Individual champ Potter, Hill lead Dover-Sherborn to Division 2 state golf championship
BROCKTON – Two titles. No suspense.
And no wild swing of emotions.
Two years after winning the Division 3 state championship – a title they were initially told was not theirs – the Dover-Sherborn golf team moved up a division to win the title again. Undisputed this time.
To make Halloween afternoon into a more savory treat, D-S sophomore Charlie Potter won the individual championship at sunny Thorny Lea, a day after the tournament was postponed due to rain.
“It means the world for me,” said Potter, whose 1-over-par 71 bested Reading’s Brandon Vitarsi by two strokes. “I wasn’t saying I was expecting it, but my game was feeling really solid coming in. I’m very happy.”
Senior Tim Hill, who led the field during the front nine, shot a 75 and tied for fourth. The Raiders finished with a 314 (+34) total, two strokes better than Bishop Stang.
Dover-Sherborn, playing in Div. 3, won the title in 2021. But when the Raiders walked off the course in Northbridge, they were told they finished second to Weston by a stroke. But a scorecard correction later put D-S in a tie.
To settle the draw, the team with the fifth-best score was awarded the title, and Sean Scannell’s 92 provided the Raiders with the first crown in program history. The second one came in Division 2.
“This one feels better,” said Hill. “I think it was definitely a stronger field. Senior year, too. To have two in a high school career is pretty cool.”
Scannell, who was a sophomore when D-S won two years ago, returned to shoot an 89 in his final high school match.
“Out of the gates, we didn’t play too hot, but we kind of pieced it together and everyone kept poised,” he said. “It’s just a great feeling to win. It couldn’t be better to get a team win today.”
Grant Mayer shot an 83 and Griffin Sipp carded an 85 to help the Raiders, who won the Central crown last week in Bellingham, to the title. Mason Melchionda had a 95.
“You can’t get much better than that. Moving up from Division 3 to Division 2 was a big deal for us,” said D-S coach John Kirby. “I just couldn’t be happier. They’re good players and their game translates. I’m just happy that we’ve got dedicated players.”
Potter completes record-setting season with individual title
Potter, whose brother Jack was on the title-winning team in ‘21, finished in a tie for first with Nashoba’s Nolan Englehart at the Central Mass. championship last week.
Before the season began, Potter set the course record at Pinecrest Golf Club in Holliston, shooting 11-under par for 18 holes. That same week, during a practice round at Sassamon Trace in Natick, Potter fired a course-record 5-under for nine holes.
On Tuesday, he had two birdies and after seizing control of the lead on his 11th hole, stayed in front until finishing with a par as the sky darkened and the air cooled. Potter played Thorny Lea for the first time.
“I was just trying to make the best decisions, not have any blow-up holes,” he said. “Especially on the first time around. That was important for me.
“I was really happy with my ability to stay consistent. My worst score was a bogey, which is part of the reason I shot what I shot. I was trying to counter with some birdies here and there. That helps the scorecard for sure.”
But he said the team win trumped his individual award.
“That’s awesome,” Potter said. “I would say that’s a way bigger achievement than the individual. That was big for us. Especially with all of our seniors leaving.”
Potter’s win gave Dover-Sherborn its first champ since 2019 when Cooper Evans won in a playoff.
Scannell inadvertently invoked a Halloween theme when he summed up his career.
“It’s been a treat,” he said, “to play at Dover-Sherborn.”
Three other MetroWest/Milford area players competed at Thorny Lea. Blackstone Valley Tech’s Connor Griffin and Marlborough’s Oliver Harris both shot 88. BVT’s Charlie Leighton fired a 93.
But the day belonged to Dover-Sherborn. And don’t tell Kirby this victory was without its nerves.
“It was exciting,” he said. “My nails are gone.”
Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tdumas@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimDumas.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Charlie Cooper wins D2 golf title; Dover-Sherborn claims team crown
