The always competitive Cape Elizabeth High School golf team had high expectations entering this season after a fourth place finish at last year’s state championship. And on Saturday at the Natanis Golf Club in Vassalboro, those high hopes turned into reality as the Capers won the state Class B golf title – their third championship in five years and first since 2005.
“We knew we had a really strong team and if we played like we could we could win (the state championship),” said Cape senior golfer Alex McFarlane. “We wanted to go out with a bang and Saturday was a lot of fun.”
And a big reason it was so much fun was the top two scores from Cape’s top two golfers – Johnny Hayes and McFarlane. Hayes went around the Arrowhead course at Natanis in 68 and McFarlane was a few shots behind at 72. With Sean Eubanks (80), Sam Casey (85) and Connor Moloney struggling a bit with the greens, those two low scores allowed Cape to finish at 303 – well ahead of second place Houlton (313), third place Winslow (314) and fourth place Falmouth (316).
“They didn’t have their best day, but they still contributed,” McFarlane said about his teammates.
“Having a 68 and a 72 in there really helped,” Cape Elizabeth coach Greg Sandell said about Hayes and McFarlane. “They played really well and they had a great time. Their confidence filtered down to the rest of the team this year.”
Cape played a practice round at Natanis last Friday and the team felt that helped them to win the title one day later. “Our preparation was critical in terms of getting them up there,” said Sandell.
“It was a very favorable course for scoring well – great conditions and the greens were not too fast,” said McFarlane.
In addition to winning the Class B state crown, Cape Elizabeth also took home the Western Maine Conference championship this season, holding off strong teams from Falmouth and York. And no opponent was able to top Cape in head-to-head matches this season as they completed the regular season with an undefeated record.
On Saturday at Natanis, Cape will have Hayes, McFarlane and Eubanks competing at the Maine Class B schoolboy state championship. All three golfers finished among the leaders at last Wednesday’s qualifier at the Willowdale Golf Course in Scarborough – Hayes fired a 75, McFarlane came in with a 77, and Eubanks carded a 79.
“I’m proud of them,” said Sandell. “They’re a great group of kids and I couldn’t ask for a better season.”
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