Put the Fayetteville-Manlius and Baldwinsville boys golf teams at a neutral venue, and it’s difficult to tell which side would win out, especially with the added pressure of a Section III Class AA title on the line.
It was the Hornets’ misfortune, in this particular season, to have the sectional tournament take place at Radisson Greens, which is not the Bees’ home course (Timber Banks is), but still close by and a course frequented by several B’ville golfers.
Given these circumstances, F-M put up a strong effort, shooting 397 to finish second in the team standings behind B’ville, whose 385 meant that it got the sectional team crown to go with the regular-season league title it shared with the Hornets.
Head-to-head in the regular season, F-M and B’ville split their matches, the Bees prevailing at Timber Banks 195-203 on Sept. 1, but the Hornets winning 197-200 at Woodcrest Golf Club four weeks later.
For the decisive sectional showdown at Radisson, Kyle Gilroy led F-M, shooting a five-over-par 77 to finish alone in fifth place. John Cacchio had a 78 and tied for sixth place, while Tim Zapisek had a 79 for solo eighth place.
Each of them trailed B’ville’s Ryan Fecco, who lives right next to Radisson and used his local knowledge to card six birdies during a one-under-par 71 that beat West Genesee’s Joe Morgan (73) by two shots for medalist honors.
Fecco’s teammate, Tim Garraffo, grabbed third place with a 74, while Joe Donohue’s 78 matched Cacchio. B’ville then clinched the team title with an 80 from Maxwell Dec and an 82 from Zach Ravas.
Meanwhile, Colin Sommers put up an 81 and Jason Coleman finished with an 82. In all, 11 Hornets took part, with Sam Lipe shooting an 85 just ahead of Will Franey (88), Tommy Ryu (89), Nick Perry (90), Adam Butch (95) and Sam DiChristina (97).
Since they finished within the top 25 percent of the field, Gilroy, Cacchio, Zapisek, Sommers and Coleman all advanced to next May’s sectional state qualifier, held once again at Seven Oaks in Hamilton.
One consolation for F-M was that it won neighborhood bragging rights over two other neighboring sides at a Sept. 30 nine-hole tournament, shooting 202 ahead of Christian Brothers Academy (229) and Jamesville-DeWitt (236).
There was a tie for individual honors between Gilroy, Coleman and CBA’s Steve Fournier, who each shot 38. Cacchio, with a 39, was alone in fourth place, while Zapisek had a 43 to edge out Perry (44) and DiChristina (45).
Helping out Fournier on the CBA side, David Gross had a 46, with Mike Santoro and Jack Lester both notching 48s. Brent Savage shot a 49 and Chris Bushnell got a 52.
J-D was led by Abel Ratanaphan, who had a 40 as his brother, Alvin Ratanaphan, got a 45. Jake Ellithorpe had a 48, with Will Havens managing a 51 and Ryan Archer (52) ahead of Tom Cramer (55).
