Thursday, October 1, 2026
The South Side golf team finally overthrew the mighty Trojans for its first conference championship in over a decade. But it will take some time to see if it will translate to that long-awaited county title.
South Side finished tied atop the Conference 5 standings with Garden City at 11-1 and the teams split the two regular-season meetings, but South Side was declared the champs by virtue of having a lower team stroke average during the season. The program has never won a county title.
Garden City dominated the first meeting, 9-0, on Sept. 18, but the rematch proved to be the turning point for both teams’ seasons as the Cyclones snapped the Trojans’ 60-plus game winning streak that dated to 2019 with a 6.5-2.5 victory at the Rockville Links on Sept. 26.
“We had a pretty close match with them last year, so the kids were out to make sure we beat them this year,” South Side coach Russ Hoernig said. “We had one of the best seasons in school history, so everyone is excited.”
South Side then swept Oceanside and Freeport to seal its first solo conference championship since 2012 before sharing the crown in 2016. The Cyclones posted a combined score of 177 against Freeport at Bethpage State Park on Oct. 8 to break the school record and the team’s season average of 190.5 was the second-lowest all-time.
Unfortunately, that momentum will be halted as the simultaneous county and individual championships won’t be contested until May of 2025. South Side will be looking to qualify for the second day of the eight-team county event for the first time in over a decade.
“I’m worried about the rust,” Hoernig said. “I’m hoping I could get those top three kids, those All-County kids, to qualify for Day 2. I think, if they’re locked in, they shouldn’t have a problem doing that. I think that would be an accomplishment for us.”
Those kids are seniors Scott Bernabeu and Danny Daitch and sophomore Ryan Bernabeu. Scott Bernabeu, who Hoernig called the team’s “MVP”, paced the squad with a 36.4 scoring average (all competitors play nine holes in a match), including a season-best two under par in a 9-0 win over Mineola on Sept. 6.
“He probably was the most locked in I’ve ever seen a player be since I’ve taken over as coach,” Hoernig said. “I think he only has two rounds over par the whole season. He was literally on fire.”
Daitch has had his share of under par performances as well and finished with a 37.3 scoring average. A member of the team for three years, Daitch is the consummate perfectionist who is always trying to improve his game despite playing at an All-County level even last season.
Ryan Bernabeu (38.1) became the first sophomore to earn All-County honors in nearly a decade. Junior James Gilbert (39.3 average) was an All-County Honorable Mention and senior Nick Johnson (40.3) was an All-Conference selection.
Hoernig also lauded the play of senior Gavin Donoghue (39.6) and junior Matt Regan (42.2).
