Golf: Middletown looks to seize second chance, claim title at 1A-2A State Championship

By Ben Spector
Winning After MidKnight

 

Second chances in sports are not easy to come by. There is usually someone who is faster, stronger, smarter, or just better who will take your spot, or your title, or a shot at winning a championship.

Even though that isn’t 100% true for the Middletown High School Knights golf team, they can put themselves in a position to make the most out of something pretty close to a second chance when they head down to College Park and the University of Maryland to compete in the 2014 Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (M.P.S.S.A.A) 1A-2A Golf State Championship.

The Knights had the chance to win it the first time around in 2013 but rough rounds from then sophomore Jake Darr and then Seniors Brendan Grife and Shane Cleverly left the Knights on the outside looking in, when it came to the final team result.

It appears though that now may be the best time for the Knights to try and redeem that second chance as the circumstances for a state championship seem to point in the Knights favor.

First, there are only seven teams competing in the 1A-2A State Championship (Fallston, Hereford, Marriotts Ridge, Middletown, North Carroll, Patterson Mill, and South Carroll) leading to a field in which the Middletown players will have less opportunities for teams to capitalize on their mistakes.

The small field is also beneficial for the Knights as they have already beaten two of the teams in the championship (North Carroll and South Carroll) and have familiarity with other teams from different tournaments.

The familiarity point also ties in to the Knights familiarity to the course-University of Maryland at College Park Golf Course.

Middletown junior Darr and sophomore Andrew Heon have both played on the course before in tournament play, with both having competed in last year’s state championship.

The other two Middletown golfers, junior Nick Desimone and senior Jack Littrell having walked along side Darr and Cleverly last year, not only surveying the play of Middletown’s top two golfers but also getting a feel for how the course played on certain holes.

Even with this familiarity, there is a mixture of nervousness and confidence for a Middletown team who has a decent shot at locking up their second state championship in school history.

“I think our team is going to play well because they know we have a chance,” said Darr, who helped his team qualify for states by shooting a 66 at the District championship.

“We play better under pressure,” said Darr. “(We’re) so nervous but that’s a good thing.

The state championship is a grueling event unlike any other and will require some strong play from all four Middletown players if the Knights want to have a shot at a state title.

Unlike during the regular season in which players play 9 holes, playing either the front of the back, all players at the state championship play the full 18 holes, a change for some golfers which has proved tough to adapt to.

Add in a course that is extremely long and has various changes in terrain, tiring out the players who must carry their bags throughout the whole day, a match that lasts anywhere between 4 to 5 hours, leading to a high probability of high scores throughout the day for Middletown.

The Knights will look to overcome all that though, as they head down to College Park to seize on a second chance they know they won’t get again.