CENTRAL NEW YORK – Day after day and match after match, the Cazenovia boys golf team mastered most of the early portion of its schedule, rising near the top of the Onondaga High School League standings before dealing with a setback against Homer.
Already at 2-0 when it met Jordan-Elbridge in its Sept. 3 home opener at Cazenovia Country Club, the Lakers made it three in a row with a comfortable 225-280 win over the Eagles.
Liam Colligan and Jack Byrnes tied for the top spot, each shooting 41. Chris Kelly’s 46 tied J-E’s Colin Jewsbury for third place, with Ben Orback getting a 47 as Nick Guider and Will Guider both posted 50.
At Vesper Hills to face Tully last Tuesday, Cazenovia went through its closest call yet, needing every single putt to pull out a 245-246 decision over the Black Knights.
Individually, Byrnes’ 41 was one behind the 40 from Tully’s Ryan Shute. Colligan and Orback both finished at 45 and Kelly added a 47.
With William Lund (48) ahead of Tristan Hendricks (50), John McKenna (52) and Andrew Barber (56), It took Guider shooting a 51 to help the Lakers hang on.
Then it was Cazenovia against Homer last Friday at CCC, a prelude to showdowns this week against fellow top contenders Skaneateles and CBA.
Again it was close, but this time the Lakers were on the wrong end of it, taking a 221-225 defeat to the Trojans.
Kelly’s 40 trailed the 39 from Homer’s Mitch Riter, while Colligan had a 42 but the Trojans’ Lukas Quinn had a 41. Byrnes had a 43 and Orback a 46, while Guider struggled to a 54 as Tanner Douglass (45) and Mike Stiles (48) helped Homer stay in front.
Chittenango carried a 2-1 record into its match against Fayetteville-Manlius White last Thursday at Woodcrest, and the Bears were able to defeat this younger group of Hornets 220-226.
Tyrus Kelly’s 37 was the best individual score, with Alex Moesch adding a 40 ahead of the 42 from F-M White’s Dan Stark and a 43 from Stark’s teammate, Tyler Burns.
In order to hang on, Chittenango needed a 45 from Ryan Moesch and a 46 from Tanner Smith, to go with Henry Miller’s total of 52.
Against Phoenix on Friday at Rogues Roost, the Bears improved to 4-1 with a 223-296 win where it had the top four individual scores, Kelly shooting 36 to edge Alex Moesch’s 37. Ryan Moesch finished third at 44 as Smith followed up with a 47 and Trevor Bentz added a 59.
