At East Penn Conference (EPC) golf tournament Monday, Liberty sat in fifth place, Freedom was seventh among the top eight teams at Olde Homestead Golf Course.

Liberty’s Jase Barker was third overall with an opening-round 75, and teammate Matt Ronca was 10th with an 80. Paul Erfle netted a 90.

Freedom’s Louis Pagano was 11th with an 80. Bethlehem Catholic’s Ralston Rowland had an 81, Nick Hoffman carted an 85, George Pavis had an 89, and Derek Ostrosky had a 92.

Liberty head coach Steve Bradley’s Hurricanes finished with an overall 10-5 season record, beating Freedom in a tight battle, 397-402. Bradley noted that Erfle’s 73 was the key to the victory. He also watched four golfers notch a district berth.

The Hurricanes won the league and districts the previous three seasons.

“Jase Barker has been playing really well, and his last rounds were 73, 73, 69, 80, 73, and 75. Adma Unangst averaged an 80 for the season and qualified for districts, and he joined Jase Barker, Paul Erfle and Matt Ronca. Barker should make states again for the third straight season.

“They’re pumped for the postseason.”

Freedom also finished with a 10-5 record. Head coach Mike Evans liked his team’s chances to finish among the top five teams in the EPC tournament, but the Patriots fell short. Pagano, Hoffman, and Dhruv Patel qualified for districts. Shayla Ames will play in the girls’ division.

“We were challenged by a fairly tough course,” said Evans. “The goal was to finish in the top five, and we were seventh. We had a silver lining in Louie Pagano finishing 11th.

“We had a tough loss to Liberty,” said Evans. Nick Hoffman and Louie Pagano played well for us all season. The team has consistently put up scores from 405-420 all season.”