OGEMAW HEIGHTS - THE NIGHTMARE - Sep. 27, 2006 - The Ogemaw Heights golf team was in control of its own destiny Wednesday, knowing it just needed to stay within shouting range of Tawas Area to wrap up its second straight North East Michigan Conference title.

The Falcons did more than that; they defeated the Braves, their top league challenger, by 14 strokes in the 18-hole NEMC final to extend their margin of victory.

Tawas Area's Rick Penman was the match medalist with a score of 76, but the Falcons displayed better overall depth as their top five all finished in the top 15.

Josh Phillips finished in a three-way tie for fifth place on the day, but that was good enough for him to take the individual NEMC title for the second straight year.

Pete VanOosten (2nd, 79), Andy Kish (8th, 83), Danny Elliott (11th, 86) and Rob Kish (13th, 87) rounded out the Falcons' top five.

For Tawas, which held onto its second-place spot, Penman was joined by Conklin and Matt Flory, who tied for fifth with scores of 82.

Pinconning finished third on the afternoon as Andy Schumacher finished tied with Ogemaw's VanOosten in the second spot (79) Phil Ott took 11th (86) and Bob Schultz was 19th (95)

Standish-Sterling took fourth, with Brent Raymond (4th, 81), Justin Goike (10th, 85), Sam Dantuma (18th, 94) and Zach Dziuban (19th, 95) finishing in the top 20.

John Glenn took fifth, led by Chuck Baumer (8th, 83). Osocda took sixth, led by Justin Burke (19th, 95).

SSC's finish allowed the Panthers to finish third for the season in the league, with Glenn and Pinny tying for fourth.

The Falcons boasted three of the top five finishers for the season, earning first-team all-NEMC honors, in Phillips, Andy Kish (3rd place) and VanOosten (5th). SSC had Brent Raymond finish tied with VanOosten for fifth, while Tawas Area had Rick Penman finish second, while Blair Conklin (7th) and Matt Flory (8th) earned second-team all-NEMC, along with SSC's Zach Dziuban (10th) and Pinconning's Adam Schumacher (9th). Glenn's Baumer (4th) was also a first-teamer.

District competition takes place Oct. 5-7, with Ogemaw Heights and Glenn heading to Gaylord in Division 2, while Tawas, SSC, Oscoda and Pinconning head to Gladwin in Division 3.