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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Led by Walpole’s Jack Boulger, Paul and David Carey, and Davis Kelliher, the Xaverian Brothers High School varsity golf team won the Division 1 State Championship on October 31 over archrival St. Johns Prep (Danvers).
The state championship came at William Devine Golf Course at Franklin Park in Dorchester, where XBHS defeated Prep by a mere two strokes to take home the title.
After Xaverian and Prep tied with each other with their top-four scores, the tiebreaker came down to the fifth-best score on each team. Michael Connors’ 79 earned Xaverian the title via the tiebreak.
Following the win, Xaverian head coach Gerry Lambert credited his team’s resiliency and ability to play well on the road despite not being familiar with courses such as William Devine.
“(St. John’s) Prep had gotten us twice earlier in the year, but both matches were close,” said Lambert. “For us to have the fifth score be the difference was a huge thrill for Michael Connors and our entire team.”
“Even though we didn’t win all of our road matches this year, we did a good job going on the road and played well,” Lambert said. “I remember thinking to myself that if we could maintain that level of play on the road, it would bode well for us here today.”
For Paul Carey and Jack Boulger, who are both seniors at Xaverian, it is difficult to imagine a better way to close out their high school golf careers. Winning a state championship against the Prep is the perfect script.
