The Houlton High School varsity golfers are back-to-back state Class C champions after Saturday’s play at the Natanis Golf Club in Vassalboro.
The Shiretowners played against high winds, cool temperatures and quick greens, said coach Marty Gervais, forcing higher than expected scores. Nevertheless, the Shire golfers played well, defeating St. Dominic Regional High School by one stroke to capture the state title.
“I knew Saint Dominic’s Academy of Auburn was going to be tough to beat,” said Gervais. “They have 22 players on their team with both a JV and varsity squad that play a full schedule. They were undefeated this season and easily won the Mountain Valley Conference.”
Gervais knew they possessed a deep roster, as they qualified eight players for the state individual competition on Oct. 16. St. Dominic’s was back-to-back state champs in 2007 and 2008.
“I felt quite sure that we would have to shoot 320 or less to have a chance,” said Gervais. “We were fortunate enough to be paired with all the Saint Dom’s kids and I feel that was an advantage.”
Houlton’s roster consisted of four of five experienced players, who have played at the state level and at Natanis Golf Club.
“We knew we had to stay focused and be patient,” Gervais said. “Knowing how the competition was doing made it easier.”
Nick Chase was the first player to finish for Houlton, carding an 82, three points behind his St. Dominic opponent who shot a 79. Then, Gaige Flewelling tied his opponent with an 85.
On the last hole, Ian Gervais put his tee shot in a hazard, said his father. He recovered nicely having to take a penalty stroke, but still managed to par the hole and carded a 77, which was the lowest score of the day in Class C.
“That put us two down with one score to go,” said Gervais.
Logan Shaffer who played well coming into the tournament struggled with the wind, according to Gervais, but still managed to stay close to his St. Dom’s competitor, with a 90.
Then, it came down to the last player on the course, Houlton’s Parker Sanderson.
“I did the math and figured he needed an 83 for us to win,” said Gervais.
Sanderson had a triple bogey down the final stretch, but eagled the par 4 ninth hole to shoot an 83 and give the Shiretowners the one-shot margin of victory.
Houlton came away with a team score of 327, followed by St. Dominic, 328; Dirigo, 355; George Stevens, 373; Penobscot Valley, 389; Fort Fairfield, 395; Calais, 396; Jonesport-Beals, 403; North Yarmouth, 405 and Ashland, 433.
The breakdown of scores for each team is as follows:
Houlton: Gervais, 77; Chase, 82; Sanderson 83 and Flewelling, 85.
St. Dominic: Dylan Rodrigue, 78; Isaac Reed, 79; Zack DeBlois, 86 and Danny Nadeau, 85.
Dirigo: Justin Conant, 90; Robbie Babb, 84; Justin Richards, 89 and Mitch Stanley, 92.
George Stevens: Jasper Adam, 96; Nick Dillon, 104; David Bertrand, 80 and Alex Heilner, 93.
Penobscot Valley: Marshall Foster, 82; Brody Libby, 91; Wyatt Foster, 99 and David Dube, 112.
Fort Fairfield: Billy Weisman, 103; Landon Towle, 106; Noah Bernard, 95 and Tyler Churchill, 91.
Calais: Nathan Pike, 97; Dylan Carter, 100; Jeremy Beers, 96 and Jonathan Edwards, 103.
Jonesport-Beals: Dimitri Monroe, 88; Thomas Beal, 89; Nick Robinson, 116 and Garrett Beal, 110.
North Yarmouth: Jim Millett, 78; Jake Landry, 92; Parker Howard, 114 and C.J. Davis, 121.
Ashland: Dylan Cyr-Cormier, 106; Jordan Beaulier, 105; Royce MacDonald, 113 and Amos Ward, 109.
Low medalist was Gervais of Houlton with a 77.