Central High School’s varsity golf team faced Randolph-Henry High School twice last week, and though the Chargers did not add more wins against the Statesmen to the historic one they achieved Aug. 21, they still showed they are strongly in contention for a James River District Championship.

Thursday’s match at Lunenburg Country Club was as close as they get, with Randolph-Henry winning by a stroke, shooting a 165. In a distant third behind Central’s 166 was Buckingham County High School with a 203.

“They all played solid,” Chargers Head Coach Richard McDaniel said of his team’s golfers. “They did what it takes to get there, just came up a little short.”

Joseph McDaniel led the way for Central with a 39, tying with Statesmen senior Larkin Jackson for the lowest individual score of the match. Rounding out the Chargers’ score, Cole Williams shot a 41, Thomas McDaniel shot a 42 and Hogan Whitlow recorded a 44.

On Sept. 4 at Briery Country Club, Randolph-Henry prevailed with a 158, Central placed second with a 164, and Liberty Christian Academy placed third with a 190.

In this match, both Williams and Joseph McDaniel shot 39s, while Thomas McDaniel and Whitlow shot 43s.

“The competition is good for them, especially going into the late part of the season where we advance to the region, and you don’t even know what you’re going to face there,” Coach McDaniel said. “So I think the competition’s been good, it’s been fun.”

Central entered this week with an overall record of 17-3, and it is 15-1 in district, with only one loss to the Statesmen counting against the district record.

McDaniel explained that the other two losses don’t count “because the other two matches that we played in were basically matches with Randolph-Henry and another non-district opponent, and they were not district matches on the schedule.

It is unclear due to Hurricane Florence if Central will play in any seeded matches this week, but it is scheduled to play in the district tournament Monday at Kinderton Country Club in Clarksville.