Brown, Raiders fall just short of state

Though Sidney saved their best team golf for the district tournament, the Red Raiders came up two places short in their bid to qualify for state.

With senior Brendon Brown again leading the way with a 79, Sidney scored a 332 to finish in fifth place at the B-4 District Tournament at Cozad County Club Monday. McCook was crowned district champions with a 301 while Scottsbluff was close behind at 305.

Broken Bow also earned a trip to state with a total of 310.

A three-way playoff had to commence in order to sort out the individual district champion after McCook's Noah Hofman, Scottsbluff's Koy Pothoff and Broken Bow's Marcus Miller all tied at 71. Miller was excused after the second playoff hole. Hofman and Pothoff continued to battle for eight more holes.

Hofman finally took the title with a three on the eighth.

For Sidney, Brown's solid round was backed up by Ryan Birner and Nate Dvorak each scoring an 84 over the par 71 layout. Brady Radcliffe was one back at 85 and freshman Elliot Jones finished at 100.

Since Brown finished as much as an hour or more ahead of the final golfers in the field, there was still hope his 79 could qualify for state. But with perfect conditions and a calm day to greet the field, the early reported scores were coming in low.

Ultimately, the Raiders senior finished just two strokes out of qualifying position.

Brown was the victim of some tough luck as he played the second hole. As he was in his back swing a spectator following his group was hit by a golf ball. The stray shot came from the driving range. The sound disrupted Brown enough to where the normally consistent ball striker topped his drive just 50 yards forward.

"It gave me a start. It was really loud," said Brown. "I was actually hitting my drives long all day."

Brown ended up with a 7 on the hole. The Sidney veteran reacted well to his misfortune, however. He birdied the third and fourth holes. On the par-3 third he sank a 15-foot putt. On the par-4 fourth hole he nearly drove the green.

The Raiders will say a reluctant goodbye to Brown - the only senior on the team. He will head to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln this fall in the ROTC program.

Outside of the steady Brown, the rest of the Raiders were made up of young players. Birner, Radcliffe and Garrett Wamsley are all sophomores. Dvorak and Jones are both freshman. Head Coach Chuck Christensen is also encouraged by some upcoming eighth graders.

Dvorak saved his best competitive golf for the most important occasion. His 84 was the best round he has shot in a tournament this year.

"It's kind of wierd being one of the freshmen," said Dvorak. "I feltlike I was working my way into the thing this year. I really enjoyed today and I'm already looking forward to next year."

Though Dvorak struggled much of the day with his putting, his ball striking and approach shots gave him bridie opportunities.

"But I couldn't get any birdie putts to fall," he said. "I two putted every green."

Birner has been been a consistent player most of the year. While he struggled over his past couple of rounds, he was back in form for districts.

Before a Sunday practice round, none of the Raiders had played the Cozad track. After his trial run, Birner had no reason tho think he had found his way out of his mini slump.

"I played so bad yesterday I thought I was going to shoot 1,000 today," said Birner. "But I played pretty well all day except for holes 7, 8 and 9, where I went five over."

Radcliffe, who has been playing his best golf of late, was a medalist at Gering two weeks ago. Having broken the 80 barrier in competition, his expectations have naturally increased. During his round on Monday, he was haunted by a pair of triple bogies.

"I could have shot low to mid 70s if it wasn't for a few big mistakes," said Radcliffe. "I four putted the 18th green and chipped over the green twice on the seventh."

Team scores

1. McCook 301

2. Scottsbluff 305

3. Broken Bow 310

4. Alliance 320

5. Sidney 332

6. Cozad 340

6. Chadron 340

8. Gering 342

9. Holdrege 345

10. Lexington 353

11. Gothenburg 371

12. Ogallala 373

Top 10 Individuals

1. *Noah Hoffman, McCook 71

2. Koy Pothoff, Scottsbluff 71

3. Marcus Miller, Broken Bow 71

4. Mack Alspaugh, McCook 74

5. Jared Pilkington, Scottsbluff 76

6. Brian McMahon, Lexington 77

7. Grayson Minick, Broken Bow 77

8. Parker Cyza, Alliance 77

9. Austin Reynolds, Broken Bow 77

10. Johan Wright, Scottsbluff 77

*Won by playoff

Sidney Scores

Brendon Brown 79

Ryan Birner 84

Nate Dvorak 84

Brady Radcliffe 85

Elliott Jones 100