Depth gives Deep Run region golf title again

Championship-winning high school golf teams have depth.

They have six players who can shoot scores good enough to count among the four that comprise a team's total.

Depth is why Deep Run's golf team rules the Central Region again. The Wildcats successfully defended the title they won a year ago because each player's score counted at least once during the past two days at Jefferson-Lakeside Country Club and Stonehenge Country Club.

The Wildcats posted a 36-hole total of 611. They were the first-round leaders after shooting 309 at Lakeside on Monday. Jason Schumacher, Adam Anschultz, Chris O'Neill and Mikey Bauer turned in the counting scores.

Deep Run was even better yesterday at Stonehenge. O'Neill, a sophomore, carded the only subpar round of the tournament, a 1-under 70 to pace the Wildcats' aggregate of 302. Schumacher, Mikey Cantor and Ben Smith were the other counters.

The region title was Deep Run's fifth since the school opened in 2002. The Wildcats are making their seventh consecutive appearance in the state Group AAA tournament. They won state championships in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

"The kids played real well. They have come through when they wanted to," coach Will Hicks said. "It wasn't just one individual. The team aspect is sometimes lost in golf."

The Wildcats finished 15 strokes ahead of reigning state champion James River. The Rapids shot 303 yesterday and rallied from fourth place after day one to secure its second consecutive team bid to the state tournament that will be held Oct. 19-20 at Waterfront Country Club in Moneta (Smith Mountain Lake).

James River vaulted over Monacan and Hanover, which began the second round in second and third place. Monacan was third and Mills Godwin fourth.

"We were looking iffy after the first day, but we're streaky," said senior Sean Dougherty. "We knew we had to go low, and we were familiar with the course. We felt comfortable and knew we had a chance."

O'Neill (78-70) won the individual title with a two-day total of 148. He finished a stroke ahead of Schumacher (76-73) and Kevin Clarke (74-75) of Cosby, the region player of the year.

Like last year, Deep Run tied with Mills Godwin for the Colonial District regular-season title, lost the playoff for the region berth then won the district tournament to get to the regional.

"We definitely wanted to beat Godwin, and that was probably a driving force," O'Neill said. "Coming in we had a good feeling. We were expecting to win and move on to the state tournament."

O'Neill and Schumacher were first-team All-Metro selections last year. They have had good years, but neither was selected as the district player of the year this season.

"I love competing with Chris. We want to show everyone how good we are," Schumacher, a junior, said. "He's a great player and an even better teammate. We push each other and that makes us better at pushing the team."

RESULTS

Deep Run (309-302-611): Chris O'Neill 70, Jason Schumacher 76, Mikey Cantor 77, Ben Smith 79

James River (323-303-626): Sean Dougherty 72, Dawson Hobbs 74, Drew McLean 78, Taylor Stagg 79

Monacan (316-313-629): Gavin Parker 75, Ryan Pratt 78, Brian Critzer 79, Cameron Young 81

Mills Godwin (325-305-630): Jason Park 74, Scott Welch 75, John Dozier 76, Erich Snyder 80

Thomas Dale (325-324-649): Austin Hamilton 78, Michael Swope 82, Brandon Bailey 82, Griffin Clark 82

Hanover (321-332-653): Ben Longest 76, Trey Cully 79, Phillip Hudson 85, Justin Lyon 91

Atlee (334-331-665): Tanner Foutz 74, Thomas Moore 82, Andrew Crain 87, Stephen Waskiewicz 88

Matoaca (343-332-675): Tyler Broach 80, Tyler Hancock 81, Will Brown 85, Patrick Pennell 86

INDIVIDUAL

Chris O'Neill 78-70-148; Jason Schumacher 76-73-149; Kevin Clarke 75-74-149; Jeremy Carrell (PG) 76-74-150; Tanner Foutz 77-74-151; Sean Dougherty 82-72-154; Dawson Hobbs 80-74-154; Jaso Park 81-74-155, John Dozier 79-76-155; Trent Thomas (PH) 80-75-155; Ben Longest 79-77-156; Alan Radojcic (LCB) 83-73-156; Drew McLean 79-78-157; Scott Welch 83-75-158; Brian Critzer 79-79-158; Ryan Pratt 80-78-158; Viviana Perez (Din) 77-81-158; Zach Cutter 79-79-158

Individual qualifiers for state Group AAA tournament: Clarke, Carell, Foutz, Park, Dozier, Thomas

All-region: O'Neill, Schumacher, Clarke, Carrell, Foutz, Hobbs, Dougherty, Park, Thomas, Dozier

Player of the year: Kevin Clarke, Cosby

C oach of the year: Tom Hoy, Mills Godwin

All-academic: O'Neill, Schumacher, Clarke, Carrell, Longest, Critzer, Welch, Thomas, McLean, Hobbs, Dougherty, Radojcic