’s nice to stay back and play just for fun.”

Zollers wasn’t the only Ram having fun in a 63-32 dismantling of Methacton on Friday night in a battle of PAC Liberty unbeatens. Nguyen made his usual electrifying moves to the tune of 27 points in just a little more than three quarters of work. Campbell added 10 points and seven rebounds from his point guard position, while Zollers provided 12 points, five rebounds and three assists.

“We put the PAC on notice with this win,” Zollers said. “Everyone wants a piece of us. They are going to get it.”

In addition to Penn State, Zollers is also being recruited by Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Temple, Old Dominion, East Carolina and South Florida. However, any decision he is going to make about his football future will have to wait until the spring.

For now, his focus is on a basketball team that has the looks of another special season brewing in Royersford.

“It’s kind of nice to lean back, get some rebounds and layups,” Zollers said. “Let EJ and Jacob do the scoring.”

Zollers, though, is more than a little useful for Spring-Ford. Not only does he do the dirty work under the boards as evidenced by a 34-12 edge on the glass against Methacton (8-3, 4-1), but he gives the Rams a toughness other teams don’t possess.

“He’s not just a football player killing minutes out there,” Spring-Ford head coach Joe Dempsey said. “He contributes a lot. I love football players. They have a toughness that a lot of basketball players don’t. When you line up and bang heads with the other team, there is a toughness they bring to the team. I love dual-sport athletes.”

“It starts with toughness,” Zollers said. “If I am being tough it wears off on everyone else, they start being tough, too.”

Zollers wasn’t the only role player contributing against Methacton. Tommy Kelly worked well with Zollers in the paint to the tune of six points and eight rebounds, while Oben Mokonchu opened the scoring for Spring-Ford and finished with five points.

“Guys six to nine are keys to us,” Dempsey said. “As long as they accept their roles in this day and age with transfer portals and NIL stuff, no one wants to be six through nine. Everyone wants to be a starter. I have great character kids. That’s part of our secret, it really is.”

Matt Zollers in action against Coatesville in December. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Spring-Ford was tough from the start, running out to a 9-2 lead before Methacton’s Christian Matos answered with a 3-pointer. Spring-Ford led 17-7 after one quarter and never let up. The Rams were up by 20 at halftime after Nguyen started heating up with a trio of 3-pointers.

“I knew when we were coming here we were going to win,” Zollers said. “I didn’t expect to win by 30. I expected to win by 10 to 15, get out of here with a nice dub, but even better.” 

The Warriors looked like they would make a run in the second half, cutting the deficit down to 40-23 after some turnovers from the Rams. Anthony Daddazio highlighted the run with a 3-pointer for Methacton.

“It’s high school kids,” Dempsey said. “I wasn’t happy about it. To some degree it’s to be expected. They are up by that many, my kids have been terrific. They let me coach them hard, and to be honest that’s a part of our secret sauce. They let me hold them accountable. I have great kids. They listen to me, they are respectful. I have a great coaching staff that works their butts off every night. It was just our night.”

Spring-Ford responded with an 18-6 run to close the quarter, and the rout was on. Nguyen and Campbell dominated during that stretch, combining for 13 points.

“It’s kind of a rivalry,” Dempsey said. “They have a great program. There’s a lot of history. They have been in the top eight in the district many times. He’s (Pat Lockard) one of the best coaches in our league. He does a great job. We were fortunate to get a ‘W.’ They are going to bounce back. I am not looking forward to Round 2, that’s for sure.”

The fourth quarter featured a running clock and a closeout dunk from none other than Zollers with more than five minutes remaining.

“I messed two up the previous game,” Zollers said. “I finally went up with two hands and made it.”

"He’s a beast," Dempsey said. "He’s a first-team all-state QB. If he focused on basketball he could be along those lines. He could be a scholarship basketball player. He’s not just an athlete that plays basketball. He’s a good basketball player."

By Quarter
Spring-Ford: 17 | 19 | 22 | 5 || 63
Methacton: 7 | 9 | 13 | 3 || 32

Scoring
Spring-Ford: Nguyen 27, Zollers 12, Campbell 10; Kelly 6, Mokonchu 5, Dellangelo 3

Methacton: Hermann 12; Matos 11; Daddazio 3; Conrad 2; Rodriguez 2, Iemmello 2.