The Rams are striving for their 21st consecutive Commonwealth Conference title and a 9-1 record has them solidly on pace.
The Rams carry a relatively small team, with just 12 players on the roster from Bedford, Billerica, Burlington, Tewksbury, and Wilmington. Struthers drives the team van to and from matches, which he says brings the team closer together.
On top of playing fellow vocational schools, Shawsheen takes on several traditional high schools in the area. With physically demanding occupations such as plumbing, carpentry, electrical, and welding, the Rams face unique challenges.
“They just got done working physically all day long.” Struthers said. “And then they’re getting changed in the parking lot and the next thing you know, they’re on the first tee.”
Carpenter, who hopes to play in college, is the lone captain, tasked with mentoring younger players on and off the course.
“When I’m doing my job, I’m still thinking about the team,” he said. “I think about the team all the time and how we can get better.”
Carpenter emphasizes the extra work the team does hitting the range, chipping, and putting for 90 minutes after practice and matches.
“It’s not just play nine and leave,” Carpenter said. “A lot of teams will go and fool around. Everyone here keeps it serious.”
Struthers has been impressed with his captain’s ability to lead.
“Everyday he gets to be a better captain,” Struthers said. “He’s a fantastic player too, always under par or even par and it’s fun to watch him do it.”
Carpenter’s steady hand has allowed new players Tyler Frediani, Joe DaSilva, and Jake Care to turn in team-leading, low-scoring rounds.
“We lost a lot of seniors in the last two years, so I think people thought this was going to be a rebuilding year.” Carpenter said. “We put up 200 points in our first match and I don’t think we put up 200 points last year at all.”
Shawsheen will open postseason play with the Massachusetts State Vocational Tournament at River Valley Golf Course in Achusnet. Thirty-two vocational schools compete for the title each year. Last season, Blackstone Valley Tech took home the win, which Struthers seeks to change.
“It’s probably the strongest team I’ve had as far as depth goes.” Struthers said. “This year, coming up, it should be ours.”
▪ Central Catholic has had a success start, entering a four-match week with a 6-1-1 record paced by No. 1 Harry Garland.
Garland, a Pelham, N.H. resident committed to Methodist University, has been the Raiders’ low scorer in five of their six wins, and carded a season-low 3-under-par 33 at Atkinson Country Club in a statement 19-1 win over Merrimack Valley Conference foe Lowell.
Finn Rourke has also won four matches, steadily moving up the tee sheet to the No. 5 spot after starting as CC’s No. 7. Andrew Bolton was co-medalist in a close loss to BC High in the second match of the season, and has won five of his matches since.
▪ It was a week of school-record-breaking performances for Rockport and Canton.
For 8-3 Rockport, Brady Murray, Nolan Bace, Ben Kesterson, and Ben Sperry combined for 120 Stableford points, a school record for four players, in a 172-125 win over Georgetown on Tuesday.
Not to be outdone, Canton (8-3) had a four-player total of 2-under-par in a 134-150 stroke-play win over Attleboro at Blue Hills, with none of the top four shooting over par. Joey and Matt Ryan each shot 1-under 33, and Harrison Weitz and Chase Thomas had even-par 34s.
▪ As the postseason approaches, high school golf teams are gearing up for their highest levels of competition.
For Wakefield’s unbeaten team, that means traveling to the courses that they will be playing at during the year and in the playoffs. Golf is an expensive sport, with single rounds costing significant sums of money.
“We carry 20 kids in our program, so to get out on the course and get adequate practice time is expensive.” Wakefield coach Chris Keane said. “Being able to see the course you’re going to play on is probably the most important thing in terms of preparation that we can do.”
The Warriors qualified for the North State Sectional played at Bradford Country Club in Haverhill and they hope to play the course before the tournament.
▪ At Friday’s virtual MIAA tournament management committee meeting, new vice chair Steven Burndrett, the Minnechaug athletic director, reported that a sub-committee looking at hybrid sports is considering requiring every meet to be scored with stroke play. Leagues could still use their preferred scoring system (Stableford, match, etc.) but would also need to record stroke scores for a statewide power ranking system. This would impact match play the most, as every golfer would be required to finish every hole.
Correspondent Joe Eachus and Brendan Kurie of the Globe staff contributed to this story.