FOOTBALL: McDowell, O'Connor selected for East-West Game

By Don Seeley
dseeley@pottsmerc.com

 Zameer McDowell will get an opportunity to erase a bad memory – the lasting memories from he and his Spring-Ford teammates’ final game last season.
That loss was to Coatesville in the District 1-Class AAAA football championship ... at Downingtown West High School.
And that’s exactly where McDowell, along with Pottsgrove’s Madison O’Connor, will be lining up on Sunday, May 5 to play in the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association’s East-West All-Star Game.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound McDowell, who was a tight end and defensive end for the Rams, and the 6-foot-7, 332-pound O’Connor, an offensive tackle for the Falcons, will be the area’s only two participants in the game, which benefits a variety of charities.
The East-West game, first held in 2001 at Mansion Park in Altoona, features some of the top players in the state.
McDowell was selected as one of three defensive ends — the other two being Council Rock North’s Curtis Cothran and Wilson-West Lawn’s Matt Rothrock. Last season, he was credited with 71 tackles, including seven sacks, and had 13 quarterback-hurries. He also broke up eight passes, intercepted one, recovered a fumble and blocked three kicks. On offense, he caught 17 passes for 280 yards and five touchdowns, including two that proved to be game-winners. He was selected to the All-Pioneer Athletic Conference team and The Mercury’s All-Area team, and named The Mercury’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Three players from the Coatesville team that denied McDowell and Spring-Ford that district title — quarterback Emmett Hunt, wideout Chris Jones and offensive lineman Andrew Baker — will be part of the East lineup, too.
O’Connor, a four-year starter for Pottsgrove, anchored the offensive line that led the Falcons to the Pioneer Athletic Conference title. O’Connor’s work up front enabled the Falcons to average an area-best 315 yards rushing. He was named All-Pioneer Athletic Conference — earning the league’s inaugural Bill Rogers Memorial Award as the league’s outstanding lineman. He was also selected to The Mercury’s All-Area team.
One of seven offensive linemen, O’Connor will be joined up front by Baker, La Salle’s Pat Hoffman, Lower Dauphin’s Jimmy Marks, Manheim Central’s Jordan Bowman. Muhlenberg’s Zach Duffy and Valley View’s Anthony Mengoni.

NOTES
Cothran (6-5, 245) signed with Penn State, while Rothrock (6-2, 237) signed with Lafayette. Hoffman (6-4, 255), the only offensive lineman thus far to commit to a Division I program, will play for Navy. ...  Other District 1 players selected to the game were Downingtown East quarterback Kyle Lauletta, Downingtown West tight end Justin Schmitt, Conestoga linebacker Riley Pritchett, and Henderson defensive back Spenser Rymiszewski. ... The East will practice at Downingtown West, while the West team will practice at North Hills High School in Pittsburgh. ... The game kicks off at 2 p.m.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: Spring-Ford’s Zameer McDowell and Perkiomen School’s Nicole Pupillo

Spring-Ford's Zameer McDowell.

Perkiomen School's Nicole Pupillo

BOYS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Zameer McDowell
Spring-Ford
Basketball
What he’s done
McDowell had a career week for the Rams, helping them to a 2-1 record in the process. The senior forward had a combined 52 points — including the 1,000th of his scholastic career during Saturday’s win over Downingtown East in the Athletes For Better Education Showcase. He also had three-game totals of 38 rebounds, five assists, 11 steals and four blocked shots.
What he says
“It feels really good. It’s a great accomplishment. I’m just proud to be one of the Spring-Ford people to get 1,000 points.”

(For complete story, click here ... )

BOYS BASKETBALL: McDowell nets 1,000th point in Spring-Ford’s win

Mercury file photo Spring-Ford’s Zameer McDowell scored his 1,000th career point on Saturday night.

By Dennis Weller
Special to The Mercury

ROYERSFORD ­— Many times, just being tall is not enough to ensure success on the basketball court, something that Spring-Ford’s Zameer McDowell is well aware of. So the 6-foot-6 senior has worked on honing every skill possible and he put them all on display in Saturday night’s finale of the Athletes for Better Education Basketball Showcase at Spring-Ford High School.
McDowell scored every which way, just has he has for four years, on the way to a game-high 21 points and eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career as the Ram boys recovered from a slow start for a 50-44 win over Downingtown East.
McDowell needed 17 points coming in to hit the milestone and scored points no. 1,000 and 1,001 when he took a long inbounds pass and went in ahead of the pack for a layup with three seconds left in the third quarter.
“It feels really good,” said McDowell, who finished 8-for-14 from the field and 5-for-14 from the line with 16 rebounds, seven steals, two assists, and two blocked shots. “It’s a great accomplishment. I’m just proud to be one of the Spring-Ford people to get 1,000 points.”

(For complete story, click here ...)

ATHLETES OF WEEK: Spring-Ford’s Zameer McDowell and Hill School’s Deanna Mayza

By Mercury Staff
sports@pottsmerc.com

BOYS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Zameer McDowell
Spring-Ford
Boys Basketball
What he’s done
The 6-foot-5 senior scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in Saturday’s 67-47 victory over Pottsgrove that kept the Rams in the Liberty Division title hunt. McDowell also had 16 points and nine rebounds in Thursday’s 64-45 non-league victory over Daniel Boone.
What he says
“My role is to rebound, block shots, score a lot, and pass the ball when teams try to double-team me. I think we just have to play as a team, distribute the ball a lot and make a lot of shots.”

Spring-Ford's Zameer McDowell

Hill School's Deanna Mayza.

GIRLS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Deanna Mayza
Hill School
Girls Basketball
What she’s done
The University of Hartford-bound guard scored a game-high 22 points as the Blues returned from the Christmas break to defeat St. Mary’s (Md.), 46-41. The 5-foot-7 Mayza leads the area in scoring at 22.3 points per game and is second in 3-pointers with 24.
What she says
“I think my shooting has been a big plus, and I’ve been able to drive a little better after my (early season ankle) injury. We’re very excited (heading into MAPL play). The league is very tough, but we’re excited to see where we fall, and it should be interesting.”

HONORABLE MENTION
Stacey Auckland, Upper Perkiomen, girls basketball
Ethan D’Arcangelo, Spring-Ford, boys swimming
Nate Darlington, Spring-Ford, boys swimming
Kaitlyn Eisenhard, Boyertown, girls basketball
Pat Finn, Pottsgrove, wrestling
Meghan Lui, Spring-Ford, girls swimming
Sean Hennessey, Spring-Ford, wrestling
Dante Steffenino, Upper Perkiomen, wrestling
Jordan Valenteen, Phoenixville, wrestling

Spring-Ford’s McDowell on a rampage

By Darryl Grumling
dgrumling@pottsmerc.com

FOLSOM — The twitter handle of Spring-Ford’s Zameer McDowell is @YouCant_Zme.

Friday night, though, nearly everyone in the large crowd at Ridley High School saw plenty of the Rams’ big No. 88.

McDowell, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound tight end/defensive end, had his fingerprints all over the Rams’ 28-26 District 1-Class AAAA quarterfinal victory over the Green Raiders.

“I couldn’t sleep (Thursday) night, I was thinking about this game so much,” said McDowell, who will probably sleep soundly after the effort he gave in helping the seventh-seed Rams win their sixth straight game and improve to 11-1 overall.

With second-seed Ridley driving for what appeared to be a game-tying touchdown late in the first quarter, McDowell delivered a game-changing Pick 6 — stepping in front of a screen pass attempt at his own 14 and rambling 86 yards the other way to put Spring-Ford up 14-0.

 (For complete story, click here...)