Kennedy leads Margaretta to first Erie County tourney title

PERKINS TWP. -- It was chilly and very windy Friday at Plum Brook Country Club. Those challenging conditions caused scores to balloon at the Erie County Tournament. Well, most scores. Margaretta senior Carson Kennedy stood out in the seven-team field, shooting an 80 to lead the Polar Bears to their first team victory in the longtime annual boys golf tournament. Kennedy was the individual medalist for the third straight year. He shot 82 as a sophomore and 85 last year in great conditions. "I guess I'll take an 80 here with the wind," Kennedy said. "I still left like six shots out there. Seventy percent of the holes were into the wind so that was fun." Kennedy managed to card nine-hole scores of 38 and 42 on the par-71 layout. He said he had to scramble on many holes. "I think I hit three fairways. The scramble game was pretty good," he said. "If I didn't have a shot at the green I'd have a punch shot, get it on the green and one- or two-putt. "The greens were so fast you had to hit a flop shot to keep it on the green. Putting was a guessing game, pretty much." The victorious Polar Bears shot a 371, eight strokes better than Perkins and Edison. Joining Kennedy on the Margaretta scorecard were Mike Wadsworth (92), Xavier Bohn (97) and Hayden Tinnel (102). "I thought 80 in these conditions was fantastic," Margaretta interim coach Tim Tucker said about Kennedy. Tucker is filling in for head coach Ryan Spicer for a couple weeks. "(Kennedy) didn't putt as well as he normally does and he pulled some drives, but he recovered well. He doesn't let a bad shot bother him." Tucker, the former longtime girls basketball coach at Margaretta, had to be coaxed into the team photo after the trophy presentation. "(Spicer) has a nice team right now," he said. "I've watched them in practice and on a given day they all can play. The weather was terrible but the kids did a nice job." Kennedy was one of only three of 34 golfers to break 90 at Plum Brook. Edison's Matthew Pounds and Perkins' Gavin Hemphill both shot 88. Hemphill, a sophomore, is only in his second year golfing and has "a ton of potential," said Pirates coach Tim Zapadka. "He's a golf infant; he's basically played two years," Zapadka said. "He has come a long way and has a ton of potential." Perkins, which has won the county tournament more than any other school, tied for second despite playing without its No. 1 player, Sam Siegel, who also plays football. "He's done a crazy-good job managing expectations," Zapadka said of Siegel, who suited up for the Pirates in Norwalk on Friday night. "If you don't play four times a week you're going to be rusty." The tournament on a tough course served as a good tuneup for next Thursday's Sandusky Bay Conference tournament at Fremont Country Club. Area players will tee it up in sectional tournaments in two weeks. ----- Team scores Margaretta (371) -- C. Kennedy 80, M. Wadsworth 92, X. Bohn 97, H. Tinnel 102, C. Mayle 103 Edison (379) -- N. Pulaski 95, M. Pounds 88, C. Betts 94, S. Rhodes 117, L. Meredith 102 Perkins (379) -- I. Hemphill 98, D. Leffler 100, G. Hemphill 88, C. Beverick 99, C. Hupp 94 SMCC (383) -- C. Crooks 92, A. Groff 97, B. Millis 95, B. Gill 99, L. Powell 116 Huron (387) -- D. Demos 94, A. Murray 92, C. Kleist 101, B. Zimmerman 104, B. Kleist 100 Vermilion (391) -- E. Humphrey 102, C. Klausing 100, G. Matheson 90, M. Saegert 101, A. Massey 100 Sandusky (522) -- J. Cramer 122, J. Bishop 132, T. Burris 131, E. Retzke 137