By: Ray Fisher 
Sunday, February 6, 2022 | 11:01 AM

The Quaker Valley girls basketball team is resilient if nothing else.

After a 4-4 start, the Quakers lost three straight section games but rebounded by winning their last six contests in January.

Entering this month, the QV girls were 7-5 in Section 2-4A and 10-7 overall.

“The team has shown a good amount of resilience through a few things and has come together through all of it,” coach Ken Johns said. “The injury bug shows up on occasion, just like with all other teams, and that combined with a few kids getting sick forced us to shuffle a few things around.”

The Johns family also experienced a personal loss in December.

“My father passed away in December, and the team and the entire Quaker Valley family rallied around my family,” Johns said. “My father was a teacher and coach at QV for more than 30 years, and personally being connected to the QV family in a different way this year and being in the gym that he taught and coached in every day has been both difficult at times and a blessing.

“I feel connected to him and the school in a different way, something that was unexpected on many fronts when I took the job.”

Johns is a 1987 Quaker Valley graduate who played three sports in high school and went on to run track at Ohio. He was inducted into the QV Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

Heading down the season’s home stretch, Quaker Valley’s girls team was battling Montour for the third spot in the section. The top five finishers in Section 2-4A qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.

“We really don’t talk about winning or playoffs,” Johns said. “I’m not sure we’ve even used the word winning or mentioned the playoffs at all since our first team meeting in November. I’m sure the girls are all thinking about it and know where we stand, but we try to stay focused on the goal of getting better every day and taking it one practice and one game at a time.

“That being said, we’ve had a pretty good stretch lately, and that has put us into position to have a chance to make the playoffs if we finish strong. I believe that would make four years in a row and that is something that’s part of building a successful program.”

Indeed.

The Quakers have advanced to the postseason three years in a row and last season qualified for the WPIAL finals for the first time.

The starting five are senior captains Amelia Herrmann, a 5-foot-10 forward, Lauren Blackmer, a 5-11 forward, and Allie Ponzo, a 5-6 guard, along with juniors Nora Johns, a 5-7 guard, and Maria Helkowski, a 5-6 guard.

“The three seniors, Amelia, Lauren and Allie, serve as this year’s captains and are doing a good job,” said Johns, Nora’s father and QV’s first-year coach. “They each approach it in their own way, and it provides a good balance.

“Amelia is the energy person, always talking and encouraging, supporting the other players. Allie is the vocal leader off the floor, and Lauren leads by example on the floor. She’s really played well the last two weeks with her scoring and rebounding.”

Ken Johns’ daughter Nora paces the squad in scoring, assists and steals.

Junior forwards Shannon Von Kaenel and Siliva Almanzar, sophomore guard Madison Chapman and sophomore forward Annica Kagle are QV’s top reserves.

“We have a pretty deep bench,” Herrmann said. “Coach Johns does a great job of getting everyone experience in stressful situations, so we have confidence in close games.”

The QV coaching staff believes it is essential also to serve as teachers.

“We talk about using each day in the gym — whether it’s a practice or a game — as a chance to get better and they’ve really embraced that,” said Johns, who was hired in July to take over for Tom Demko. “We’ve asked them to learn a lot, some of it on the fly, and that combined with pretty much everyone having a new role this year has taken us a little while to click.

“I’ve been really happy with how the team has come together. It’s a great group of girls who care a lot about the team and each other, and that really shows when you’re around them every day.”

Herrmann is one of the team’s three senior leaders who along with Blackmer provides a noticeable presence with her height in the QV frontcourt. Blackmer and Herrmann lead the Quakers in rebounding.

“We are really coming together as a team. Coach Johns has created clear goals for us to work toward together,” Herrmann said. “It has been a fun year. We’ve really grown together as a team. We have a lot of girls new to varsity, and they’ve really gained a lot of confidence. We have won five straight games and have a really good chance of qualifying for the playoffs.

“Our main strength is our commitment to one another. This is not only shown on the court with communication and sharing the ball but also off the court with the way we encourage each other and put the team first. We expect to continue to grow and compete together, qualify for the playoffs and hopefully make some noise when we get there.”

Herrmann started playing basketball at QV in the fifth grade. She also competes in AAU hoops; she has played for SLAAM in the last three AAU seasons. This spring, Hermann plans to compete in the throwing events with the girls track and field team.

The QV senior is captain of the mock trial team and co-president of the French Club. She is a five-year participant of the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science and belongs to the Cultural Alliance. In her spare time, she runs an Etsy store where she sells fun earrings.

“I am really excited to be on a team with such a great group of girls,” Herrmann said. “My senior year has been a lot of fun. We have competed in every game, and our team is really close. I think we have the loudest bench in the WPIAL. It is really important to support one another.

“I’m especially looking forward to ending my QV basketball career with Allie Ponzo and Lauren Blackmer, who I’ve loved playing with since the beginning. They’re the best.”

Herrmann is a straight-A student with a 4.8 GPA. She plans to study chemical engineering in college and possibly continue her basketball career.

“I plan to attend a college with a fantastic chemical engineering program,” she said. “I have applied early action to a few colleges and am waiting to hear. One of them (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology) is recruiting me to play basketball.”

The talented QV student-athlete was asked to name her favorite subject.

“It is too hard to pick just one favorite subject,” Hermann said. “I am extremely fortunate to have such amazing teachers. My favorite class today was probably AP Calculus BC when we went over anti-derivatives, but it really does shift moment to moment.”

And, that last time Herrmann received a “B” in one of her classes?

“It has been a while,” she said with a smile.

At the end last month, Quaker Valley defeated the likes of Ambridge, New Castle, Westinghouse, Central Valley, Hopewell and Montour in succession.

“Players are getting used to what we’re asking them to do and they are settling into their roles,” coach Johns said. “We’re getting used to the intensity of section play and the speed and skill of some very good teams and individual players in our section.

“It’s still a work in progress, and we’ve got some tough games ahead of us, but the team’s attitude and approach of working every day is starting to show in the games.”

By: Ray Fisher 
Sunday, December 12, 2021 | 9:21 PM

Last season, the Quaker Valley girls basketball team, seeded No. 2, qualified for the WPIAL finals for the first time before losing to No. 1 Beaver, 44-29. 

Will the Quakers be able to take that next step forward in 2021-22?

Well, first things first.

Quaker Valley is aiming for a fourth consecutive postseason appearance in coach Ken Johns’ rookie year as floor boss.

Johns was hired in July to take over for Tom Demko, who resigned after three years in charge.

“I’m very excited to be coaching this group of players and to be coaching at Quaker Valley,” Johns said. “There is such a strong support system for both academics and athletics at Quaker Valley, and it is wonderful to be a part of it.

“I was asked during the interview process why I wanted the job and my answer was that we have such a strong athletic program with sustained success in sports like boys basketball, boys soccer, boys and girls cross country and track, and recently wrestling — the list goes on — so I asked, ‘Why not girls basketball?’”

Johns actually is a familiar face in QV circles.

A 1987 Quaker Valley graduate, Johns played three sports in high school and went on to run track at Ohio. He was inducted into the Quaker Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

His son, K.C., a 2020 Quaker Valley grad, played basketball in high school and currently is a member of the Allegheny men’s basketball team. Johns’ oldest daughter Lily is a former QV hoopster.

His youngest daughter Nora is a 5-foot-7 junior point guard on QV’s girls hoops team. Nora won the PIAA gold medal in the 300-meter hurdles last spring.

Johns was involved with Quaker Valley youth basketball for eight years and spent several years coaching in the middle school program.

The QV girls basketball team was tall and talented in 2020-21, featuring two Division players and 1,000-point career scorers in Corrine Washington (Boston University), an all-state selection, and Bailey Garbee (American University).

The starting lineup in the championship game last year consisted of four seniors — Washington, Garbee, guard Lily Johns, forward Claire Kuzma — and Nora Johns. Washington, Garbee and Kuzma were listed as 5-11 forwards.

“We do not have a lot of returning experience at the varsity level, so we’re looking to build some experience quickly,” coach Johns said. “Roles evolve each year and, having graduated four starters from last year’s team, this is a big year for us on that front. It will take a little time early in the season to establish those new roles and for the players to understand and embrace them.

“I have been very pleased with the attitude and effort so far. The concepts we’re running are brand new to most of the players, and it will take a little time for those to become second nature. My expectations are that we get better every time we get in the gym, whether that be practice or a game. Working to get better is something we talk about every day.”

Nora Johns, a junior point guard, is joined in the backcourt by senior Allie Ponzo and junior Maria Helkowski. Both are 5-6.

Seniors Amelia Herrman, who stands 5-10, and Lauren Blackmer, at 5-11, along with 5-9 junior Shannon Von Kaenel, 5-7 junior Silvia Carrasco-Almanzar and 5-11 sophomore Annica Kagle will be stationed in the QV frontcourt.

“Amelia Herrmann and Lauren Blackmer started a few games last year and did see some playing time on a good team,” said their coach. 

All of the above, as well as 5-4 sophomore guard Madison Chapman, are expected to contribute regularly for the Quakers in 2021-22.

“This is a tough and competitive group that is used to being around winning,” coach Johns said. “With the recent success of the team and with our upperclassman practicing against that team daily the past few years, they have an understanding of what it takes to play at that level. They all have expectations of competing and building on the recent success.”

Quaker Valley reeled off 12 wins in its final 14 games last season and ended up 15-5 overall. Three losses were to section rival Beaver.

The Quakers are members of Section 2-4A, along with Ambridge, Beaver, Blackhawk, Central Valley, Hopewell, Montour and New Castle.

“When I look at the other teams in our section with such excellent coaches and good players year in and year out, I asked, ‘Why not Quaker Valley?’” coach Johns said. “I think we have an opportunity to build a program that has sustained success. I see no reason why that cannot happen and, while it may take a little while to build, I am excited at the prospect of getting it started this year with this group.”

By: Jerin Steele 
Sunday, July 11, 2021 | 11:01 AM

Quaker Valley has been a focal point in many chapters of Ken Johns’ life.

He was a three-sport athlete at the school, coached at the youth and middle school levels and has watched his children make their athletic impact with the Quakers.

Now he’s ready to add to his Quaker Valley story as the girls basketball coach.

Quaker Valley hired Johns to take the reins of a Quakers girls basketball team that made the Class 4A girls basketball final last year. He takes over for Tom Demko, who stepped down after three seasons. The Quakers made the playoffs all three of those years.

“I’m very excited about it,” Johns said. “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. The opportunity presented itself, and after going through the interview process, I was just so excited that they offered me the job. I know the girls and have coached many of them since they first picked up a basketball. It’ll be fun to get re-engaged with a lot of them and meet some new ones and continue the success they’ve had the last few years.”

Johns, a 1987 Quaker Valley grad, ran cross country and track and played basketball in his high school days. He went on to run track at Ohio and was inducted into the Quaker Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

His son, K.C., a 2020 Quaker Valley grad, started on the boys basketball team and currently plays at Allegheny. His oldest daughter Lilly graduated this spring and played on the basketball team, and his youngest daughter Nora is rising junior. Nora is on the basketball team and won the 2021 PIAA gold medal in the 300-meter hurdles.

Johns was involved with the Quaker Valley youth basketball program for eight years and spent several years coaching the middle school program.

He’s coached many of the girls he’ll have on the roster. It’s a group that he’s confident can keep the program’s recent success going.

“The girls we have returning played against a senior class the last several years that were all good, and some of them went on to play at Division I colleges. That’s definitely prepared them,” Johns said. “I also think winning is contagious. When you’re exposed to winning, you are used to it and that becomes the expectation. That’s a great situation to walk into.

“We have several athletic programs at Quaker Valley that have had sustained success for some time, and you look at them and ask yourself, ‘Why not girls basketball? We’ve had some recent success, but why not sustained success?’ When you see what it takes to compete at a higher level like our returning players have, that will do them well not only this year, but going forward.”

Johns has met with the team, and they’ve had a few open gyms. He said there have been good turnouts and overall general excitement about what’s to come for the program.

“We’re a little behind where we would typically be with missing some summer leagues in June, but we’ll make up for it,” Johns said. “We have some things planned for later this summer and in the fall. I think everyone was a little curious, including myself, with what was going to happen. Now we have a plan and we’re ready to go. We’ve been working on fundamentals in the gym and implementing some things we want to do both offensively and defensively.”​​​​​​​

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer