The Fort Bend Clements boys golf team is poised to make another run for a state championship, and senior Blake Redmond is looking to defend his individual state title.

The Rangers won their second straight District 23-5A championship on April 8 at the River Pointe Country Club in Missouri City, and only its third district title in school history.

Coach Jason Jezek, in his second year at Clements after eight years at Clear Lake, feels the Rangers haven’t hit their peak yet.

“I would say that for the season, I don’t think we played as well as a team as we did last year throughout the season, but I feel we are playing better at this point of the season than we did at this same point last year,” Jezek said.

Even though Clements hadn’t won a tournament this season, the Rangers looked strong in the district tournament. Redmond led the team by shooting two consecutive rounds of 1-under par 70, and sophomore Johannes Veerman played a very important role by shooting a 69 in the second round, his lowest round as a Ranger.

Senior Justin Lavine also played well, shooting a 74 in the second round.

“Blake has shown some improvements this year,” Jezek said. “He certainly shot more low scores this year than last year, but was definitely not as consistent as last year.  There are some factors behind that, but the fact is, when the season began heating up at the end, he has been there, as evidenced by his 70-70 showing at district.”

Other Clements golfers looking to surprise are Andy Delgado (who shot a 153 at district) and Jay Bane.

“For the most part, you can look at any of our players from top to bottom, and the ones that play the best are the same ones that practice the best,” Jezek said. “At the same time, however, they do sometimes surprise me when they play poorly.  They all have great attitudes, and great work ethic.  They love to play the game, and have a great love for one another.  I expect them to perform well all the time, and I guess that is why I get surprised.”

The Rangers look to earn a spot in the state tournament by placing in the top two teams at the Region III-5A championship, which is to be played this week at Eagle Pointe Country Club in Mont Belvieu. It’s believed to be one of the toughest regions in the entire state, and the Rangers will have to play their best golf of the season in order to beat team contenders like Memorial, Clear Creek, Cinco Ranch, Strake Jesuit, Fort Bend Austin and Kingwood. 

“I think this year’s regional field is very tough,” Jezek said. “You of course have the favorites (based on season results) in Memorial, Strake Jesuit and Clear Creek.  I just feel that if you put their averages up against ours, they would be the top three.”

Mustangs hope to continue domination

That Memorial's boys A team won its eighth consecutive district championship was no surprise, but that its B team advanced to regionals was an effective reminder of just how firmly the Mustangs dominate District 19-5A.

 Cory Whitsett and Tyler Gann led the Mustangs to the district title two weeks ago at Bear Creek Golf World, shooting 148 and 151 respectively. The B team won a playoff for second-place with Stratford when Jonathan Kokot birdied.

"We were expecting our first team to advance just because of the way they've played throughout the season, and we thought our second team had a shot," Memorial coach Cameron Sands said. "Our top five guys performed well and our second team really pleased us. It (the district tournament) was neck-and-neck."

Three Stratford golfers advanced - senior James Kwon, the district runner-up and an SMU signee; 19-5A girls champion Jennifer Hardy; and Anne Freer.

The girls tournament is Monday and Tuesday at Eagle Pointe. The boys tournament follows Wednesday and Thursday. 

REGIONAL GOLF TOURNAMENT 

WHAT: Region III-5A golf tournament

WHERE: Eagle Pointe Golf Club, 12440 Eagle Pointe Dr., Mont Belvieu

WHEN: The girls tournament is Monday and Tuesday; the boys tournament is Wednesday and Thursday.

Dave Purpura contributed.

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