Pochet shoots Spring-Ford past Pope John Paul II

LIMERICK >> The high school golf season requires one key ingredient in order to make a deep team run.

Depth.

On Tuesday afternoon, both Spring-Ford and Pope John Paul II put their team-depth on display in a Pioneer Athletic Conference match at Landis Creek Golf Club.

In the end, Spring-Ford hung on for dear life, taking a 184-183 win over the Golden Panthers for their third win of the season.

Rams’ junior Ben Pochet shot a match-low 3-under 33 while Connor Boham, John Lumley and Thomas Freed each finished 1-over at 37. Chase Armor rounded out the Spring-Ford (3-0 PAC, 3-1 overall) scorecard with a 39 as the Rams would need every stroke against PJP’s school-record round.

Pochet nailed eight greens in regulation on the round despite only hitting three fairways. He used just 16 putts on the day, including a 30-foot birdie putt to kick-start his round on No. 2, a 177-yard par 3.

“That birdie putt on No. 2 was huge,” said Pochet, who sunk three birdies and six pars. “I didn’t really know what to expect of these greens, so that felt like a good way for me to get settled in early on.

“I kept myself out of trouble pretty much the entire round. I never really had to get up and down or recover from anything too difficult.”

Pope John Paul II (1-2 PAC, 202 overall) junior David Antoniuk posted a team-low 1-under 35 out of the second flight. He birdied both par 3’s but suffered a bogey on the par 5 No. 3.

JT Spina, Mike Limongelli and James Poot followed Antoniuk each at 1-over 37. Andy Blum finished at 38.

“I was making a lot of good recovery shots,” said Antoniuk, admittedly not having his best round off the tee. “My short game came up huge. I was able to stick it close and sink some putts. That helped me to save a lot of pars.”

Over the past three seasons, Spring-Ford has seen Methacton take the conference crown. This season, however, the Rams could be primed to give the Warriors a real threat at the top.

“We’ve got at least six really solid players,” said Pochet, “and we’ve got guys at No. 7 and 8 that can fill in and shoot below a 40.

“Having that ability scattered around the team, it definitely takes pressure off any individual player. We know we’ve got guys who can step up at any point.”

Make Yourself at Home

Pope John Paul II made the move from Linfield National to Landis Creek this season. In the words of Spina, the new home could provide a “little extra challenge.”

“It’s a lot tougher of a course,” he said. “The fairways are pretty narrow and the greens are tough to judge sometimes. So far, it’s been a lot of adjusting for all of us.”

You Play Ball Like A Girl

Pope John Paul II’s Courtney Caiola shot a 3-over 39, just missing the scoring cut for the Golden Panthers. The junior, who played in the day’s second flight, finished with six pars and three bogeys.

Despite being the only girl on either team’s varsity roster, Caiola admits she’s gotten used to playing with the boys.

“I’m not intimidated at all by them,” she said. “They shoot what they shoot and I shoot what I shoot, that’s all I can really control. I’ve been going up against some really good competition, so I think that will really help me.”