Senior Savanah Cooper shot par Thursday, March 5, on the front nine holes of Verde Santa Fe Golf Course to lead Sedona Red Rock High School to a 19-stroke win over Camp Verde High School.

“Despite the fact that our number one golfer wasn’t having a very good day, our team score was the best we have shot dating all the way back to April of 2007,” said Dennis Mobley, who is beginning his 20th season as the Scorpions head golf coach. “This is our best team since.”

SRRHS shot 153 as a team in its varsity golf opener in spite of a 42 by senior Gary Schlee, top Scorpion on the varsity ladder. Junior Keagan Webster and senior Skylar Richardson shot 37 and a 38, respectively, in support of Cooper.

“We have outstanding senior leadership in Cooper, Schlee, Jasper Herrick and Richardson,” Mobley said. “Also in the mix for the top spot will be Webster and sophomore Neil Smith.”

Smith matched Richardson’s two-over-par in his fight to make the Scorpions’ varsity ladder, shooting four strokes better than Herrick, who had a 42.

“The battle for number one on our golf ladder will be highly competitive this spring,” Mobley said. “Any one of six players could contend for the top position.”

Those include Mobley’s “extras” close on the heels of the top five Scorpions and battling for a spot on the varsity ladder — Smith, senior Michael Travaglia and sophomore Stesiree Ho, who Mobley adds are “capable of starting for any other varsity in our section.”

They all returned from last year’s team that finished sixth in the state in May at the Division III golf tournament in Prescott — with just two losses and 22 wins in dual match play.

Many of them have improved their games in the off-season with the help of fourth-year assistant coach Monty Cooper and through the volunteer mentoring of local golf professionals Micah Filice, Gary Pearce and Heather Risk.

For the full story and schedule, please see the Wednesday, March 11, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.