Souderton tops North Penn, improves to 3-0 in SOL Continental
MONTGOMERY TWP. >> It’s usually the one big sand trap in their schedule, the course that keeps them second guessing.
Wednesday was no picnic, but Souderton still got enough good swings in and sank enough puts to pull out a 208-215 victory over rival North Penn, as Big Red improved to a perfect 3-0 in Suburban One League Continental Conference play.
“The course is tough as always here. I never play well here,” said Big Red senior Anthony Barr, who helped lead the way Wednesday at PineCrest Country Club. “My freshman year, I had six birdies and still shot a 42 somehow on nine holes. It’s just not a course that fits well for my eye.”
Nevertheless, Barr persevered and shot a 40, tied with teammate Evan Keiser and the Knights’ Shane Herb for lowest-round honors.
“The tee shots,” Barr said of what has made it a challenging venue for Big Red over the years. “The sightlines and everything and how narrow the trees are around the tee boxes.
“As a team, we didn’t play very solid but we still shot a reasonable score and came out with a win.”
James O’Malley shot a 41, Justin Panned had a 43 and Thomas Butler mustered a 44 for Big Red (4-0), who already have a school record for stroke play, by virtue of the 185 they combined for at Raven’s Claw Golf Club in a win over Perkiomen Valley.
“We definitely wanna win our conference and see where it goes from there,” Barr said.
Taking lessons from pros and playing in high-level tournaments, Souderton kept plenty busy over the summer. Their top five usually includes three seniors in Barr, Kreiser and Joshua Smith, who was out Wednesday, taking an SAT course.
“I’m really happy and proud of the kids. They prepared,” said coach Fred Cicacci.
On Thursday, Big Red hosts Central Bucks East and its impressive No. 1, Patrick Sheehan. Souderton was glad to come away with the win Wednesday at PineCrest.
“Souderton Area does not play well on this course,” Cicacci said. “I don’t know if it psyches them out. They told me again today that — even our top guys — had scores that were worse than they normally play.
“We got away with a win but the guys were not happy with the way they played.”
North Penn, a young team with just one senior (Min Kim, who fired a 41), could not overcome 13 double bogeys and four triple bogeys.
“Playing at your home course, you would hope that you could come out on top, but we have one senior, mostly 11th graders and two ninth graders so I think for their experience, I think they’re shooting well,” said Knights coach Dave DiValentino. “They’re playing more consistently. It’s just we have to avoid the big blow-up holes.
“They’re learning, learning how to play different shots. It’s gonna be a year-long process here.”
North Penn (1-3 conference) travels to Central Bucks East Tuesday.
