Unfamiliar territory: Edgewood boys golf travels to Monrovia for non-conference match

CLAYTON, Ind. — The dividends of patience are finally starting to pay off for the Monrovia boys golf team. Edgewood had its bright spots during Thursday's match, but the Bulldogs were just better from top to bottom.

The non-conference opponents played the match at Deer Creek Golf Club, a course the Mustangs were unfamiliar with, and it showed up in the scores. Monrovia went on to defeat Edgewood by eight strokes, 175-183.

Monrovia head coach Don Pearson was pleased with the way his entire team golfed.

"We did better than I thought we would," Pearson said. "We are still improving. This was our lowest team total."

Titus Boswell has been the team's mainstay this season, and that was the case again on Thursday. The junior shot a 34, the best individual score on either team by six strokes.

Pearson credited Boswell's work ethic for his consistently high level of play.

"He played all summer. He's on the (driving) range all summer. He's dedicated," Pearson said. "He plays in a lot of junior tournaments around the state, and this year he's going out of state a little bit too. So he's getting a lot of experience, a lot of playing time. And he really works hard at it."

But it wasn't just Boswell carrying the Bulldogs to the win. Monrovia's No. 3, senior Garrett Martin, and No. 4, junior Leyton Hausman, both finished under 50 strokes. Pearson said this was the first time in a while that two of his golfers aside from Boswell shot in the 40s.

Monrovia's No. 2, junior Brennan Williams, shot a 50. Junior Corey Trudeau, the No. 5, and freshman Wyatt Benge, the No. 6, each finished at 54 strokes.

Mustangs in the rough

Edgewood saw its No. 1, sophomore Luke Garrett, record a good day.

He shot a 40, and he could've finished even better if not for a few putts that went awry.

The Mustangs' No. 5 and 6 golfers — sophomore Milan Hancock and senior Nehemiah Yazzie, respectively — also posted solid scores. Hancock finished at 45, and Yazzie shot a 46.

But head coach Garry Lee was disappointed with the rest of his team's showing. Edgewood's No. 2, junior Joe West, shot 52. The Mustangs' No. 3, senior Owen Graham shot 59. The No. 5, sophomore Carter Cheaney, finished at 54.

"We didn't play very well," Lee said. "Three of them played OK. Luke played really well, Milan and Nehemiah played pretty good. The other ones are going to have to get it figured out because we've got a lot of stuff to do still."

One of the challenges Edgewood faced today was playing a course most, if not all, hadn't seen before. The last time Edgewood was scheduled to play at Deer Creek was in 2020, when the season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lee could tell early on that the thicker roughs on that course could cause trouble for his team that wasn't used to that.

"It's not really that bad until you get a thick three or four-inch rough. That's a big, huge difference," Lee said. "We haven't really played anywhere yet this year, probably won't, that have roughs like this. So it's a little bit odd."

Heading toward the home stretch

Both teams are heading into the back stretches of their schedules this season.

The Bulldogs and Mustangs both have their conference tournaments coming up, and sectionals are only three weeks away. There's plenty of time to work through kinks and improve before then, but the coaches continue getting a better idea of how their teams stack up going into that important period.

The Bulldogs have won three of their last five matches, and Pearson is hoping it's a sign of things to come. He thinks his team is trending in the right direction.

"It's looking better. It's looking up," Pearson said. "If they can all get it together at one time, we will be competitive at the sectional."

The Mustangs won three straight matches in late April and early May, but they've now dropped two in a row. Lee is a little concerned with his team's form.

He's talked all season about the competition for places amongst his team, but he hasn't seen the consistency he's looked for from some of his golfers.

"I was pretty confident (heading into the late part of the season), and then today we kind of laid an egg," Lee said. "Just little things. In golfing terms, they're pretty young. Most of them, it's really only their second year of playing competitive golf. Hopefully, my 'This is what we need to practice' speeches are going to start sinking in."

Up next

Monrovia: Indiana Crossroads Conference Tournament

Edgewood: Western Indiana Conference Tournament

Follow Herald-Times sports reporter Seth Tow on Twitter @SethTow, or email him at stow@heraldt.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Unfamiliar territory: Edgewood boys golf travels to Monrovia