ADAM RAEDER
SAYBROOK TOWNSHIP — If anything, Riverside was vulnerable Monday at the Star Beacon Invitational.
That’s a bad sign for anyone hoping to stay within striking distance of the Beavers.
Riverside teed off on the 2008 high school golf season without their lone senior, Grant Furr, but still cruised to victory at Maple Ridge Golf Course thanks to the strong efforts of Nick Popely and Shane Kallay. Popely turned in the day’s best round with an even par 71 and Kallay turned in a 78 from Riverside’s No. 6 spot as the Beavers turned in a combined score of 312, 18 strokes better than their nearest competitor.
Lakeside took second with a combined score of 330, while three teams — Geneva, Madison and Perry — tied for third, one stroke behind the Dragons.
“I’m just really happy how they came together,” first-year coach Steve Siko said. “We’re really maturing as a team.”
And at 14 years old, Popely’s game sure looked mature for his age Monday as a sophomore (he skipped a year), especially when he faced his one bit of adversity for the day.
Starting on the No. 8 hole as part of the Invitational’s shotgun start, Popely spent most of the day below par before running into trouble on the fifth, when his drive sent him into the woods, leading to an eventual double bogey.
“I had one bad hole,” Popely said.
But he didn’t lose his composure, coming right back with a birdie on No. 6.
“I hit a good drive into like three feet and made the putt.” Popely said. “Nick played one really solid round of golf,” Siko said. “I was proud of him for hanging in there, because they were all leaking oil (at the end).”
The Beavers were hardly the only ones struggling to adjust to changing conditions on the course. After heavy rains Sunday night left the course damp and slow as players teed off, a constant sun changed things considerably by the time players hit their final nine.
But the changing conditions didn’t seem to bother Kallay, as the junior turned in the same score (39) on both the front and back nine.
“Seventy-eight was a good round for me,” Kallay, who took a birdie on the par-five first hole, said. “I was hitting greens, making my up-and-downs. I wasn’t hitting my driver very well, but I was able to sit my irons onto the greens.”
So was Geneva’s Michael Schubert, who turned in the day’s second best effort with a 3-over 75.
“All my shots were sticking on the green,” he said.
After starting on one, Schubert turned in his best performance on the final hole, picking up a birdie on the 344-foot, par-four 18th.
Schubert hit the fairway off the tee and quickly found himself on the green in two, sinking a 12-foot putt to finish off his day.
“It broke pretty good left,” Schubert said of the putt.
In Schubert’s eyes, sinking the difficult putt on 18 was merely making amends for his inability to finish off a short birdie chance on 16.
“I meant business after that (miss),” he said.
But Schubert’s all-business attitude wasn’t quite enough to lift the Eagles past a surprising Lakeside squad.
Despite an off day from their No. 1 golfer, the Dragons pulled off second thanks to Justin Shinault’s strong finish.
Taking a 42 on the front nine, Shinault responded on the final stretch to finish the day with an 8-over 79.
“I started out rough, but I pulled it together,” Shinault, who added that “everything” changed for him once he got accustomed to the conditions of the course, said.
Phillip Mathieu shot an 81, good for second best on the Dragons squad, while No. 1 Jimmy Frye struggled on the day with an 87. Preston Wright shot an 83 to be Lakeside’s other scorer.
“My goal for this time of year was to be competitive,” Lakeside coach Jim Hood said. “We showed we’re competitive, and with hard work and concentration, we can really improve.”
Ryan Vrabec turned in Perry’s low score with an 80, while Zach Fedele’s 77 paced a scary day for Madison.
Midway through the round, sophomore Garry Zehe, Madison’s No. 5 man, collapsed on the fifth hole with a seizure, forcing a 911 call.
“That was scary,” Madison coach Tom Hupertz said. “I had just asked why he didn’t hole out, and he said he couldn’t find his ball. I was going to ask (the other players) what they wanted to do, and then he just dropped to the ground and started (shaking).
“He was turning blue. I thought he was choking.”
But Zehe appeared back to his old self by the time he was carted to the waiting ambulance by the clubhouse, getting onto the stretcher under his own power.
Despite losing Zehe, Madison still tied for third thanks to Jay W. Leitch’s 80, Dan Ball’s 84 and Fedele’s strong effort.
“I played good golf today (except for) three hole,” Fedele said. “I should have shot better than 77.”
That seemed to be a common sentiment on an opening day when many individual scores climbed into the high 90s, and even triple digits.
Jefferson finished sixth with a 348, Pymatuning Valley tallied a 369, Conneaut finished at 401, Edgewood came in at 410, SS. John and Paul shot a 421 and Harvey claimed a 425.
The high scores just further highlighted Riverside’s strong performance. The two scores the Beavers threw out — Wes Tagg’s 84 and Alec Dawson’s 86 — would have been enviable marks on other squads.
“It’s a good start to our season, a good start for my coaching debut,” Siko, who moved up from Riverside JV to varsity coach, said. “I’m proud of the kids.”
And after cruising to the title without Furr, those kids already dreaming of big things to come.
“We’ve got a young team,” Kallay said. “We’re going to come back strong next year.”
