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Plymouth Whitemarsh not focused on perfection; Gaffney impresses in star's abscence

02/03/2018, 11:30pm EST
By Owen McCue

P-W coach Jim Donofrio (above) has guided the Colonials to a 20-0 start. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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Plymouth-Whitemarsh is chasing titles. Not perfection.

If they win every game along the way, that’s fine with the Colonials, but winning a district and state title, and doing everything to get there along the way, is the only thing at the forefront of their minds.

“We’ve been focused all year on this is a team that has to play for titles, and you’re good enough that you could capably win every game you play in,” Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Jim Donofrio said. “What happens if you do? People get caught up in that and it’s really a mirage.”

The Colonials improved to 20-0 with a 66-57 win against Neumman-Goretti on Saturday night at Harriton High School.

This matchup was supposed to take place on Dec. 31, but snow postponed it all the way to February. It worked out well for Plymouth Whitemarsh, which needed a test after rolling through the Suburban One American division for the past few weeks.

Plymourth Whitemarsh trailed 29-26 at halftime as Saints' senior guard Dymir Montague, who recently committed to Holy Family, scored 13 of his 18 points.

A three by Neumann-Goretti’s Noah Warren expanded the deficit to six early in the first half until Plymouth Whitemarsh senior guard Ahmin Williams, who led all scorers with 23 points, drilled three consecutive threes to put the Colonials back on top.

The Colonials didn’t trail for the rest of the game, taking control by the end of the third quarter.

“I got on the team when we got in the locker room, showing that this is not us,” Williams said. “We’re the smarter team, we’re the stronger team, so let’s go out there and prove it...I guess I was in a groove and my teammates found me, but I was focused on getting my teammates hyped up for this game because this is the games we live for.”

Donofrio knows first hand that a perfect regular season does not mean anything without postseason success.

His 2006 squad started out 26-0. That team was led by current pro player Ronald Moore, former New York Giants player Da'Rel Scott, and former Hartford University player Anthony Minor.

Despite the incredible start, that team lost in the district semifinals and the second round of states.

He said it was a weird feeling at the time but hopes the experience of this year's group can help avoid a similar fate.

“They’re too veteran to worry about a number,” Donofrio said.

Wiliams was part of a team in 2016 that won the district title before falling to Roman Catholic in the state semifinals.

He fractured his foot before Plymouth Whitemarsh’s playoff run last year as the Colonials lost to Abington in the district semis and then fell to Reading in the state quarterfinals.

Leaving high school with a state title, which he’s been close to twice, is the only motivation Williams said he needs even though the Colonials have a chance at an undefeated season.

“To tell to you the truth, we’re really not focused on the record,” he said. “Like I told the team last year, we lost to Reading, a team we should have beat and won the state. This year, we’re trying to play every game like our last, prove a point.”

“When you’re this close from winning the state two times in a row, that’s the edge right there,” Williams added. “That’s all you need. We don’t want to have that feeling again.”

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In Reddish’s absence, Gaffney delivers for Westtown

With Duke commit Cam Reddish sidelined for Westtown’s game against Timber Creek on Saturday, the Moose needed someone else to carry the offensive load.

As he has done on plenty of other occasions this season, junior point guard Jalen Gaffney guided Westtown to a 71-57 victory.

Gaffney made 9-of-16 shots from the floor to finish with 23 points in the win.

“Jalen Gaffney is a fantastic player,” Westtown coach Seth Berger said. “He’s quietly the most athletic kid on our team. He jumps out of the gym. I bet you if he were playing football he runs a 4.4 40, shoots the heck out the ball and is a heck of a ball handler.”

Gaffney spent his freshman year at the Pennington School and his sophomore year at Lawrenceville Prep before coming to Westtown this season.

Some might be overwhelmed playing with talents like Reddish, currently ranked the No. 3 recruit in the country, and Indiana commit Jake Forrester. But Gaffney, who already has offers from Florida and St. John’s himself, spends his summers playing with high level talent for Team Rio National on the Under Armour circuit.

His teammates include New Jersey products Scottie Lewis and Bryan Antoine, who are both ranked in the Top 10 of the 2019 class.

“I play with five star guys anyway, so playing with Jake and Cam, it was hard at first because I was getting to know them, but as the year went on, it got easier and easier,” Gaffney said.

Along with Gaffney, Forrester and sophomore guard TJ Berger had strong outings for Westtown against Timber Creek.

Berger knocked down his first four threes, finishing the game with 15 points and five assists. Forrester had 14 points, doing most of his damage inside, including a reverse jam to put the game fully out of reach in the fourth quarter.

“When Cam’s not there we kind of lose a big scoring asset, so me along with some other players...we all have to step up scoring wise,” Gaffney said.


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