Home cooking: McGuffey golf goes undefeated
Dogwood Hills Golf Course takes it share of ribbing.
The sloping hills, short holes and interesting curves require some unusual golf shots.
Maybe it’s an acquired taste but the golf team at McGuffey High School like it just fine. The home course of the Highlanders has provided a venue in which they can’t be beaten.
For the first time in 18 years, McGuffey finished the season undefeated, 16-0. Over the past two seasons, the Highlanders have only lost one Section 4 match, at South Park. No team was able to throttle the Highlanders this year.
“We only lost one person from last year,” said junior Hunter Donahue. “We got a lot more confident as we kept playing. We all played well the whole season. That helped get us to 16-0.”
Donahue was one of four Highlanders to play in the WPIAL Class AA Championships at Allegheny Country Club. The others were Colin Chapman and his brother David, and Erik Kasperowski. Others who played roles included Trent Belleville and C.J. King.
“That was one of our goals, go undefeated,” said McGuffey head coach Jeff Deems. “We only lost one match last year. We had our top five returning from last year so we felt that was the goal. We’re real proud to achieve that.”
Deems is in his first season as head coach but spent the previous five as junior varsity coach.
“We won the section and tied for second at WPIALs last year, so that experience really drove everyone to improve on it this year.”
McGuffey will be competing in the WPIAL Class AA Team Tournament Oct. 11 at either Linden Hall Golf Course in Dawson or Delmar Golf Course in Wampum.
Brendan Furman, a heavyweight wrestler from Canon-McMillan, will continue his academic and athletic career at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.
Furman chose Cornell over West Point and Pitt. Columbia, Pennsylvania and Virginia also were interested.
“What attracted me was everyone on the team was trying to reach the same goal,” said Furman. “They all want to win a championship and be the best they can be academically. I loved the campus. It’s up there with all the finger lakes.”
The 6-2, 265-pound Furman will wrestle at heavyweight. Wrestling was the only sport he participated in during his scholastic career. He plans to pursue a career in either sports management or business management.
“I feel really blessed,” said Furman. “Deciding now really takes the pressure off so I can just wrestle.”
Furman was a WPIAL qualifier the past three seasons but failed to make it to the PIAA tournament.
He has finished eighth, seventh and third in the past three Powerade Christmas Wrestling Tournament. Furman was 40-6 and a Section 4-AAA champion.
He credits his middle school coach, Brian Krenzelak, for his development in the sport.
“I was over the weight limit and he worked with me to get down,” said Furman. “I got pinned 10 straight times but he made me stick it out. He’s never given up on me.”
Hampered by an ankle injury suffered in Canon-McMillan’s first game this season, senior Bryan Milligan had just 37 rushing attempts in the Big Macs first five games, 36 of which had come in the previous two weeks.
Milligan showed Friday night at Altoona that he’s healthy again. The 5-9, 195-pound running back carried the ball a school-record 49 times in a 21-14 overtime win against the Mountain Lions, including a 10-yard touchdown run on the opening play of overtime.
Millgan, who had a school-record 1,628 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns in 2015 when he led all WPIAL Class AAAA teams in rushing, had 271 yards in the game.
Milligan set the school record for rushing yards in a game last season when he had 322 in a game against Baldwin.