The Iron Skillet is coming home with the Hammond boys for the second straight year.
The Golden Bears posted 40 points on Tuesday afternoon at Fairway Hills, edging out Oakland Mills (35) and Long Reach (26) to claim the trophy that is up for grabs between the three Columbia schools each fall.
"For us, this is our Super Bowl and when the stakes are that high, the emotions run high as well," Hammond coach Scott Osborne said. "So for us, it's a real sign of maturity that they are able to persevere through some tough stretches today. They really battled through today."
Hammond's Patrick McDonald, who finished with a team-high 15 points, echoed the sentiment of the importance of the match.
"This is one of our favorite matches of the year because we do have a chance to beat these teams compared to other teams," he said. "We just come out, believe in each other, persevere through the bad holes and try to get the win."
Perseverance was a good word to describe the Golden Bears' effort on Tuesday, as the team effectively balanced a handful of bad shots with a handful of good ones. Joe Sarich, for example, made the most of the two par 5s on the back nine at Fairway Hills. He made pars on each of those holes, netting three points apiece, to highlight his nine points overall.
Ryan Gaffere (9 points) and Aidan Witt (7) did their part as well in the five-point win.
"Joe coming through with those two pars, in between what was a real string of tough holes for him … that was huge," Osborne said. "All the guys did a good job of staying with it today. And I would say that's one of the biggest areas of growth within the program since I've been here. We have older guys who are able to set an example for the younger guys about never giving up."
Hammond (2-2) ended up needing every single one of its points, as Oakland Mills (1-3) kept things interesting all afternoon. Phil Carroll (14 points) and Adam Fairbanks (13) each posted solid rounds and Chris Clyde (7) and AJ Kanakry (1) rounded out the Scorpions' scores.
Long Reach (0-4), meanwhile, was led by 12 points from Omar Hussain.
Hammond 40, Oakland Mills 35, Long Reach 26
Ha (2-3): McDonald 15, Sarich 9, Gaffere 9, Witt 7.
OM (1-4): Carroll 14, Fairbanks 13, Clyde 7, Kanakry 1.
LR (0-5): Hussain 12, Harmon 6, Lewis 5, Ramberg 3.
Other boys box scores:
Marriotts Ridge 92, Atholton 71, Centennial 71
In a tri-match played at Crofton Country Club, which is the site of this year's District V Championships, Marriotts Ridge continued its undefeated season. Nick Mejia led the way with 26 points for the Mustangs and all four of the team's players scored 20 or more points.
The best round of the match, however, was shot by Atholton freshman Brandon Nguyen, who set a new career high with 27 points (even par).
The tie between Atholton and Centennial, which was led by Greg Sterenberg's 22 points, marks the first draw of the season.
MR (5-0): Mejia 26, Polefrone 24, Courtney 22, Szymanski 20.
A (1-3-1): Nguyen 27, Noah Chong 19, Grimsley 17, Nolan Chong 8.
C (2-2-1): Sterenberg 22, Chaplain 19, Sams 17, Sanidas 13.
River Hill 89, Oakland Mills 40 (Monday)
Behind a one-over-par round of 26 points from Derek Gold, the Hawks scored a season-high 89 points as a team en route to the lopsided victory over the Scorpions.
RH (2-1): Gold 26, Hickey 23, Burman 22, Mann 18.
OM (0-3): Carroll 16, Fairbanks 15, Clyde 8, Atkins 1.
Girls box scores:
Centennial 50, Marriotts Ridge 42, Atholton 19
Behind 20 points from Isabel Trojillo, the Eagles won an important tri-match on Tuesday to take over sole possession of third place in the standings at 4-1.
Marriotts Ridge freshman Faith McIlvain did produce the low round of the afternoon with 25 points (2-over par).
C (4-1): Trojillo 20, Park 11, Fukuzawa 11, Taylor 8.
MR (3-2): McIlvain 25, Quinn 10, Dorsch 7.
A (1-4): Belden 7, Lechner 7, Wenderhoth 5.
Oakland Mills 8, Hammond 7, Long Reach 0
Oakland Mills won back the iron skillet trophy in an incredibly close match that came down to the final hole. The Scorpions' Kelly Claxton (7 points) ended up making a par on the par 5 final hole at Fairway Hills to secure the victory.
Long Reach, the defending iron skillet champion, does not have any girls players this season.
OM (2-3): Claxton 7, Fuentes 1.
Ha (1-4): O'Ryan 3, White 3, Tuckley 1.
LR (0-5): N/A.
River Hill 40, Oakland Mills 4 (Monday)
Lauren Berg fired a career-high 17 points to lead the way to a season-high overall total for the Hawks in the victory.
RH (2-1): Berg 17, Green 14, Lesho 9.
OM (0-3): Claxton 4.