Karen Boehler
CCSR writer/editor
The Goddard boys golf team had a super Tuesday, edging Albuquerque Academy by one stroke to take the state title.
(CCSR photo by Karen Boehler)
LAS CRUCES — It was a day of hard work and emotion for the Goddard boys golf team Tuesday, as they fought their way back from a 10-stroke deficit to win the AAAA state title.
The hard work came first, as four of the five Coyotes shot in the 70s — Taylor Puntch 75; Steven Willis and Truman Haeny 76; and Joseph Healy 77 — and Jarod Marquez just missed with an 80.
Those scores where key, Puntch said.
“We all shot in the 70s, which is what I think really did it,” he said.
Coach Billy Carlyle said several factors made the difference between Monday’s 335 and Tuesday’s 304.
“Well, it was better weather, first of all,” he said. “And I think they’d made up their minds to come in and do it. Not as many jitters today. They kind of knew where they were. They knew what to expect, kind of.”
Puntch agreed the weather did play a part — it was almost dead still until the final few holes — but gave the credit to the team.
“That definitely helped, but everybody contributed. We really just buckled down and pulled through,” he said.
They also didn’t make any mistakes Tuesday, which was part of the reason for the higher-than-expected score Monday. Willis made a mistake on his scorecard, and pointed it out, which caused him to be disqualified for the day. But he said he never thought about doing anything but reporting it.
“No, because I couldn’t live with myself doing that,” he said. “The game of golf is like that, and it was my mistake and I had to fix it.”
The top two scorecards tell the story: Goddard edged Albuquerque Academy by one point, denying the Chargers a threepeat.
(CCSR photo by Karen Boehler)
That mistake cost Willis a chance for an individual medal, but he said there was only one thing he was thinking about Tuesday.
“That I had nothing to lose and just go out and play golf,” he said.
And how did the rest of the team feel?
“It feels amazing,” Puntch said. “I was so worried coming into this, but we pulled through.”
The emotions that were a big part of the day came not only from the golfers, but from coaches as well.
Carlyle gave every bit of credit to his team.
“They did it. I didn’t have a lot to do with it,” he said. “Just stay out of the way a little bit.”
And while Roswell coach Steve Willis was pulling for his team, he was also pulling for his son, Rocket Steven Willis, and was so emotional over the victory he wasn’t able to speak for a bit.
But when he finally could, he said he couldn’t be prouder.
“I’m very proud of him for being on the state championship team,” the Coyote coach said. “He played well, especially coming back from the incident he had yesterday. As a dad, you’ve got to be proud of your son. Congratulations to Goddard. It’s a great win for them. It’s a great win for the town of Roswell. I was hoping we could get a trophy and take two home to Roswell. Close, but no cigar. But I’m proud of the kids, proud of Goddard and my son’s great.”
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