Goblins Get Behind Leader

Harrison used a bit of inspiration to overcome a day of exasperation and thus enjoy the celebration of winning the 2008 5A State Golf Championship. The title, won on the Golden Goblins' home course at the Harrison Country Club, was the third golf crown for the boys' program, which won back-to-back championships in 1996-97. "I'm so proud of these kids for winning this championship," said sixth-year Harrison coach Don Price. "This has been a work in progress the last three years. We've been runner-up twice and, while we enjoyed that, we certainly weren't content with that. To come out on our golf course and win a state championship ... it doesn't really get any more special than that." The Goblins, who shot a 310 against a blustery day that featured the toughest pin placements ever recorded at the par-70 course, had three players shoot in the 70s. Sophomore Dylan Lovell, who finished runner-up for medalist honors to Little Rock Christian's Jens Talbert (72), shot a 74 while junior Lucas Collins and sophomore Kindall Martin carded identical 78s. Randy May, another junior, was a stroke out of the 70s with an 80 and senior Zac Arnold rounded out the Goblin quintet with an 84. Even though Arnold's 84 didn't count in the team total, it did speak volumes for the team's leader, who labored through the 18 holes while his father rested in a local hospital after suffering a mini-stroke days before the state championship. "I'm sure he had a lot on his mind, but he still battled," said Price. "He was here and he probably didn't have to be, but he chose to stay here and stick it out. I know he was thinking a lot about his dad and we were too as a team." "I was feeling well emotionally and then I started feeling a little down during the week," said Arnold. "I definitely had to block it out because I'm just used to seeing him out there on the course watching me every single time, and then not seeing him there after I would have a bad hole just changed everything." But Arnold, the medalist at this year's 5A-West District Golf Match, persevered, and his younger teammates, who've looked to him all season long for leadership, picked up the slack. "Zac is the heart and soul of our team," said Price. "He didn't play his best, but it's like we talk about, that's why we have teammates. But nobody's a more quality individual than Zac. He's an awesome student, plus he can hit a golf ball a mile. He's going to get a chance to play somewhere. His best golf is still ahead of him." Arnold wasn't the only one dealing with the absence of a loved one. Price's father-in-law, Steve Cavender, owner of the company that makes and distributes Cavender's Greek Seasoning, passed away midway through the golf season - exactly one month before the Goblins' state victory. Cavender was a great source of support for the Goblin golf team and was also a member - along with his father - of the Goblin Athletics Hall of Fame. In the days following Cavender's death, a note was found in his bible that soon became the source of inspiration that pushed the Goblins to the state championship. "It's a picture of Jesus Christ with the words, 'He never said it would be easy, but he said it would be worth it,'" said Price. "That became our motto after Steve passed away. My wife gave every one of those boys a copy of that card and I know a bunch of them carry them still today and that means a lot to me. "I know he's up there looking down on us and I know he's very happy for us and very proud of us." Arnold said the death of their coach's father-in-law "definitely brought us closer as a team." And it showed the team what it could accomplish by buckling down in the face of adversity. "Nothing's guaranteed and life's not easy, but if you work at it and do the right things it's all going to be worth it in the end," said Price. "And this year, as far as state goes, it sure was."