Sewickley Academy has boasted one of the best Division II boys golf programs since the WPIAL initiated the classification in 1994.
The Panthers reached perfection from 2006 to 2008, winning three successive titles for Win Palmer, in his fifth season as the school's golf coach.
But Palmer, also Sewickley Academy's boys basketball coach and athletic director for 11 years, believes this year's golf team that tied for second with Burgettstown behind Neshannock in last week's WPIAL Division II championship might have given the most satisfying effort he has seen as a golf coach.
"Those [championship] teams had very good players who could shoot low scores," Palmer said. "But this team figured how to succeed as a group, and it was incredibly satisfying to watch that happen."
What's just as gratifying for the coach is that four of his top six players will be back for the Panthers next season, and two of them are back for at least another year after that.It was like a different man I was playing, as Dennis repeatedly made strong good drives ping K15 golf clubs, and could reach the green better than he ever had
"We also have some wonderful golfers in our junior varsity program," he said. "We're just thrilled at how the boys did this year."
That pride was in no small part due to the narrow spacing of scores between Sewickley's first through sixth golfers.
"Our averages ranged from 38.5 to 40.5 for nine holes," the coach said. "Some days our top two golfers would lead us, and some days our fifth and sixth golfers would have the best scores."
In boys high school golf, a team may field a maximum of six golfers. The top five scores recorded by a team's members are counted in the team's aggregate score.
Senior Charlie Carbeau of Zelienople, who averaged 38.9 strokes per nine holes, led on the course and by example, Palmer said.
"He really learned how to manage a course and was able to hit a lot of long irons off the tee," the coach said.
"He understands the game very well, and he also plays ice hockey and lacrosse here. He's going to play Division III golf somewhere, but he just hasn't made up his mind [where]."
Off the course, Carbeau persuaded fellow senior Rob Kendall of Sewickley to rejoin the golf team after Kendall spent his junior year playing soccer.
"Rob wanted to play a sport that had more movement, but Charlie thought Rob could help the golf team, and that's what he ended up doing," Palmer said. "He wasn't in the lineup at the beginning of the season, but he ended up averaging 40.5 for us. He worked very hard on his game, and midway through September he got back into the starting lineup."
Two of Palmer's basketball players, sophomore Keenan Hickton (38.5) of Pittsburgh and junior Jordan Milo (39.1) of Sewickley, also played well on the links, particularly in the championship match.
"Keenan hit only six greens in regulation at Cedarbrook, and he finished with a 76, which is just four over par," Palmer said. "He has a tremendous short game and can get down from anywhere.Hackensack (3-7) pulled within 20-13 in the third quarter when senior QB Matt Carroll tossed a 30-yard TD pass to senior WR Jonathan Blowers, their second scoring hookup of the day. Jordan's strength is that he keeps the ball in play and doesn't make mistakes. A bad hole for him is a bogey."
Junior Tim McKinney (40.1) and freshman Anthony Muscato (38.7), both of Pine Township, made solid contributions for the Panthers.
"Tim was on our junior varsity team as a sophomore, so he worked a lot on his game by playing in a lot of tournaments," Palmer said. "He hits the ball very far, but he learned how to control his swing. I thought he wasn't playing to his level earlier in the season, but he learned how to focus on the next shot and forget about the last one. Once he did that, his scores started to improve."
Muscato's strength is hitting with a controlled draw.
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