Late Surge Pushes NorthPointe to D3 Win
June 8, 2019
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
BIG RAPIDS – Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian trailed Big Rapids by eight strokes Saturday, with time running out.
Sensing his team needed a boost, both physically and mentally, fourth-year NorthPointe coach Erik Fahlen handed out Snickers bars to all five of his players with four holes remaining.
Those Snickers must have really satisfied.
The Mustangs staged a furious rally, with four golfers making birdies during the closing stretch to pull off a three-stroke victory in the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final over hard-luck Big Rapids, which was playing at home on Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids.
“We had an incredible final four holes,” said Fahlen, whose team repeated as a Finals champion after winning the Division 4 title last year. “We gave them those candy bars just as way of reminding them that it’s close and they need to finish strong.”
NorthPointe finished with a two-day total of 624, with Big Rapids second at 627. Grosse Ile was a distant third at 664, followed by Napoleon (672) and Grand Rapids West Catholic (676).
Erik Fahlen Jr., the coach’s senior son and reigning Division 4 medalist, placed second this time and led the way for his team with steady, back-to-back rounds of 73.
Junior Lance VanErmen bounced back from an 81 on Friday with a 77 in windy conditions Saturday. But the key score Saturday for NorthPointe came from freshman Luke Schrock, who followed up an 83 with a 79 to give the Mustangs three scores in the 70s and provide the winning margin.
“It feels really good to help the team win,” said Schrock, who stayed calm despite a mid-round triple bogey. “We knew it was going to be close. I just tried to focus on every shot and not mess up.”
Schrock’s clutch round capped off a memorable end of the season for the 15-year-old. His 83 as the fifth man actually delivered the Mustangs a Regional title May 29, after the top four players tied with West Catholic’s.
Also figuring in the scoring for NorthPointe at the Final were sophomore Sam Nelson (76-82-158) and senior Ben Ng (85-82-167).
Hanover-Horton junior Jack Brockie captured the individual medalist honor after firing an impressive 3-under-par 69 on Saturday. His two-day total of 2-under 142 (73-69) was good for a four-stroke victory over Fahlen and Cheboygan senior Zachary Gilder (72-74-146).
“My putting was much better today,” explained Brockie, who qualified for the Final as an individual. “The strength of my game is my driving, and when I struggle, it’s around the greens. But today I was good on the greens.”
It proved to be a tough result to stomach, once again, for Big Rapids, which placed second for the third straight year. The perennially strong Cardinals last won a Finals title in 2008, but since have finished second five times.
Last year, the Cardinals actually tied for first with Hanover-Horton, but lost on the fifth-man tiebreaker.
This year, it looked like they would take the next step after having four players shoot 80 or better on Friday and build a five-stroke lead over NorthPointe Christian. Plus, they had the advantage of playing on their home course, with their school located adjacent to Katke’s 12th fairway.
Big Rapids maintained its lead for most of Saturday, led by senior standout Pierce Morrissey (74-75-149), before NorthPointe’s late-round heroics.
“It just goes to show that you can’t ever give up during a round of golf,” said Fahlen Jr., who will play on the golf team next year at Taylor University. “It was really a total team win. I mean, to have a freshman like Luke Schrock shoot a 79 in these conditions, is huge. The wind really picked up later in the day, and it got pretty tough out there.
“I think that’s the best part about today – we came through under pressure.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Golfers watch from the tee during Saturday’s LP Division 3 second round. (Middle) A competitor fires an approach from the sand. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Brothers Stalcup Pace Division 4 Field as Everest Collegiate Climbs Again
June 10, 2023
BATTLE CREEK – The battle within the battle that decided the Lower Peninsula Division 4 championship Saturday was not an unfamiliar one for the Stalcup brothers.
Just 10 days ago the Stalcup boys led Clarkston Everest Collegiate to a team Regional championship while matching up to finish first and second individually, senior Remy followed by sophomore Parker, separated by just two strokes.
This weekend at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley, the results were nearly identical. The Stalcups led Everest to the Division 4 Final championship – the program’s first since 2017 and after the Mountaineers finished runner-up a year ago. And the Stalcups finished first and second individually – Remy shooting a two-round 142 to finish Finals medalist for the second time, and Parker just six strokes back in second place.
“It’s pretty awesome to do it a second time in my high school career,” said Remy Stalcup, who also claimed the individual title in 2021. “He had me on the ropes a little bit down the stretch, but I pulled it out.”
Everest shot a 315 on Friday to bring a 10-stroke team lead into the final round, and finished with a 625 – 17 strokes clear of runner-up Hillsdale Academy.
Remy Stalcup shot a 70 on Friday to lead individually by six strokes with 18 holes to play. But when Parker Stalcup birdied No. 13 on Saturday, he pulled within two of the lead – and then Remy bogeyed No. 14, cutting his advantage to a single stroke.
“I was about to beat you, but it didn’t happen,” Parker Stalcup said as he and his brother interviewed together after the round was complete. “I thought I had him going into 14, and then I just hit a couple of bad drives, which led to some bogeys. And I just lost it from there.”
Hillsdale Academy’s Rykert Frisinger and Maple City Glen Lake’s Blake O’Connor tied for third, shooting 150s. Everest sophomore Will Pennanen bolstered the Mountaineers’ effort with a 155 to tie for seventh individually.
“Remy is the captain of the team … (and) the team chased him so it makes the whole team better, chasing him all the time,” Everest coach David Smith said. “And he’s actually become a great leader. So he’s actually encouraging them and actually taught them a bit about his game … and he’s encouraging and voting for them to make birdies and go after him. It’s a good bunch of kids that follow him around, and that’s why we were successful.”
Remy Stalcup had tied for third and Parker had tied for 15th at last season’s Final as the team finished runner-up to Lansing Christian.
Remy was the only senior in the team’s lineup this weekend, and Parker said he and his teammates will be ready to pursue a repeat title.
“He’s a little Pac-Man. That guy’s just going to chew people up. He doesn’t stop (for) nothing,” Smith said of the younger Stalcup. “’He’s always looks forward, never looks backward.
“He’s going to be good for a long, long time. He may be better than his brother at the end of the day. We’ll see.”
PHOTOS by High School Sports Scene.