Bishop Moore is built to contend
Sixth-year Bishop Moore boys golf coach Marvin Snyder said allowing his teams to get beat by the best was part of the process in developing a 2017 squad that enters this week’s Class 2A state tournament as one of the favorites.
That’s why he began several years ago to build his schedules around 18-hole tournaments stocked with state-title contenders — to prepare his team for the pressure it faces today and Wednesday as it vies for the state championship at Mission Inn in Howey-in-the Hills.
“We’ve beaten the best, we’ve lost to the best,” Snyder said Monday while his team toured Mission Inn’s El Campeon Course in a practice round. “If you don’t put yourself in the hunt, you don’t really know what it’s like.”
The Hornets set a school record when they placed third at state a year ago behind two tradition-rich programs, Plantation American Heritage and Ponte Vedra. And Bishop Moore beat both of those powerhouses when it won the Qdoba Tournament of Champions on Oct. 7.
The Hornets carded rounds of 294 and 302 at Providence Golf Club for a 596 total to edge Ponte Vedra (598) and 2016 state champ American Heritage (599) for the Qdoba crown.
“The boys really looked at that tournament as a gauge of where we stand up with the competition in our classification,” Snyder said. “When we came out on top it really brought to fruition what their goals were the whole season. We really do have a strong chance of winning the state tournament this year.”
Bishop Moore is led by a trio of seniors: Ignacio Arcaya, Nicholas Diebel and Ryan Hull and gained talented ninth-grader Trey Diehl as a key addition to the roster this year.
The veterans have seen the Hornets steadily improve while qualifying for four straight state tourneys. Bishop Moore was 12th at state in 2014 and finished fifth two years ago.
Arcaya shot 67-77—144 at state last season to tie for first before losing to Cody Carroll of Middleburg in a playoff that decided the individual championship. Carroll also returns.
The 2A girls field includes Leesburg senior Alyssa Lamoureux, who won the 3A individual championship with a 68-72—140 score as a sophomore two years ago for Seminole High School of the St. Petersburg area.
Lamoureux shot the lowest round in 2A region play last week, 70, to win a Region 3 tournament that included 2016 state runnerup Julia Towne of Eustis and South Lake junior Paige Wilson, who finished fourth at state a year ago.
Devodney Alford rushed for a game-high 112 yards and two touchdowns as area No. 6 Dr. Phillips completed its football regular season with a 35-14 win at Timber Creek on Monday. The Class 8A, District 5 champion Panthers (8-2) will open the playoffs with a region quarterfinal home game on Nov. 10. Parker Smith had a 40-yard interception return TD for Timber Creek (4-5).
Also Monday, Hagerty (6-3) won 27-12 at Winter Springs (0-9).