Sports

Dover learns lesson from 2004

Scott Chancey

HELEN – In 2004, while watching his golf team in Phoenix, Dale Dover – in a golf-coaching sense – saw the light, learning the most important lesson as his Cavaliers competed in the 2004 NJCAA Division II championship at Palm Valley Golf Course.

He knew that consistency and talent would carry a team, but learned the hard way that only depth would provide a national championship.

The Cavaliers led in 2004, the last time the national tournament was held in Phoenix, by three strokes after the second round. They were second, trailing by two going into the final round and fell back to fifth.

Former Deerfield-Windsor star Brandon Anthony finished sixth, earning the first of back-to-back All-America honors, fellow Knights alumnus Donnie Parker was 20th with a 298, Bennett Maki was 51st at 307 and Jason Flowers was 76th at 313. The fifth-seeded golfer finished 115th with a 332.

That day, Dover realized the importance of having as strong golfers at the fourth and fifth spots as the Nos. 1 and 2.

“It takes depth to win,” Dover said. “You need five players who at any time can score below par.”

The Cavaliers signed former Lowndes star Ryan Parker during the offseason and he became the remedy for any teammate who had an off day. There was so much depth in 2005 that Anthony – despite being an All-American the previous year, did not qualify well enough to compete with the team in Scottsboro, Ala.

That depth, combined with a strong overall performance by both medalist Brent Witcher and the rest of the lineup, resulted in a record-setting national championship performance for both team and individual play.

And Anthony, who was able to play in the national tourney as an individual since he was an All-American in 2004, earned First-Team All-America honors again.

Then, the next year in Scottsboro, to back up Dover’s assertion that any player should be able to go below par at any time, Parker shot well enough to become a First-Team All-American and the Cavaliers rallied in the final day to win their second consecutive crown.

But the depth only proved itself even more last season when third-seeded Bill Jones III won the individual title and fourth-seeded Coleman Calhoun joined him as a First-Team All-American while the Cavaliers were on their way to a third national title in a row.

Strangely enough, the Cavaliers’ road takes them back to that very same Palm Valley golf course in two weeks. Aspiring to be the best won’t be Darton’s issue this time. It’s staying the best.

For a fourth consecutive national crown to be taken back home to Albany, depth may be a luxury this time but a consistent leading golfer has yet to be found. Dover is also trying to find a golfer suited for the fourth and fifth positions. And judging by the drained expression on Dover’s face after Tuesday’s seventh consecutive region win at Innsbruck Golf Club, he knows he has a challenging two weeks ahead.

Darton was a transformed program after leaving Palm Valley. It remains to be seen if what the Cavaliers learned there will carry them to yet another championship.

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