Perkiomen Valley spoils Spring-Ford’s chance at perfection

LIMERICK — Perfection: it’s something all aim for but very few actually end up achieving.

Just two matches away from completing an undefeated season in the Pioneer Athletic Conference, Spring-Ford fell to host Perkiomen Valley 201-204 Tuesday afternoon at Raven’s Claw Golf Club (Par 36), which has been ranked a Top 10 Course in Pennsylvania by “Golfweek Magazine” since 2006.

“Our players deserved this win today,’ said Perkiomen Valley head coach Tavio Hunsicker. “They’ve worked hard all season and definitely wanted it. It’s always motivating to play an undefeated team and see what you can do against the best guys in the conference. It shows us where we can stack up with the rest of the teams in the league.’

According to Elijah Landes, the Vikings had been eying their matchup with Spring-Ford (7-1) for a while as the PAC-10 playoffs loomed near.

“We wanted to come out and play the spoiler role today,’ Landes, a senior, said. “We wanted to give them a road bump in the middle of the season. Getting a win against an undefeated team like that is definitely a confidence booster.’

With the win, the Vikings move one step closer as they compete with Methacton and Owen J. Roberts for the final two seeds in the PAC-10 playoffs.

Landes and Nate Guerrini led the way for Perkiomen Valley (6-2), each finishing at 38.

“I felt pretty good out there,’ said Landes who finished with seven pars, a birdie on No. 9 and a bogey. “I was making putts and hitting decent iron shots. Overall, I’m really happy about the way I played.’

According to Guerrini, this was a round where every single stroke mattered. The junior emphasized the importance of playing smart and not attempting heroic shots throughout the round to his Viking teammates.

“I was feeling good on the driving range before I teed off,’ said Guerrini. “When I came out I was hitting good shots all around. I came out and birdied the first hole, which had me feeling confident the rest of the round.’

Vikings Senior Mike Pearce shot a 40 while Andrew Bergman had a 42. Myles Strachan, Dallen Hall and Nick Luciani all finished at 43.

“It felt good to get out there and post a solid score today,’ said Pearce who finished with five pars and four bogeys. “I wanted to just take it hole by hole and never get ahead of myself.’

For Spring-Ford, freshman Ben Pochet shot a match-low 36, followed by Matt Keim (38), Connor Boham (41), Justin Shuler (44) and Nick Griswold (45).

“We played alright today, unfortunately just not quite good enough,’ said Pochet who finished with two birdies and two bogeys. “Up to this point, we’re definitely proud of our record. Still though, we have our work cut out for us the rest of the season with the playoffs coming up.’

According to Spring-Ford head coach Jeff Mast, the loss is something he hopes will motivate his team.

“Of course it’s disappointing to lose when we were so close to being unbeaten on the season,’ he said. “This wasn’t our best match, but hats off to Perkiomen Valley. They played well and deserved this win today. We knew beating them on their home course wasn’t going to be easy.’

Still fighting for a playoff berth, Hunsicker believes that this win will help put the Vikings on the right track as every stroke is magnified at this point.

“Throughout the season, our confidence has definitely grown with each victory,’ he said. “This win will help us get through the rest of the year. After today, we feel like we can hang with anybody.’

Although disappointed in their first loss of the season, the Rams hope to take the loss as motivation in the final days of the season.

“Now we’ll see what we’re really made of,’ said Mast. “We’ve got a tough matchup Thursday; hopefully we can bounce back and have a strong performance.’

With the playoffs around the corner, both teams will look to earn wins and secure their seeds in the PAC-10 as Perkiomen Valley will travel to Macoby Run Wednesday to face Upper Perkiomen. Spring-Ford will face Boyertown at Hickory Valley on Thursday.

NOTES

Landes shot a 36, but was penalized two strokes for re-putting his ball on the par 3 sixth after all players had completed the hole.