La Plata defeats Northern, Lackey in golf matchup
Patriots’ Coffrens post two lowest rounds
On a day when autumn made a brief appearance in Southern Maryland, the La Plata High School golf team emerged with a victory in Tuesday’s Southern Maryland Athletic Conference tri-match at Hawthorne Country Club in La Plata although it was a pair of Northern High School siblings who posted the lowest rounds.
La Plata’s golfers recorded a team total of 162 to edge Northern (170) and Lackey (224) on Tuesday, but Patriots senior Elizabeth Coffren fired the only under-par round of the day with a 1-under 35. Her younger brother, Eddie Coffren, the reigning state Class 4A-3A state champion, finished with a 1-over 37.
“So far, this season has been going really well,” said Elizabeth Coffren, who recently committed to the University of Delaware for golf and will turn 18 this Sunday. “I’ve had a few ups and downs, but for the most part my senior year is going pretty well. My main goal this year to finally win states. This is my senior year, so I know it’s my last chance to win it.”
While his older sister has played the bridesmaid role at states as North Point junior Bailey Davis, a recent University of Tennessee commit, has emerged with the last two titles, Eddie Coffren has already attained a state crown. The Patriots finished well on Tuesday following a slow start and is seeking to peak at the right time later this fall.
“I thought I played OK today,” Eddie Coffren said. “I hit a bad tee shot on No. 1 that cost me a par and I bogeyed No. 5, but I made birdie putts on No. 7 and No. 9 to finish up strong. I definitely want to be able to win states again. We have a lot of younger kids on the team this year, but they’re definitely getting better.”
While the Coffrens emerged with the two low rounds, La Plata forged bragging rights as Jax Getgen led the Warriors with a
38, Gavin Ganter and Tyler Moody followed with identical rounds of 41 and Trevor Simpson shot a 42. Ganter played with Eddie Coffren and led him through five holes before a pair of triple bogeys felled him.
“That’s probably the first time that I have ever had back-to-back triples,” Ganter said. “I was 2-under par after five holes, but those two triples hurt me. I played really well last week at White Plains. But that’s golf. Some days you hit everything well and other days you don’t play as well.”
The Coffrens combined to shoot even-par 72, but
teammates Colin Wagner (50) and Joey Mueller (50) both came in well above par.
Lackey finished the day with no golfer completing their round under 50. Jace Persing (53) shot the low round for the Chargers, followed by Earlie Harris (56), Hunter Paulin (56) and Matt Standifer (59).
“I was really pleased with the way they played last week at White Plains,” La Plata head coach Dave Russell said. “We shot a team total of 147 over there and that’s a good score at any course in any decade. Gavin could not have started out much hotter today. He was three strokes up on Eddie after five holes then had those back-to-back triples. But that’s golf.”