North Stokes Claims Second State Title in Three Years

By STEVE WILLIAMS

SANFORD – North Stokes High School ended the Brant Stovall era in style.

The Vikings won their second NCHSAA State 1-A championship in three years May 7, capping a four-year run where Stovall won the Northwest 1-A Conference player of the year honor three times and proved to be among the state’s best every year.

This year, Stovall and his Viking teammates shot 316-314 at Quail Ridge Golf Course and defeated Siler City Jordan Matthews by four shots.

“This was probably a once-in-a-generation, maybe once in-a-lifetime group,” North Stokes coach Barney Joyce said of the senior-dominated team. “We had four really good players.”

Joyce saw it coming when Stovall arrived at North Stokes middle school six years ago.

“He was shooting around even par then,” Joyce remembered. “I told Brant if he could get five more boys, we’d have a middle school golf team. He got eight more.”

Josh Vogler and Matt Oakley were among the originals and Brian Alley switched from baseball after getting to the high school.

“Those four have really played a lot of golf,” Joyce said.

North Stokes won the state title when the four were sophomores and had a good chance of repeating in 2001 but Stovall got food poisoning after taking the individual first-round lead and couldn’t play the second day. North still managed a fourth-place finish.

Although he was denied the elusive individual crown, Stovall was delighted to be a part of the winning team.

“He was happy to have won it teamwise,” Joyce said. “He’s that good a player. He was real interested in the team being successful.”

Jordan Matthews’ second-place total of 634 (317-317) was achieved by a lineup with only two seniors. Williamston was a distant third at 643 and defending champ Alleghany was fourth at 646.

Matt Cook, a junior from Murphy, won the state individual title with a four-under-par 140 (69-71). Jack Lowder of Albemarle was second at 142 (72-70), Matt Renegar of Elkin was third at 146 (70-76) and John Thompson of North Johnston was fourth at 151 (76-75).

Stovall (79-73), defending champion Chris Lowman of Jordan Matthews (77-75), sophomore Burton Wood of Jordan Matthews (72-80) and Casey Flattery of Alleghany (79-73) tied for fifth at 152.

Vogler was ninth at 155 (78-77).

North Stokes also got solid contributions from Oakley (78-84) and Alley (81-80). And a first-round 81 by junior Michael Stovall (Brant’s cousin) was also a key to the team’s victory.

The Vikings will have eight players returning to the program next year, but it will be a major challenge for them to make it back to the state tournament.

“We’re really going to play a lot this summer just to be competitive next year,” Joyce said. “With what we’ve done the last four years, we’ve established a pretty good tradition. Hopefully the boys will want to maintain it.”