HORSESHOE BEND -- The Concord Pirates won their third consecutive state championship and fourth out of the past five Tuesday when they edged host Izard County by a single stroke at the Class 1A boys state golf tournament at The Course at Turkey Mountain.
Concord swept the state titles as senior Jordan Webb was the medalist by seven strokes over Izard County's Cody Workman, 75 to 82.
Last year on the same course, the Pirates defeated the Cougars by 31 strokes to win the state championship. This year, the two schools faced off five times with the Cougars defeating the Pirates four times on the home their course and Concord winning the one time on its home course at Tannenbaum.
The sixth time went Concord's way as the Pirates finished with a 254, bettering the Cougars' 255. Scranton finished third with a 304, and Ouachita was fourth with 313.
"It was really sweet for us to win it here today," Concord Coach Keith Cornett said. "They've been a little bit better team than us all year. In 2011, I thought we were by far the best golf team in 1A that year, and we beat ICC every time until state and they beat us. It was so hard on my kids going home. And today, it's going to be a happier drive home."
As a sophomore, Webb finished fifth and was runner-up last year. This year, Webb won tournament after tournament and was the medalist the five times Concord played Izard County, so he came into the state tournament as the favorite.
"I felt pretty good about winning it coming in here today," Webb said. "I shot even on the front nine and 2 over on the back, and I only had one bogey all day. I wasn't paired with any of them, but I knew my best competition was going to be one of the ICC players."
Webb's 75 was 2 over par for the course. After Cody Workman's 82 for second, brother Matthew Workman tied Deer freshman Dalton McGinnis for third at 85. A playoff was needed to determine which of the two qualified for the Overall next week, and McGinnis came out on top on the first hole.
Sports on 10/05/2016