Spring Ford

After Spring-Ford's 30-6 home victory Friday night over Pioneer Athletic Conference football rival Pottsgrove, some Spring-Ford players were kidding junior tailback Mike Bach. "You're slow, man," several players said as they filed off the field, referring to his 49-yard carry that almost went for a touchdown. A Pottsgrove defensive back had caught Bach from behind at the Pottsgrove 29-yard line. At any speed, Bach's performance was instrumental in the Rams' victory. The win gave Spring-Ford a 2-0 overall record, 1-0 in the conference.

The announcer who worked Thursday's District 1 Class AAA baseball title game between Upper Darby and Spring-Ford at West Chester University's field must have a biting sense of humor. In addition to reciting the lineups, he filled the time between innings with music played over a boom box from his table at the end of the Upper Darby dugout. As the Royals returned from the field facing an 11-run deficit in the middle of the fourth inning, his musical selection was Glen Miller's "In the Mood.

It will be a battle between high-powered offenses when undefeated Spring- Ford (10-0, 8-0) and Phoenixville (10-0, 8-0) go head-to-head for the Pioneer Athletic Conference title in the area's best Thanksgiving Day matchup. The game will be played at 10 a.m. at Spring-Ford. Both teams decided not to participate in the district playoffs to make sure they played this game, and each has been preparing for the other since the season began. Phoenixville has a very well-rounded offense, led by quarterback Adam Speaker (1,777 yards and 15 touchdowns)

Neshaminy's players were feeling good about their chances of beating Spring-Ford by the second inning of yesterday's District 1 playoff game. The Redskins had just scored two runs, and that's usually enough when Brian Moyer is pitching. They were right. Neshaminy, the fifth seed in Class AAA, topped Spring-Ford, 4-1, to advance to a quarterfinal game with Springfield (Delco) tomorrow afternoon at a neutral site. "We didn't have any kind of scouting report on them," Moyer said of the 14-6-1 Rams, second-place finishers in the Pioneer Conference.

If there were a key series in Phoenixville's Thanksgiving Day game against Spring-Ford, it was right after Phoenixville quarterback Mike Grove blitzed around the right end 6 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter. It helped the Phantoms to a 7-0 lead and sent giddy hopes of a major upset through the large contingent of Phantoms fans who had traveled to a misty Coach McNelly Stadium. But Spring-Ford, with the Pioneer Athletic Conference title already in its pocket, was out to prove something.

Ralph O'Neil is not an imposing physical specimen. At 5 feet, 9 inches and 180 pounds, the Spring-Ford junior could pass more easily for a clarinet player in the school band than the Rams' star running back. But do not tell that to the Great Valley defenders who unsuccessfully tried to stop O'Neil Friday night. They will tell you O'Neil most resembles a Sherman tank after he rushed 26 times for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns in the host Rams' 37-6 victory. O'Neil carried the ball 20 times for 92 yards in the first half.

Lower Merion's Alison Cohen drilled a jump shot from the wing, bringing her team's first-round playoff game to a halt, as the public announcer declared that Cohen had just scored her 12,020th point to become the school's all-time leading girls' scorer. Did he really say 12,000 points? Did that include practice and pre-game layups? A few fans caught on to the mistake, and some - having watched Cohen shine for more than three quarters already - shrugged and perhaps thought, "With her, who knows?"

Playing under a full moon on Friday the 13th, Lansdale Catholic pushed aside bad omens, a penchant for inconsistency, and host Spring-Ford in its 48-16 Pioneer Athletic Conference victory, its first victory of the year. The Crusaders (1-3-2, 1-2-2 league) followed the lead of quarterback Jim Calafati, making his first varsity start in place of Noel Maerz. Maerz injured his shoulder last week in a 21-6 loss to Owen J. Roberts. Calafati completed 10 of 13 passes for 169 yards and 3 touchdowns, leading a Lansdale Catholic attack that forged a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, 34-0 at halftime, and 41-0 before Spring-Ford (2-4, 1-3)

This will be a telling week for Great Valley as the Patriots aim at making the Pioneer Athletic Conference's four-team playoff field. The Patriots, after easing past Perkiomen Valley, 58-44, on Thursday, stand at 7-8 in the PAC-10 (9-10 overall). Pottstown, after drubbing Spring-Ford, 72-41, on Friday, has clinched the regular-season title with a 15-0 mark. Pottsgrove is second at 11-4 with Lansdale Catholic in third with a 10-5 record. Spring-Ford and Owen J. Roberts are both one game ahead of the Patriots at 8-7. Valley travels to Spring-Ford tomorrow, hosts Roberts on Friday, then finishes the regular season at home against Pottsgrove the following Tuesday.

There was a time not long ago when Owen J. Roberts golf coach John Murphy thought having five players come in with a total of less than 300 for 12 holes would win not just league matches, but also league titles. This season, Murphy has watched his theory go astray just like a drive into the woods. Three times this year, including twice last week, the Wildcats have posted scores of less than 300 - and lost. On Thursday, Roberts was beaten on its own turf at Kimberton by Spring- Ford, 289-295.

Baseball STATE CLASS A FIRST ROUND Calvary Christian 3, GAMP 2 STATE CLASS AA FIRST ROUND Salisbury 6, Neumann-Goretti 2 STATE CLASS AAA FIRST ROUND West York 9, Bonner-Prendergast 6 STATE CLASS AAAA FIRST ROUND Pennridge 11, LaSalle 4 Coatesville 5, Frankford 0 North Penn 1, Parkland 0 Softball STATE CLASS A FIRST ROUND Bristol 12, GAMP 0 STATE CLASS AA FIRST ROUND Conwell-Egan 8, Pequea Valley...

It has been a roller-coaster week for Methacton's baseball team. The Warriors opened a key three-game Pioneer Athletic Conference stretch with a win over Division I-bound righthander A.J. Bogucki and Boyertown. Then, in a big letdown, they fell to Perkiomen Valley. Friday afternoon in Worcester, scoring three runs in each of their last two at-bats, catcher Clayton Harwick and company closed with an 11-7 triumph over fellow title contender Spring-Ford. "It's been pretty wild this season," Harwick said.