HS GOLF: Abington Heights, Scranton Prep claim Lackawanna League titles
Oct. 7—GREENFIELD TWP. — Robby Lucas locked up the title.
Robert Munley and Cade Kelleher made sure he had the chance to do so.
Lucas two-putted for birdie from 35 feet on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to lift Abington Heights to the Lackawanna League Class 3A title, edging North Pocono, 2-1, in a better-ball playoff Thursday at Elkview Country Club.
That kind of drama didn't exist in the Class 2A match, where Scranton Prep topped Lackawanna Trail, 6-3. Both winners move on to Tuesday's District 2 final against the Wyoming Valley Conference champ at Fox Hill.
Lucas pounded his tee shot to the center of the fairway on the par-5 first, then dropped his second onto the front-right portion of the green.
"I knew as soon as he hit that shot from the fairway we were going to win," Munley said. "I had confidence he was going to two-putt that. I knew he was going to succeed there."
Lucas had to shake a bad memory two holes earlier, when he three-putted from a similar distance.
"It was pretty stressful," Lucas said. "I knew I wasn't going to three-putt again. I was walking up and I knew it was going to slide. Me and Rob figured it out and I put it up there around tap-in range."
Not quite that close, and they had to sweat it out a 6-foot birdie attempt from Matt Seidita. When that putt twisted away from the cup, it left Lucas and Munley with an opening.
Lucas went first and buried his 4-footer as the Comets completed an unbeaten Lackawanna League season (15-0-1), the only blemish an early season tie with North Pocono.
"You've got to trust your stroke," Lucas said. "Last year, they got the better of us. This year, we came back in a close situation and got the win. It feels good."
Munley and Kelleher delivered key moments to give Lucas his chance.
Tied coming up the 18th hole of the regulation better-ball match, Munley found trouble off the tee, his second shot hitting a tree, leaving him about 135 yards to the green. His third missed the green left, plugging into the side of the bank on the first tee.
He masterfully played the delicate chip shot, which came to rest two inches below the hole to halve the hole and force the playoff.
"I hit the tree on my second shot and I knew I had to bounce back from that, get myself in a position where I could make a shot and I did," Munley said. "I thought it was in, but it was a really good shot. My feet were sliding down and I just had to punch it and hoped for the best."
Abington Heights' work was just beginning, however.
North Pocono's Alex Wilson banged a 6-footer for par into the heart of the cup on No. 18 to give the Trojans a win in the first of the three playoff matches, two points needed to secure the title. That left Kelleher in position to get that point back with a slippery, downhill 25-footer for birdie on No. 1. He rolled it into the heart of the cup, setting off a celebration for him and partner Luke Swank.
"I had the same putt when I played hole 1 originally," Kelleher said. "Unfortunately, I knocked that 30 feet by so I wanted some redemption. Thankfully, I was able to capitalize when it mattered most.
"Even though I knocked it by the first time, you never want to leave those short. I was able to dead center the cup. I was thankful to go 1 for 2 at least."
Prep rolls to win
Sophomore TJ Stott set the tone early and Scranton Prep rolled to another unbeaten Lackawanna League season, winning handily.
Stott worked his way out of trouble on the second hole and made birdie, starting a 6-and-5 victory over Guy Rothery in the first pairing. That also paved the way for a 4-and-3 better-ball victory, which saw Scranton Prep's Ben Walsh (3 and 1), Dan Flynn (6 and 5) and Ben Boyanoski (5 and 3) also cruise to individual triumphs.
"I felt like if I could just get out to a good start I could just kind of play my game throughout the day and just play as consistently as possible," Stott said. "There's tough greens with a lot of undulations. They're pretty quick.
"I felt like I rolled it pretty well today. Every golfer says that they could have done it better, but I feel happy with what I did today."
If there were any nerves, Stott quieted them with a strong recovery shot on the par-4 second after his tee shot left him with tree trouble.
"I had to punch out from underneath a tree," Stott said. "I hit a 9-iron to about 15 feet and then made a birdie. It puts you in the right mindset.
"They say golf is a mental game and if you're in a good mental state, you should be able to have a good day."
Lackawanna Trail got individual wins from Lorenzo Domiano and state qualifier Gavin June, with June's 7-and-6 win carrying over to a 6-and-4 win in better-ball.
CLASS 3A
Abington Heights 4 1/2 , North Pocono 4 1/2
AH 2-1 playoff win
Individuals: Alex Morgan (NP) Luke Morgan, 1-up; Reilly McCullough (NP) over Alec Hamilton, 3 and 2; Luke Swank (AH) over Jason Walsh, 3 and 1; Cade Kelleher (AH) over Nolan Colo, 6 and 4; Brady Mapes (NP) over Robert Munley, 3 and 2; Robby Lucas (AH) over Matt Seidita, 6 and 5.
Better-ball: Wilson-McCullough over Morgan-Hamilton, 3 and 2; Swank-Kelleher over Walsh-Colo, 7 and 5; Munley-Lucas split with Mapes-Seidita.
Playoff: Wilson-McCullough over Morgan-Hamilton, 1-up; Swank-Kelleher over Walsh-Colo, 1-up; Munley-Lucas over Mapes-Seidita, 1-up.
Records: AH 15-0-1, NP 12-3-1.
CLASS 2A
Scranton Prep 6, Lackawanna Trail 3
Individuals: Lorenzo Domiano (LT) over Guy Rothery, 6 and 5; TJ Stott (SP) over Brandon Kalinoski, 6 and 5; Ben Walsh over Grady June, 3 and 1; Dan Flynn (SP) over Brayden Jones, 6 and 5; Ben Boyanoski (SP) over Cole Schirg, 5 and 3; Gavin June (LT) over Gavin Walsh, 7 and 6.
Better-ball: Rothery-Stott over Domiano-Kalinoski, 4 and 3; Walsh-Flynn over Gr. June-Jones, 3 and 1; Schirg-Ga. June over Boyanoski-Walsh, 6 and 4.
Records: SP 17-0, LT 14-3.
Contact the writer:
570-348-9100, ext. 5437
@mmyersTT on Twitter
