Winning After Midknight Editor
The Middletown High School Knights Golf team is starting to
come into form after a slow start to their 2016-2017 campaign and for the
Knights it could not come at a better time as the next ten day stretch will be
a defining stretch of their season and help to determine their fate his season.
The Knights will play five teams over four matches in that
ten day stretch with some easier competition in the beginning of the span,
giving the Knights the chance to pick up some momentum, before heading in to
the back end of the stretch where they’ll face tougher competition.
Middletown (3-3) will start that stretch tonight as they
make the long bus ride across Carroll County to take on the Westminster High
School Owls at Westminster National Golf Course at 4:00 p.m., as the Knights
will look to string their record above .500 for the first time this season.
The Knights are hoping that they are on the upwards climb,
after a huge 20-stroke win over Brunswick and Boonsboro on Wednesday August 24th
that saw most of the Knights’ golfers return to playing at the expectations
that they had set for themselves this year.
The Knights easily took down Boonsboro and Brunswick but
more importantly, all of the Knights top shooters, stepped up and performed
after a rough outing in the match before against Smithsburg and South Carroll.
Knights sophomore Joey Weiland and senior Andrew Heon both
shot in the 30’s, where the two golfers usually resided for most of the Knights’
state championship run last year, with sophomore Nick Bradley and senior Robbie
Houck just missing out on getting under 30 by a couple of strokes.
It was the first time this year that Middletown had a solid
effort from all four golfers in their lineup and it confirmed that when the
Knights play as they look on paper, they become a very dangerous team.
Middletown will need to continue that high level of play throughout
this stretch of twelve games if the Knights look to have aspirations of going
deep into the playoffs. After the match-up against the Owls today, Middletown
will take on the Tuscarora Titans and Frederick Cadets in easier contests
before having to take on the county contender – the Linganore Lancers in a
tri-match with Williamsport on September 8th.
But, first in line for the Knights will be dispatching of
Westminster, as the Owls (5-12) come into the contest looking to notch a win to
get their season back on the right track. The Owls have a solid #1 golfer at
the front of their rotation in Nik Mourelatos who has been a consistent force
for the Owls since the start of the season. The issue for Westminster comes
from a lack of depth in the back of their lineup, which has caused the Owls to
fall in most matches even with Mourelatos consistently shooting in the 30’s.
The opening event of the season for the Owls, the Carroll
County Tournament was the perfect indicator of how deep the Owls’ struggles
have been. In an 18-hole format, Mourelatos would shoot a 77 just one shot out
of the individual title. Behind Mourelatos was a different story as scores of
86, 87, and 88 were carded causing the Owls to drop out of first and hand the
team title over to Liberty.
The one wild card in the whole scenario, as always with
golf, is the golf course. Unlike, most sports where everything is regulated as
far as size of the court and how they play, the variables of golf courses are
extremely varied and challenging for visiting teams to adapt to. Middletown
will also be playing on the course for the first time, after a one hour bus
ride to Westminster, meaning that the Knights will have even more of a challenge
awaiting them once they step off the bus.
Middletown, though, will need to be on point against
Westminster as a win could help start their ten day, four match stretch off right
and propel their season towards a bigger goal.
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