The returning members of Boyd-Buchanan's boys' golf team today will be looking to wash away the memory of last year's Region 3-A/AA high school tournament. The Buccaneers, who won the District 5 title Monday, just like they did a year ago, are among the teams competing in this year's region tournament at Chatata Valley in Cleveland.
Play is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. with the boys starting on No. 10 and the girls starting on No. 1. Today's boys' and girls' team champions will earn berths in the state tournament Oct. 4-5 at WillowBrook in Manchester.
Boyd-Buchanan's Riley Covington works out with the golf team on Friday.
The Region 4-A/AA tournament is scheduled Thursday at Fall Creek Falls. The team winners there also will earn spots in the state-tournament field.
The Bucs were 16-0 last regular season and with the district championship in hand headed to The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay for the region tournament. They felt they underperformed that rainy day and lost to McMinn Central, missing their goal of advancing to the state tournament.
McMinn Central again is one of the contenders the Bucs must deal with. But today's forcast for Cleveland is sunny with a high temperature near 88.
"We have the same mindset as last year," Boyd-Buchanan's Riley Covington told the Times Free Press in a preseason story. "But we know how poorly we played in the region, and we don't want to do that this year."
Boyd-Buchanan is led by senior Jake Campbell, who shot 73 on the same course Monday and was district runner-up. His teammates all are sophomores.
His sister, Lydia, was the girls' medalist and along with teammate Zacori Hill won the team district championship for the Lady Bucs.
"I like the front nine," Lydia said Monday at Chatata Valley after shooting 37 on the front nine and 41 on the back. "It's just so flat. If you hit a bad shot, it's easier to hit a recovery shot. The back nine is a little harder. It's tighter. There's a lot of trouble on the back nine."
District boys' medalist Dalton Sutton of Silverdale Baptist Academy is also in the field. He said hitting long irons well is a key to a good score there.
"There are some long par-3s," Sutton said Monday. "If you don't hit them well, you aren't going to get even close."
Class AAA
The District 5-AAA tournament will be held Thursday at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay. The tournament is scheduled to begin with the boys teeing off at 9 a.m. The first girls' group is scheduled at 10:48.
The top three boys' and girls' teams advance to the Region 3 tournament Sept. 29, also at Bear Trace. The rest of the region field will come from the District 6 tournament, which Rhea County is hosting Thursday at the Dayton Golf & Country Club.
Among the boys' teams with high hopes is Walker Valley. The Mustangs feature Parker Gray, Cade Puryear and Nick McCracken. Gray shot 72 on the same course Sept. 7 and was the City Prep runner-up in a playoff. McCracken was region medalist last year at Lake Tansi.
"Cleveland is pretty good. Bradley Central is better. East Hamilton has a couple of good players," Walker Valley coach Bob Williams said. "It's going to be a battle for the top three spots."
Williams said he expects the girls' portion of the tournament to be competitive as well. In addition to his Lady Mustangs, Williams noted that Bradley Central fields a capable team, and Cleveland with Rheagan Hall and Soddy-Daisy with Jayla Sims can be dangerous.
"You just need two good scores out of three," Williams said.
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com.