HOULTON – Although they’re the defending Class C state champions, the members of the Houlton High School golf team know they’ve got a tough season ahead if they want to get back to that point this year.

Not only did the Shiretowners graduate three of the golfers who scored at the 2006 team championship competition, but Houlton is moving back up to Class B.

The Shires won Class B titles in 1990 and 1993 (in a tie with Greely of Cumberland Center), but the school’s enrollment was a little bigger then.

“It’s going to be very tough to compete against those teams that have a lot more kids than we do, if we’re lucky enough to make it [to states],” said coach Bruce Nason. “We’re just going to focus on the regionals first. When we get there, we’ll see what happens.”

Still, the players have high hopes for the season, which they hope includes the Oct. 6 state championships.

“It’s the same thing as last year,” lone senior Max Rush said of the team’s goals. “The same should be expected in Class B.”

Houlton is 3-1 with wins over Hermon, Mattanawcook of Lincoln and Orono, and a close loss to Presque Isle in which the Wildcats scored a 173 to edge the Shiretowners by three strokes.

Houlton graduated three seniors who scored at states last year, which leaves just Porter Gervais and Dylan Flewelling back from the title team.

As expected, Gervais has been Houlton’s top golfer so far this year – although his brother, freshman Ian Gervais, is right behind him and was the medalist with a 39 against MA at the par-36 Houlton Community Golf Club.

Porter Gervais led the field at the 2006 Class C team state championship at Natanis Golf Course in Vassalboro with a 4-over 76 on the Tomahawk course. He also finished in a seven-way tie for seventh place at the Class C individual championships last fall.

“He can be the leader,” Nason said. “He plays very well. He’s seen a big improvement in terms of playing safe. He’s playing a lot smarter this year.

Nason said the brothers played junior golf this year, which provided them with some good competition. Porter Gervais said he knows the pressure’s on him as the No. 1.

“Playing in B this year, I’m just going to set my standards high and see where I can go,” said Gervais, who lives next to the course in Houlton and played almost every day, weather permitting, this summer. “I’m going to [focus on] the team obviously and if I make it to individual [states] I’ll go from there.”

Ian Gervais is playing in the No. 2 spot, followed by Flewelling at No. 3, Greg Foster in the No. 4 position and Rush at No. 5. Ashley Cleary, who was ninth in the all-class individual schoolgirl championships last year, is the No. 6 golfer.

The change in classification has led to a change in schedule, with more Class B teams like Orono, MA, Hermon, Old Town and MDI.

Nason was pleased with the 169 Houlton carded in the win against Orono at the Red Riots’ home Penobscot Valley Country Club.

“I was really happy going down to PVCC and shooting that score on that difficult course,” he said. “It’s very tough. Things are hard and firm, and it’s difficult to putt.”

The Shiretowners and Trojans will play later in the month, meeting at Jato Highlands in Lincoln. It’s a chance to play at the site of the Sept. 27 Penobscot Valley Conference championship, which is used as the regional qualifying tournament for states, in a competitive situation and not just a practice round.

“It’s obviously going to be harder to score well on these harder courses but I think it’s just a good challenge,” Porter Gervais said.

Although most of the courses at which the Shires play are longer than their home course, Houlton has its own challenges.

“The greens are slower and softer,” Flewelling said. “But you can get in a lot of trouble if you go out of bounds or get into the rough. You have to keep it in the fairway.”

Both Jato and Houlton have elevated greens, Flewelling added, so the Shires have some experience in those situations.

But the Shiretowners still have several weeks of the regular season before PVCs. In that time, Houlton students will be out of school for the potato harvest break.

The golf team isn’t taking much time off – after the Sept. 14 release date Houlton has four matches in addition to PVCs.

The busy schedule is fine with Nason as it’ll keep the players’ skills up.

“It won’t be much of a vacation, but once you get going you don’t want to stop,” he said. “You need to keep playing.”

Jessica Bloch can be reached at 990-8193, 1-800-310-8600 or jbloch@bangordailynews.net.