SYRACUSE – One of the first competitive stops the Fayetteville-Manlius Green boys golf team made this season was to the Aug. 30 invitational tournament at Drumlins Country Club, where it only finished seventh among 17 sides.

Yet when these same Hornets returned to that same Drumlins layout Wednesday with the Section III Class AA championship on the line, no one would beat them.

Most satisfying for F-M Green was that, in doing so, it knocked off two sides that finished ahead of it in the SCAC Metro division standings, Baldwinsville and Cicero-North Syracuse Blue – but not by much, shooting 398 to the Bees’ 400 to the Northstars’ 403.

Given the small margin, what happened at the top mattered a lot. Velton Perry shot a 72 for F-M Green, the top individual score by three shots over C-NS Blue’s Jake Nardozza and five ahead of B’ville’s Austin McClintic.

Still, more was needed, and Luke Weisiger provided it with a 79 that tied him with the Bees’ Trey Ordway and the Northstars’ Sean Lawler for fifth place.

No other Hornets golfer finished in the top 10, but Jack Antshel and Hugh Roddy both finished with 82 and Colin Mott clinched the sectional title when he posted an 83. Perry, Weisiger, Antshel, Roddy and Mott all advanced to May’s sectional state qualifier at Seven Oaks.

Also playing for F-M Green, Anthony Ahn shot an 86, with Jack Sommers adding an 88. Jason Carter and Henry Will both finished at 93.

F-M’s White team shot 457, with Dan Stark’s 88 just ahead of Andrew Ahn’s 89. Duncan McDaniel had a 91 and Parker Kaczorowski shot 93 ahead of Tyler Burns’ 96 and Dylan Friedman’s 97.

Before all this, F-M Green lost a 182-190 decision to West Genesee Gold last Tuesday at Westvale. Mott shot a 37, but was equaled by the Wildcats’ Ryan Till and Max Lauricella and topped by 35s from Connor Christie and Ben Glass.

Perry, Antshel and Weisiger each shot 38 and Roddy added a 39, solid rounds that would ultimately foreshadow far more success a day later.