Clovis West High golfers refused to look in the rearview mirror playing the Belmont Country Club course Tuesday at the Central Section golf championships.
The Golden Eagles, paced by Cal-bound senior Michael Weaver's low round of 69, kept their eyes planted on the pins and scrambled to a three-shot victory over Porterville and Garces for the Division I title.
"It comes down to the last man standing. And thank goodness it was Clovis West," seventh-year coach Tom Deel said.
Weaver was the only golfer to beat par with a 3-under on the 6,511-yard course that was in good condition with tough but favorable greens. Porterville's Nate Jessup and Stockdale's Pete Fernandez both carded 72s.
Clovis West, which won its second straight section title, and Porterville advance to the Southern California Championships on June 3 at Seven Oaks Country Club in Bakersfield.
Clovis West scored 377, with Pace Johnson shooting 74, Kenny Park and Troy Sweeney 77s and Brian Waterhouse 80.
"Michael and Pace have had a big impact on this team," Deel said, "but it's all about team at Clovis West. I know it sounds cliché. But that's what we hang our hat on."
This year, Weaver has accomplished a goal of shooting under par in every match or tournament. Tuesday's score left him 29 under for the year.
Weaver made four birdies and one bogey. He also had four putts either slide by the hole or rim in and out.
"I was burning the edges all day," he said. "I felt I was hitting the ball well and putting well. I just didn't have the right speed on my putts. But I can't complain with a 69."
Weaver showed resiliency on the front nine by rebounding from his only mistake on the eighth hole -- the bogey -- to nearly pull off an eagle on the 478-yard ninth.
He blasted his tee shot 300 yards over fairway bunkers, then dropped his second shot about 6 feet from the pin. The putt was tricky -- a downward side slope -- and just rolled by to set up a birdie tap-in.
On the back nine, Weaver birdied the par-5 12th after his second shot hit the green and took a nasty bounce off it. From there, he parred his way in to victory.
This will be Porterville's first trip to the SoCal championships after just missing the past two years. The Panthers won the sixth-man tiebreaker with Garces for the second spot -- Quinn Proctor's 85 beating Jordan Root's 98.
"They've really worked hard for this," Panthers coach Lynn Enos said of her three-time East Yosemite League champions.
Kris Kennel and Mikey McGinn gave the Panthers a boost with 73s, DJ Stone scored 80 and Barrett Schortman an 82.
Buddy Senatore, who led Memorial to second at the North Area championships last week, had a tough back nine at 6-over and finished with an 80. Colby Thomason's 78 was the team's low score.
Bakersfield Christian won the Division II championship, Fresno Christian was second and Central Valley Christian third.
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