Jackson, Skoff return to lead Franklin Regional boys golf

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, August 14, 2017 | 11:00 PM

The Franklin Regional boys golf team will be looking to build off a 9-3 section record from last season and compete for the section title. They will have two key players returning and lost one.

“Cameron Huffman is one guy we lost to graduation. He was a good leader and was always consistent,” coach Jeff Traphagen said. “But we have a couple of guys with senior Clayton Skoff and junior Palmer Jackson who can lead the way this year, as they did last year, as well.”

“We have a lot of good, young talent returning to the team this year,” Jackson said. “We play in a tough section, so we are excited to see where we measure up against the guys at Fox Chapel and Central Catholic.”

Jackson is coming off of a strong sophomore season, placing first in the Section 4-AAA qualifier, shooting a 66 with a target score of 82 at Willowbrook Country Club. He went on to finish 11th at the WPIAL championship at Oakmont Country Club, while Skoff finished 24th.

“It was tough to get there, and I hope to be able to do some of the same this year,” Jackson said.

“Golf is an any-given-day-type game. If you miss a couple of shots it can come back to bite you. So I just focus on taking it one round at a time and hope the experience from last year can help me down the stretch.”

Traphagen had some high praise for the junior.

“The mental game and the confidence are a major key to his success. He is constantly playing, so his consistency is always there,” Traphagen said. “He is constantly working on his game, playing in tournaments and working on other courses. Last year, mainly focusing on bunkers and fairways and he executed.”

They recognize they play in one of the better sections in the WPIAL and embrace the challenge of that kind of competition. Both have their eyes set on making the playoffs this year and going from there.

“I think if we make the playoffs we will be in good shape,” Traphagen said. “If we can get through the toughest section in the WPIAL, we will like our chances and be confident that we can take our games to the next level.”

“Right now, our focus is winning whatever matchup is in front of us,” Jackson said. “The goal is always to win, whether it is WPIAL or states, but we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. We are all on the same page, just taking our games round by round and continuing to get better every day.”

The Panthers will start the season with a matchup against Greensburg Salem on Thursday at Meadowink Golf Course.

Cody Scott is a freelance writer.

Tags: Franklin Regional