St. Anthony edges Rangers by one stroke
Benton golf opened its season with an 18-hole match against Effingham St. Anthony Monday, dropping a 302-301 decision.
The Rangers were paced by veteran Bryce Doughty and freshman Thomas Simpson. Both shot 74 for the round, Doughty shooting twin 37s and Simpson 38 on the front, 36 on the back.
“Bryce played well,” Benton coach Scott Simpson said. “He was under par early in his round. But that’s a good score and what I expect him to be shooting. We expect him to be in the low-to-mid 70s.
“And Thomas … well, I was surprised, but not surprised,” S. Simpson said. “He played well all summer and I thought he would be in our top four, but in the first match you never know. He played well in tournaments, but you don’t know until you get out there for real. He played well, though.”
Andrew Mitchell shot 76 and Shane Dyel 78 to also score for the Rangers.
Match medalist was St. Anthony’s Derek Rohlfing, who shot 72. James Jansen and Ryan Jansen shot 76, with Lewis Martin and Kit Koerner shooting 77. Michael Koester shot 78.
“St. Anthony is a good team,” Simpson said. “They have a good program and they are going to be good every year. They had 24 boys go out for the team, which is 25 percent of their boys enrollment. To get those kinds of numbers is good. And they played well.”
Benton just had an off day, according to Simpson.
“I watched all of the guys play shots here and there and we just couldn’t seem to get over the hump,” he said. “At Benton there are good birdie opportunities right out of the gate. We have to get off to a good start — in high school matches a good start is very important.”
A 1-stroke loss is rare in high school golf.
“There is one every now and then,” Simpson said. “And I tell every team, every year that everyone that plays needs to find a way to save a shot or two every match. In just about every match, your top four can probably find two or three shots that they gave away.
“But you can’t put the blame on any one guy, we win as a team and lose as a team.”
Benton will play at the Anna-Jonesboro Invitational Saturday morning, with play beginning at 9 a.m.
St. Anthony 301, Benton 302
St. Anthony (1-0): Rolhfing 37-35-72; Martin 38-39-77; Koester 38-40-78; Koerner 39-38-77; J. Jansen 38-38-76; R. Jansen 38-38-76
Benton (0-1): Mitchell 39-37-76; Dyel 39-39-78; Doughty 37-37-74; Tate 44-50-94; Harp 40-42-82; Simpson 38-36-74
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Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 at 10:03 pm under