Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SYRACUSE - Wawasee may have Warsaw's number this year.
The Warrior boys golf team beat the Tigers in the Homestead Invitational last Saturday at Chestnut Hills Golf Course in Fort Wayne by the count of 300-301. Northridge won with a 298.
Thursday afternoon, Wawasee defended its home course at South Shore in Syracuse and snuck past fourth-ranked Warsaw once again in nine-hole action 149-150, while Concord rounded out the three-team match with a score of 154.
The Tigers' No. 2 golfer Chris Hanson had a chance to keep the match squared at 149-149 but lipped out a three-foot put on the ninth hole.
Hanson, along with Jake Brodhead, has been the most consistent golfer Warsaw has had to rely on this year finished with a 37.
Had Hanson's putt gone in it wouldn't have mattered as the match would have gone to the two teams' fifth score.
Wawasee dropped the 42 of Jordan Dawes while the Tigers dropped the 43 of Grant Slater.
"If it comes down to the fifth man, we feel good we'll win most of the time," said Wawasee boys head golf coach Steve Coverstone.
"It's tough," said Warsaw head coach Ben Barkey. "But it was Wawasee's home course and they had to win. The worst we could have done is split and we were able to beat Concord."
Barkey pointed to the inspired play of Brodhead and Hanson that has been keeping the Tigers in contention.
"Jake and Chris are playing great for us. We just need to give them more help," said Barkey.
Brodhead scuffled his first two holes before birding the third hole and then nailing a 40-foot putt on the par-5, fourth hole for an eagle.
While a pair of outstanding individuals lead Warsaw, the Warriors shoot consistently as a team.
Darrin Cripe and Andy Custer led Wawasee with scores of 36.
Custer shot even par despite double bogeying the ninth hole.
Cripe hit a rough patch in the middle of his round but was able to stay with Warsaw's No. 1 golfer, Brodhead.
On the sixth hole, Cripe's tee shot ended up underneath a bush which resulted in an unplayable lie and forced him to take a penalty stroke. Things didn't get much better as Cripe's next shot, still obstructed by the bush sailed just 10 feet.
Cripe quickly recovered and was able to save a bogey on the par-5.
"He could have easily shot a seven or an eight there but he kept his head and came away with the bogey," said Coverstone of the senior Cripe.
Coverstone was also impressed with Andy Wolf's performance.
Wolf shot a 37 after getting off to a slow start and finished his final six holes with a flurry.
Every shot mattered Thursday and Wawasee's ability to overcome rough patches and limiting mental errors made the difference.
Tyler Rondeau finished with a 40 for Wawasee from the fourth spot despite hitting a ball out of bounds on the third hole.
"We had the home course advantage and took advantage of that today," said Coverstone of his team's familiarity with the course and ability to recover from mistakes.
Warsaw's Jon Clevenger kept pace with the Warriors' Custer in the third spot. Clevenger, who has struggled at times this season, did what he needed to do in his spot to keep Warsaw in contention and shot a 38.
The Tigers' final score came from sophomore Tad Nieter. Since coming up from junior varsity, Nieter has been scoring for Warsaw and finished with a 40 at South Shore.
Nieter is part of Barkey's rotation of players in search of finding a solid five-man group that can compete at state.
"We'll take a look after this," said Barkey of his lineup. "But pretty soon we'll have to set the lineup for sectionals."
Skyler Scott, who started the year at varsity, shot a 39 for the Tigers' junior varsity squad while Warsaw's Geoff Haase was the JV medalist with a 36.
The Warriors, 12-0 overall and 3-0 in the NLC, are in action Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. when they travel to NorthWood to take on the Panthers and Northridge.
The Tigers, 11-1 overall and 3-1 in the NLC, are in action Saturday at Plymouth Country Club for the Culver Academy Invitational which starts at noon.
WAWASEE 149, WARSAW 150, CONCORD 154
Wawasee scores - Darrin Cripe 36, Andy Wolf 37, Andy Custer 36, Tyler Rondeau 40, Jordan Dawes 42
Warsaw scores - Jake Brodhead 35, Chris Hanson 37, Clevenger 38, Grant Slater 43, Tad Nieter 40
JV - Wawasee 164, Warsaw 168, Concord 168
Wawasee scores -ÊDerek Blanchard 39, Kris Hivley 39, Seth Cassel 39, Kyle Coverstone 46, Rob Marshal 42
Warsaw scores - Skyler Scott 39, Kris Ker 48, Geoff Haase 35, Ryan Marose 45, Mark Krizmanich 44
