East Pennsboro golf earns first league crown since 1993 in Capital season finale at Armitage
East Pennsboro's Mason Smith plays each round of golf with a tee in his mouth. The routine soothes the Panther senior as he navigates the various tracks across the Mid-Penn Capital Division.
Smith and his East Penn outfit needed every inkling of calming in Thursday's season finale at Armitage Golf Club. Entering the match, the Panthers were on the brink of their first league title in 31 years and were tied with five-time defending champion Boiling Springs for first place.
Consider the calming fulfilled and the mission accomplished.
Led by Smith's 6-over par 76, which earned the senior low-medalist honors, East Penn roared to a team score of 329 strokes and changed the Capital's long-standing hierarchy. Brody Rafferty, Blake Pasada and Aiden Sipe completed the title pursuit, firing rounds of 80, 83 and 90.
Boiling Springs placed second at 334 while Trinity won a tiebreaker with Camp Hill for third at 335.
"We just wanted to win," Smith said. "We were tied with Boiling Springs going into it, so we knew we had to do something good."
While the Panthers' produced the targeted result, the path to league hardware wasn't always pretty. Each golfer endured their hardships Thursday but hurdled the challenges by scrambling for pars and bogeys.
Smith arched a pair of birdies onto his scorecard on the par-4 fourth and the par-5 15th. Rafferty banked a birdie on the 18th, and Pasada jarred a 70-yard approach for birdie on the fourth.
"In the end, I scrambled really well," Rafferty said. "I couldn't really get off the tee, but I punched out and made a lot of pars. There were a couple big numbers that hurt, but overall, played pretty well."
The East Penn message was to stay within each golfer's respective game. The second element to the crowning finish was keeping up or staying ahead of Boiling Springs.
Each Panther was paired with a Bubbler, heightening the pressure while allowing the title hopefuls to keep close tabs on its feared opponent.
"The Boiling Springs squad is very good," Pasada said, "but I think we had a very good team this year, and it really helped us. But we made sure everybody's score was (in line) all the time."
Throughout Thursday's event, the team advantage shuffled between four different squads. The individual leaderboard was also everchanging with Boiling Springs' James Sias, Camp Hill's Jack Stewart and Smith jockeying for the top nod.
Sias secured second place with a 7-over 77 and was complemented by Sam Harbst's 84, Cody Shaffer's 85 and Dom Scavone's 88. Stewart paced the Lions with an 80 while Jonathan Drawbaugh and Luke Pursel penciled 83s, and Ian Goodwin signatured an 89.
Trinity received an 81 from Ivan LaForme and a duo of 82s from Ben Snyder and Ryan Long. Rian Yarnell brought up the caboose with a 90.
"It's a big accomplishment for us," Smith said. "I know Coach (Jeff Barlup) is very excited about it. He sees me in the hallways, and he gives me a fist bump every time he can."
As the final few holes winded down, the Capital crown came into focus. The East Penn lead widened, and a sense of comfortability overcame the Panthers.
"The past few years haven't been the best for us," Rafferty said. "We've just been working together as a team, and it means a lot to us. We didn't expect much going into it, but now that we're here, it feels really good."
Christian Eby is a sports reporter for The Sentinel and cumberlink.com . Love
