Marian golfers win showdown with PV

Neither the Marian Catholic nor Panther Valley golfers did anything exceptional Tuesday in a key Schuylkill League matchup.

"Honestly and truthfully, everyone shot above what they normally do, but we shot just well enough to win," said Marian Coach Lenny Brylewski of his Colts.

PV coach Larry Marek didn't disagree, noting that his team had an average of 321 coming into the event.

Marian won the match, 333-345 to remain unbeaten in division play.

The contest was played at the Panther's home course, Villas Crossing in West Penn Township, which has a par 70.

It was an important matchup because until yesteday, Panther Valley's only loss was to Marian earlier this season. The Panther's are now 14-2 and despite the loss still have a shot at making postseason play.

Marian is 11-0 in division play and 11-1 overall.

The medalist for the day was Marian sophomore Eric Mason, who shot an 80, which was one stroke better than PV's Matt Tucker and just two strokes under teammate Josh Green, who is his golfing buddy during the summer. "I golf all the time with Josh," Mason said.

Mason shot a 38 on the front nine holes and a 42 on the back nine, with a pair of birdies helping him attain his low score.

He admits there were some flaws he had to work through, stating, "I tried not to lose my composure after my bad shots."

He said the birdies "helped me a lot down the stretch."

Tucker, a senior, had a day he's not likely to forget on the golf course.

First, he's recovering from an injured ankle. On Monday night during a golf meet, he used a crutch on the course. Although he didn't use the crutch yesterday against Marian, he still was feeling soreness.

Then, on the 13th hole, another golfer's drive whacked him in his good ankle. He fell onto the greens when the ball hit him, but fortunately he was okay.

The next hole, a bee stung Tucker in the foot.

Tucker had a difficult front nine, shooting 11 over par. He then shot par on the back nine, which included birdies on the 11th and 15th holes.

Brylewski, in his 16th year as Marian coach, is looking for a repeat trip to the league playoffs with a young squad that includes just one senior. The rest of the team members are sophomores and freshmen.

"We will probably still make the playoffs," said Marek, in his ninth year as PV coach, referring to the fact that the top two teams in each division qualify.

MARIAN 333

Eric Mason, 80; Josh Green, 82; Brandon Dopira, 85; Chris Postupack, 86.

PANTHER VALLEY 345

Matt Tucker, 81; Kory Lopata, 85; Scott Nevenglosky, 86; Mike Hadesty, 93.

Played at Villas Crossing, par 70