Golfers claim Hock title, finish 5th at sectionals

L-R: Jack Goyetch, Danny Powers and Joey Vaughan celebrate their Hockomock Championship victory.

After capturing their first Davenport Division title and second consecutive Hockomock League Championship victory, the Canton High varsity golfers traveled with high hopes to Easton Country Club on Monday to compete in the Division 2 south sectional tournament. In the end, the Bulldogs came up just a few strokes short in the team competition, placing fifth overall. (The top three teams advance to the championship round.)

One Canton golfer, however, senior captain Jack Goyetch, will continue on to the state finals next Tuesday in Grafton after placing in the top 10 with a team-best round of 76. Fellow senior captains Joey Vaughan (79) and Danny Powers (81) had the next best scores for Canton, followed by junior Tommy Dimock and freshman Thomas Singleton with 83s. Sophomore Chris Lavoie, who emerged as a key contributor this season, also competed in the tournament and finished with an 87.

Commenting on the team’s overall performance at the sectional tournament, head coach Mike Barucci said he thought the Bulldogs competed well against some very strong competition. “It was close and a few strokes better from a couple of our guys could have gotten us into third place,” he said. “Finishing fifth out of 15 teams is still a great accomplishment. We were disappointed to not advance, but we know how strong Division 2 South is and we were still very happy with the place we finished in.”

Monday’s sectional event capped off a whirlwind eight-day stretch for the Bulldogs that also included three regular season matches and the league championship meet, which was held this year on Canton’s home course at Blue Hill Country Club. In addition to besting the 11 other Hockomock teams for the second straight year in the annual league showcase, the CHS golfers also scored match wins over Mansfield and North Attleboro and fell just short in the finale against unbeaten Oliver Ames (151-144), finishing at 13-1 for the season.

The Bulldogs did, however, manage to exact some revenge at the league meet the very next day, defeating the Tigers by two strokes to capture first place. Vaughan led the way for Canton with a score of 80 — good for fourth place individually. Goyetch shot an 83 and tied for eighth place and Powers shot an 84 and finished 10th. Canton’s team score was 247, followed by OA with a 249 and Franklin at 254.

“The course was tough and the wind was a factor as scores were higher than last year,” said Barucci. “It was great for our three senior captains to win in front of a crowd of family and teammates. They had amazing four-year careers and it was a perfect ending to their time at Blue Hill CC.”

In the earlier match against OA at Pine Oaks Country Club, Vaughan had another great day with a two-over 36. Powers and Singleton both shot 38s with Goyetch following at 39.

“It was a tough loss on Wednesday for the team, but they held their heads high after it was over,” said Barucci. “We knew it would be tough to beat a great team on the road. Coming back the next day and winning shows the mental toughness our three senior captains have. After losing on Wednesday there was a little extra motivation to go out and win on Thursday. It is definitely not easy to bounce back after a big loss, but they were able to look past it and play great golf the next day.”

Earlier last week, the Bulldogs defeated Mansfield 157-173 at Norton Country Club and topped North Attleboro 149-158 at home.

Against Mansfield, Lavoie earned his first ever match medalist honor, shooting an impressive even par 36 with a birdie on the par 3 eighth hole. Powers was next with a 39 and Vaughan and Dimock both shot a 41. “This was Tommy’s first match back after missing the last eight matches due to injury,” Barucci said. “As a team we played great on a course that none of them had ever played before. It was a great win against a strong Mansfield team that finished second in the Kelly-Rex division.”

Against North Attleboro, Vaughan earned his fourth match medalist with a one-over 35, which included a birdie on the par 4 seventh hole. Dimock and Singleton both shot 37s while Powers, Niko Donovan, and Lavoie each came in with 39s. With the victory, Canton finished unbeaten at home with a record of 7-0.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Oct 27 2017. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.