Heading into the second half of the season, the Walpole High golfers didn’t want to happen this year what happened last year, which was a 2-6 second half swoon that pushed the Rebels out of the postseason picture.
Visiting Norwood also didn’t want a repeat performance of last year’s dominant Rebel win at the Walpole Country Club, but the Mustangs were unable to fend off another convincing Walpole victory as they fell by a 70-38 score.
Part of Norwood’s problem was that the Rebels, heading in with a 4-5 record, were just coming of a grueling competition run which included powerhouses Newton North, Brookline, Wellesley and Needham. What also didn’t help was the last Walpole win was still in the Rebels’ minds, and it was over the Mustangs in Norwood.
“It was just another solid performance, we’re trying to get on a roll,” said Walpole coach J. B. Randall as his charges evened their record by taking no chances. “Our schedule is in our favor down the stretch and the guys know we’ve got to play well and take care of business.”
Meanwhile, Slava Heretz’ young Mustangs fell further away from the tourney as they dropped to 4-8, but showed glimpses of what they can do next year.
Among the Norwood highlights was a strong effort by the second pairing of Ryan Collins and Pat Conroy, who played the Walpole duo of seniors Chris True and Rob Greeley evenly in a narrow, 14-13 loss.
Southpaw Greeley put together a very strong 38, but a 43 by Collins kept the Mustangs in the running.
Also putting together some exciting moments were the junior duo of Brendan Buckley and Chris Ryan. The pair lost the opening match to Corey Menno and Pat Falvey, 19.5-7.5, thanks mainly to a scintillating even-par 36 turned in by Menno, Walpole’s junior captain.
But they had their moments, the best being an excellent 14-foot putt by Ryan on the green of the third hole. Buckley also made an impressive chip shot from the right side to get back onto the green on the sixth hole. What did them in, however, was a very strong day on the greens by Menno, Walpole’s No. 1.
“What we’re looking for is consistency, but they show promise,” remarked Heretz.
Walpole ended the day winning all four rounds. Captain Mike Flaherty led the way in a 19.5-7.5 victory with a 40 in the third round that pitted him and fellow senior Tom Tempesta against Norwood’s Jim McGuire and Adam Kewriga. The match ended with a 17-10 win by Brendan Maloney and Matt Feeley over Mustang captains Charles King and Matt Walsh. Walsh led all Norwood players with a 42.
Heretz admitted that the younger Mustangs sometimes struggle when they’re away from the home course.
“Hopefully, they’ve learned they’re not studs everywhere after getting good scores at Norwood,” said Heretz. “They’re confident, but it’s humbling to come to a challenging course. But it’s good for next year because they realize they need to make better shots.”
Fortunately for the Mustangs, of their final four meets, the next three are at home, starting with today’s match against Framingham at Norwood Country Club. The Rebels, meanwhile, travel to Weymouth.
