CORONA – Matt Karchefski wasn’t expecting to play on Monday at Green River Golf Course, but when Kethan Reddy, the defending CIF-SS champion, got sick, Karschefski got added at the last minute to Villa Park’s lineup.
He didn’t find out he was going to get a tee time in the Century League match against undefeated El Dorado until about a half hour before the scheduled start.
Karchefski, though, didn’t seem to nervous in this rare opportunity to play with the varsity team. He was one of the four Spartans to break 40 on Monday as No. 6 Villa Park remained unbeaten in league with a 188-197 victory against the No. 10 Golden Hawks. The Spartans have played nine matches this season, but this was just the fourth time that they have shot in the 180s.
“Today we put on a good show. It could have gone two ways for us without Kethan,” Villa Park coach Chris Salio said. “The kids could have said, ‘We can’t win.” But they stepped up and did it.”
Playing without Reddy, El Dorado coach Wayne Carlson said should have cost the Spartans 10 stokes. At least.
Reddy has posted the lowest score for the Spartans this season at Green River, a 4-under 32. And he was being replaced on Monday by an untested varsity player.
“He (Karchefski) has got some guts,” Salio said. “He has got a lot of talent, and he has been really working on his game.”
Karchefski finished with a 3-over-par 39 on the front nine, an impressive result considering he’s not the usual seasoned high school player who has been competing in national AJGA tournaments for years.
The sophomore only recently decided to quit playing baseball, so he could take up golf. Usually, he’s the Spartans’ seventh or eighth man, and six players are traditionally are on a varsity match roster.
Kyle DeSilva medaled for the Spartans (8-1, 7-0), shooting a 1-under 35. Steve Frigo (36) and freshman Justin Phi (37) also posted scores in the 30s for Villa Park.
Matt Lutz led the Golden Hawks (9-1, 1-1) with a 1-over 37.
Villa Park improved to 5-1-1 at its home course this season after winning its first match at Green River since No. 1 Corona del Mar beat the Spartans on the course on which Villa Park is usually unbeatable.
Salio said that loss woke the Spartans up, proving that “we aren’t as good as we thought we were going to be.”
“It was a real eye opener,” Salio said. “We have to work hard to get better. Today we had four scores under 40, and you are going to win a lot of matches when you do that.”
