Football, Wrestling
Favorite athlete: Aaron Rodgers
Favorite team: 76ers
Favorite memory: 2019 Football Season
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: When I got hurt in a game and I was down on the field, my coach and I were joking about me needing to do more crunches because the wind got knocked out of me.
Music on playlist: Eminem, Lil Uzi, NF
Future plans: Go to college, get my education.
Words to live by: “Everything happens for a reason” and “The grass is greener on the other side”
One goal before turning 30: Start a Family
One thing people don’t know about me: I participate in Unified Sports and Athletes Helping Athletes, these are very important to me.
By GORDON GLANTZ
As fall was turning to winter in 2019, Cheltenham was taking on Cocalico in the state semifinals when standout junior stud linebacker Zach Gaffin was needed to rise to the occasion on the offensive side of the ball.
For head coach Ryan Nase, what happened next was a prime example of what typifies all that makes Gaffin who he is as an old-school football player wearing his heart on his sleeve.
“Our starting QB (Adonis Hunter) took a shot and had to come out,” said Nase. “In all honesty, Zach hadn't taken a meaningful snap all season and is lucky if gets 8-10 in practice each week. “
This is the same athlete who wanted to be Aaron Rodgers since fourth grade and wore No. 12 to prove it. He was not about to just take a snap or two, while playing it safe, and get off the field.
“On the first play, we called a power-read play, anticipating a handoff, and they showed us something different,” said Nase. “Zach pulled the ball, got a first down and finished the play by absolutely trucking the free safety, who just so happened to be a Division I commit and 5A state defensive player of the year.
“Adonis returned the next play or two, and Zach continued to play his heart out on defense and special teams. The story encapsulates how he is constantly prepared for everything. His discipline and attention to detail is second to none.”
Gaffin has not forgotten that moment either.
“I think his name was Noah Palm,” he said. “He went down, and I think he hit his head pretty hard. We were running, I think, a read-option. Most of the time with the read-option I’m a little greedy. I’m a selfish guy. I love running through people. I pulled the ball. I saw him coming at me, and I lowered my shoulder. He went to the ground, and I went for an extra three yards after I hit him.
“I’m not the biggest guy, and I’m not the tallest guy, so I’m going to make up for it with my heart and my grit. I’m coming at you with everything I got.”
Daniel, My Brother
Gaffin made the rare jump from middle school football to freshman starter, and he did so on the shoulders of many willing to give him a boost.
At the top of that list was his older brother, Daniel.
“Coming into high school, my brother was a junior captain,” said Gaffin. ‘So, living and watching under that, I just wanted to resemble what he did. We have the same styles. We are not the most vocal players but we lead by example. We do everything right, and we do what we are asked. We do it right 110 percent every time. While doing what we are asked, we know the younger guys are looking at us. When we do it, we know that they are going to do it.
“He was there to teach me the ropes. I remember first getting to high school and into the weight room, and he was the first one there teaching me how to lift and to be good at it.”
The freshman season also saw Gaffin’s support system helped by Spently “Coach Spent” Toran moving up with him from middle school to high school. His talents were also recognized by defensive coordinator Kyle Yeiter, who placed faith in him right away.
“Coach ‘Spent’ was my middle school coach,” said Gaffin, who also singled out teammates Amani Ezell and Nate Felix for pushing him to improve, as well as younger sister, Gillian, for being among his biggest fans. “He believed in me, and moved up to high school with me. He was a mentor, not only as a teacher and a counselor, but as a good friend. I was able to talk to him when I needed to talk to someone. Coach Kyle Yieter was a very good coach for me. He was the defensive coordinator and also believed in me at a young age.”
From there, the groundwork for a state title run was laid when Nase took over as head coach.
“To start off with, to explain why last year was so memorable, I really have to go all the way back to my freshman year,” said Gaffin. “That was coach Nase’s first year, and I think we were around 2-8. We weren’t really very good.
“My sophomore year, we went 7-3 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2001. It was really great. The really talented senior class graduated, and I moved into my junior year. Everyone knew what was expected of the junior and senior classes. Everyone stepped up and rose to the challenge, stepping up as players and leaders.
“From there, we had a really good record – 9-1 going into the playoffs – and we made it all the way to state championship, where we lost to Archbishop Wood. Everyone just kind of bought in.”
In many ways, what happened in 2020 has been put to the ultimate test for Gaffin and the rest of the state runner-up Panthers. COVID-19 shelved the fall season and a chance to chase the Holy Grail of a state crown, but the prospect of a spring season is all the ray of hope the two-year captain needs.
“Since the pandemic has hit and our situation has been so up in the air, we've adopted the motto: “You don't have to get ready if you stay ready,” said Nase. “Very few people live that better than Zachary Gaffin.”
This is not to say that it has not been difficult for a student-athlete who prepared himself for his fall football season.
“At first, it was like a bitter pill to swallow,” Gaffin explained. “After seeing the 5A bracket, and seeing what teams are on there, kind of made it a little bit harder. Seeing the competition, and the teams that we beat – and not by just a touchdown – it’s just, like, ‘Wow, we could have been there.’”
Always the type to look on the bright side, Gaffin believes the team bonded over facing the adversity of the school board’s decision.
“I feel like it taught people what to do when they face adversity,” he said. “Just talking about football right now, we have had a lot of adversity over the summer – and especially right now – with not having a season.
“In the summer, we had to have workouts while wearing masks and social distancing. We also had the school board trying to stop us, so we had to try and fight against that while still trying to still get better.”
In the interim, he is training for winter wrestling, where he hopes to reach the state tournament, and then for spring football against some of the other area schools that also opted out in the fall.
“To my knowledge, there is going to be a spring season with 8-9 teams in it,” he said. “It’s the other schools that opted out, so there are some Montco and Delco teams. I know there is Academy Park, Reading, Chester and a whole wide variety of teams. I’m excited for that. Hopefully, we don’t go back to the quarantine. Hopefully, the risk goes down and doesn’t shoot back up.”
While Gaffin is eyeing football at the next level, with his stellar academics opening up doors, his passion for wrestling is such that he wrote his college essay about how he went from winless as a freshman to a state aspirant as a senior.
After winning three matches as a sophomore, he went to a tournament and was 4-1.
“I won more matches that day than I did my first two years of wrestling,” he said. “That gave me momentum. I think I lost one match and went on a 17-match winning streak and made it to regionals. It was the first time in a long time that two people from Cheltenham made it to regionals.
“I’m hopeful there is a season. I was close to making it to states last year. I feel like with one more year I could definitely make it to states.”
Earning Respect
However, to talk about Zach Gaffin as a football player/wrestler in a vacuum, would equate to taking one’s finger off the pulse of who is he is as a full person.
The same linebacker who plays with his heart on sleeve is just a byproduct of the second of Daniel Sr. and Debra’s three children. Gaffin carries close to a 4.0 grade-point average, something that will open up opportunities to play at Division II- and III-level schools that feature strong academic requirements for acceptance.
“Zach is not only an extremely talented football player,” said Nase. “He is one of the most respected people on our team, in our school, and in his community. Zachary was the only captain of the 2019 State Finalist team as a junior. He will also serve as a captain during our alternate season in 2021.
“Zach is on pace to be the all-time leading tackler in Cheltenham history. He is a district qualifier in wrestling, and participates in our Unified Sports program, which combines interscholastic athletes and special needs athletes. They compete and raise money for the Special Olympics.”
Those community activities were opportunities presented by Nase to Gaffin, who came to embrace the commitment.
“My freshman year, coach Nase brought it up to me and wanted to know if I’d be interested,” he said. “I wasn’t quite sure what I was going into it, but it really made a big impact on my life.
“Athletes Helping Athletes is something we have in our school with our special needs athletes. We will do things like bring special needs athletes out onto the field with us when we do the captain handshakes and flip the coin with us before our football games. I really can’t stress this enough. I believe every high school in the area and the United States should be doing this.”
Bright Future
While the immediate future is uncertain, Gaffin knows that the light at the end of the tunnel will be the chance to play college football at a top-notch academic school.
“So, right now, I am planning on playing in college,” said Gaffin, who thanks his parents and Nase for their support in his quest. “Football has been a really big part of my life. I don’t want to go to college and not play. I don’t want to say, ‘What if.’ I didn’t want to live off of what-ifs.
“I really want to go to college and play, and I’m not really too worried about what division I play at. It can be D-III. I’m fine with that. I’m happy. I’m just more concerned the school and what kind of education it brings me.”
The immediate future is not as vivid. A spring season would mean that long-awaited chance to be Aaron Rodgers and play quarterback while also becoming the school’s all-time leading tackler.
“That wasn’t something I had really thought about up until last year,” he said. “It didn’t seem like it was a possibility for me to achieve. After last year, with an impressive junior season, it’s now a possibility. Most players only play their junior and senior years. I’ve being playing since I was a freshman, so I can see where that puts me on pace to break the record.”
And the prospect of playing quarterback?
“It’s pretty exciting,” he said. “I only started playing quarterback in eighth grade. Once I got to high school, I kind of ran the second string spot for a few years. Adonis, the starting quarterback, was pretty good. He was one of the best ever at Cheltenham. Being able to watch him, and to have him mentoring me, gives me a great advantage coming into my first year starting. I know all the plays. I’m ready to go.”
And defenders looking to tackle him on a read-option better be ready to get punished.
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