The Fountain Hills High School golf team took second place in its third match of the season, and junior Ethan Schafer placed first overall among all four teams. The other match in Payson last week was cancelled due to snow.

The Falcons traveled to Encanto Golf Course on Wednesday, March 22. Phoenix Christian took first place, Fountain Hills took second place for the third straight match, and Arizona Lutheran and Basis Phoenix took third and fourth place, respectively.

“It was a tough course,” head coach Bob Buczek said. “The greens were like putting on cement. If you didn’t read the break right, it just flew right past the hole. All teams were having issues, there wasn’t any one team that was doing really well.”

Junior Ethan Schaffer won by four strokes and was two over par at 37. Freshman Adam Oberg placed second on the team at 45, and junior Tom Tiebert was one stroke over him at 46.

Freshman Riley Murdock finished fourth on the Falcons team at 48, and sophomore Shannon Breen finished fifth at 56.

“Shannon played her first match ever,” Buczek said. “She was a little nervous on the first hole, but then she crushed her tee shot.”

The Falcons struggled with their putting at Encanto. Buczek can’t coach too much during the match, but he gets his players to think critically about what they did well and what they didn’t do well afterward. The post-game breakdowns help players focus on certain skills in practice.

Before their third match, the Falcons were ranked 16th out of 49 teams, and ranked third in their section. Buczek said there are as many as 59 total teams in the league, but he believes northern schools are waiting for warmer weather before they play.

For individuals and teams, the top seven scores from the season will be used for ranking and post-season admission. Buczek has 12 matches on the schedule, so the Falcons can pick and choose their best scores and improve along the way.

“Right now, we’re playing some good golf, and so all we have to do is keep plugging away,” Buczek said. “Some of those higher rounds of golf will drop off and our average will bump us down. We want to be in the top 15, that’s probably what it’s going to take to get us into state.”

The Falcons were supposed to travel to Chaparral Pines Golf Course in Payson last Friday, March 24, but the weather did not allow for their match. The Falcons hope to reschedule the match with Holbrook, Show Low and the Longhorns for Wednesday, April 19.

Sophomore Zoe Kohoutek would have traveled with the team for the first time for the Payson match. Both Kohoutek and Breen are new to the golf team this year, but they are proving to be quick learners.

“Every spot is earned,” Buczek said. "You have to earn a spot on the team, so that’s saying something that Shannon and Zoe earned a spot, just based on their practicing and what they’re doing…They all work as a team, they all support each other, which is great, but they also know they have to perform in order to play.”

Buczek said he may add another match to the schedule for tomorrow, Thursday, March 30. The Falcons are currently scheduled to host Pima, Rancho Solano Prep and San Tan Charter at Desert Canyon Golf Club today, Wednesday, March 29, at 4 p.m.

The Falcons will play Rancho Solano Prep, Veritas Prep and Cicero Prep at the Scottsdale Silverado Golf Club next Tuesday, April 4, at 4 p.m. They then travel to the Ahwatukee Country Club on Thursday, April 6, to play Gilbert Christian, Northwest Christian and Horizon Honors at 3 p.m.