McDonogh and Archbishop Curley capture long elusive golf championships
by Derek Toney
It was a magical moment for the Archbishop Curley and McDonogh School’s golf squads Saturday afternoon at majestic Caves Valley Golf Club.
The Eagles defeated Calvert Hall for the A Conference title, while the Friars topped Severn School for their first crown, in the B Conference.
McDonogh’s 12-9 decision ended a 14-year drought while ending Calvert Hall’s bid for a second consecutive championship and third in four seasons. The Eagles (17-2 overall) split with the Cardinals (14-4) during the regular season.
Despite not reaching the four-team playoff last spring, McDonogh coach Andy Motsko believed a breakthrough was on the horizon.
“We have a good core of young players,” said Motsko, who took over the program in 2019 and coached football and lacrosse over the last four decades at the Owings Mills school. “I challenged them last summer to play in a lot of tournaments because that’s the only way you’re going to get better.”
Eagle junior and co-captain Cole Maller said the Eagles’ path to a championship was “gruesome.”
“We started to put things together last year and started getting familiar with winning,” Maller said. “We finally put the pieces together. We got a couple of good sophomores who are huge pieces.”
The Eagles graduate co-captain Nathan Eldridge (No. 2 player), Noah Caplan and Liam Meacham off their 10-player roster. McDonogh, which defeated Loyola Blakefield in the semifinals Wednesday, won its final nine matches.
After 42 years, Curley (9-5) has a golf championship. The Friars atoned for two regular season losses to Severn with a 11.5-9.5 victory in the B title match.
Ben DiCello, who got his first start of the season in Wednesday’s semifinals, hit a short putt to clinch the landmark win. Two years ago, Curley lost to Boys’ Latin in the final.
Senior Nolan Morrison and junior Drew Phelan was on the 2024 team. Both said the program has transformed from afterthought status at the Northeast Baltimore school.
“Students wouldn’t even know that they had a golf team, that’s how it was,” said Phelan. “We’ve never had a team like this.”
The Friars lost 13-8 and 17-4 to Severn (9-4) during the regular season. The Admirals were undefeated in league play (9-0 including semifinals) going into Saturday.
Curley coach Mark Johnson, who took over the program five years ago, leaned on the United States hockey team's iconic 1980 Winter Olympics victory over Russia for motivation.
“My message has been, you don’t need to play above yourself, you just need to play to your ability,” said Johnson, a 1976 Curley alum who played soccer and won a Division 2 national championship at Loyola College (now Loyola University of Maryland).
The Friars, who graduate two seniors off their roster, finally gained a place alongside the school’s other championship varsity teams.
“We’re the only team who hasn’t been able to hang up a banner in our gymnasium,” said Phelan. “All 16 of us played an equal part in hanging that banner.”
Archbishop Curley Golf - 2026 MIAA B Conference Champions
Also, Annapolis Area Christian School, won a long pursued golf championship in the C Conference, last Thursday, defeating St. John's Catholic Prep, 18.5-2.5, in the championship match at Eisenhower Golf Course. It was the Eagles third C Conference championship, but their first since 2015.