Johnston golf has sights set on playoff berth

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After putting together a 10-6 season a year ago, the Johnston golf team has picked up right where it left off this spring, racing out to a 2-0 start.

The Panthers lost some key pieces from 2014, but they’ve brought in a talented group of newcomers to join an experienced core.

Johnston will remain in the West Division, where it will be joined by two of the top teams in the state – Moses Brown and La Salle.

Moses Brown ran the table last season, going undefeated and capturing the state title. It also had the individual state champion, as Will Dickson claimed that crown. Dickson will be back for his sophomore season this spring after proving himself as the top player last year.

The Rams will also be a tough team to hold off, as they compiled an impressive 14-2 record in 2014, as well.

Because of the depth in the subdivision, Johnston head coach Jason Corsini has set a realistic goal for his team.

“We want to finish third and get home-course advantage for the playoffs,” Corsini said. “If you get in that three, four and five match and have one good day, you’ll find yourself in the state championship.”

In terms of the landscape, there are five subdivisions throughout the league, with the top two teams in each subdivision clinching a spot in the state championship. The third, fourth and fifth-place teams will play a play-in match to see who will be the third team to make states for each subdivision.

That’s what Johnston will be shooting for – and it feels like it’ll have a good opportunity to do just that.

The top two players for the Panthers this season will be freshman Gabriella Scarcella and senior Matt Butler.

Butler will provide experience and leadership towards the top of Johnston’s lineup, while Scarcella has stepped in right away and has played well.

“She’s the future of our program and it’s exciting,” Corsini said of Scarcella. “She has great fundamentals.”

Junior Jacob McCullough will serve as a reliable No. 3 player for the Panthers this season, while senior Jake Dannenfelser will play as the No. 4 player.

As of right now, senior Jimmy Briggs is No. 5, freshman Sal Orlando is No. 6, junior Will Petitto is No. 7 and junior Zachary Zonfrilli is No. 8. Freshman Steve Parrillo will also push for some time this year.

Corsini is excited about the mix of golfers that he has on his roster this year, and believes that they will have a good chance of achieving their goals.

Because of poor course conditions, the Panthers were on pace to play in their first match without a day of practice, but Corsini was able to get that opening match pushed back.

The move gave the Panthers three days to practice outside before their opening tournament against Classical and Scituate. Johnston was able to edge both to start the season on a good note.

Now it will look to sustain that success for the remainder of the season, with the hopes of making a push for the state tournament at the conclusion of the spring.

The Panthers had a tournament against St. Ray’s and Shea on Tuesday, but results were unavailable at press time.

Johnston will be back in action today, as it’ll get a good test against Moses Brown and St. Ray’s at Agawam Hunt Club Golf Course in Rumford at 3:30 p.m.

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