Being the fourth-best team in all of Pennsylvania is nothing short of extraordinary for a school that went 6-4 in its Inter-Ac League last season. Yet here the Fords are now, standing on top of a commanding nine-game win streak, leading their conference with electrifying wins over Episcopal Academy (49-37), Germantown Academy (68-34), Williams Penn Charter (64-77), Malvern Preparatory School (59-58), and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (63-58) and (61-45).
Still, only one game still separates the second-place Malvern Friars and the Fords.
“My favorite part about this team is definitely the morale,” Sixth Former Dillon Gamble said. “[There are] a bunch of good guys[…] We preach that every day, in practice, to be a good guy. This year, that’s all it’s been. When one falls, we pick each other up. Someone misses a shot, we pick them up, miss a layup, whatever it is, we’ve been picking each other up.”
The Fords have not only found success in the Inter-Ac but also through non-league contests. Standing with a mighty 19-3 record, the team also went undefeated in the June open period, where many scouts and coaches were present, and they played extremely well in the spring off-season.
“I think the success really builds off of this past offseason,” Sixth Former Manny Butts said. “Bringing that into the season is a key factor. The way to keep the success is just to continue to play hard in practice, just keep competing with each other, and then it’s all just going to translate to the games, but it starts in practice.”
A huge factor in the Fords’ success is their defensive intensity. To date, only one team has surpassed sixty points. The defense has kept star players in check with a strong combination of zone and man defense. Germantown Academy’s James Brenner, for example, was averaging twenty points per game until the Fords held him to zero.
“You know, we’re playing really good team basketball both offensively and defensively, and different guys are stepping up different nights, so hopefully we stay focused and keep it going,” Coach Bernie Rogers said. “It’s been really, really balanced. Silas [Graham], Manny [Butts], and Dillon [Gamble] have all done a good job.”
“We have a mindset that has allowed us to stay composed offensively and especially defensively,” Fifth Former Frank Gilbert said. “With our zone defense and our man defense, we try to play really hard, and that mindset helps us make sure we’re staying locked in on every play, so there’s no mishaps defensively.”
“Our strength is definitely our defense,” Butts continued. “We’re doing a good job of holding a lot of teams under 50 points and a lot of teams’ best players under their average, so as long as we can team do that, we’ll be good. We definitely work together on that as well. A lot of it comes from one-on-one guarding, but also from help defense, and we all build off of each other.”
“Our success comes from all of us playing together, playing team defense; relying on Dillon [Gamble] and Silas [Graham] to attract defenders on the drive and kick it out is key for me and Frank [Gilbert] to shoot,” Fifth Former Conor Morsell said.
However, with so much attention—being atop the Inter-Ac, photographers capturing every game, Fordslive live-streaming, and more and more fans attending each game—it is very easy to lose sight of the goal.
“We fell into a trap early in the year when we weren’t focused on the next game and tried to focus on the whole season,” Gilbert said. It came back to bite us for the loss against Friends Central.”
“And that if we stay grounded, believe in each other, and we just work hard, the rest will fall in place.” – Dillon Gamble ’26
“So now that we beat the first five and we’re halfway there, I feel like to maintain success, all we’ve got to do is just stay grounded,” Gamble said. “Don’t get our heads too bright. Don’t think about the goal. Think about the kind of process and just focus on each game, game by game, playing the hardest we can, understand that our goal is to win in Inter-Ac, but we have to win each game because each game is a playoff game. And that if we stay grounded, believe in each other, and we just work hard, the rest will fall in place.”
“Every game kind of goes into the fourth quarter in our league,” Coach Rogers said. “I think we’ve been pretty good at being focused throughout the game. You’ve got to stay in the moment because at any point it can change. So hopefully we can continue to finish in the fourth quarter.”
With games almost always being decided in the last few minutes, the Fords have discovered a significant change helping them this season.
“I’ve been really happy this season, less tired, and just excited for practice every day. It just adds so much power when playing.” – Silas Graham ’27
“One of the biggest changes from last season has been the mental aspect,” Fifth Former Silas Graham said. “I’ve been really happy this season, less tired, and just excited for practice every day. It just adds so much power when playing.”
“I’d say this group really loves each other, and we’re really united. If one person scores, we all score; if one person passes, we all pass. We all just believe in each other, and we all understand the goal and the outcome. Last year, we had some drama on the team; obviously, every team’s gonna have its ups and downs, but I feel like this year we didn’t have that much drama. So I feel like we can only just keep stacking on this,” Gamble said. “I’m definitely looking forward to what we can do, especially with the Inter-Ac and states. We’ve still got a lot to prove, and a lot of teams to beat. So if we just keep doing what we do, I think we’re gonna have a lot of success here.”
Apart from the mental aspect, the Fords have also found a great deal of joy in playing basketball the way the Fords do: gritty and unbeaten.
“Even just in practice, people are laughing, and it’s a delight,” Morsell said. “Be ready for the next game. Malvern will be a huge game because they’re second right now, so that’ll be like a championship.”
“I found a lot of joy in playing with the team, playing with the guys,” Gilbert said. “I think it’s been my favorite season I’ve ever played. I’m just looking forward to these next five Inter-Ac games and trying to close out the season well.”
“We found different ways to win in different games,” Coach Rogers said. “Staying focused as a team has helped us. We’ve had a lot of guys come through the program. Dillon [Gamble] and Manny [Butts] as seniors have gotten better each year, and watching these kids grow and develop is fun to watch.”
The Fords’ bonds have been carefully developed over the past few years. They find joy not only in winning on the court, but also in the smaller, hidden moments.
“My favorite part of the season is doing Thursday night dinners with the team,” Graham said. “I’m really excited just to see how well we can do in the Intrer-Ac. Malvern will be a big game, Penn Charter will be a big game, but now it’s on us.”
“My favorite part about this season so far has definitely got to be the Malvern game,” Butts said. “Not even the game winner, but just finally going over to their house and beating them for the first time, and I think it was what, a thirteen-game drought? The goal is just to come and win the Inter-Ac. This is the year.”