After making one par after another, 15 in all, during Tuesday's West Region golf tournament at Hawktree Golf Club, Century's Kavin Dvorak relished the opportunity to take on Williston's B.J. Mahar in a playoff.

"Playoffs are fun," Dvorak said. "It's a chance to make birdie."

Dvorak had only one of those in his first 18 holes, but he picked up his second on the first extra one, draining a 15-footer to claim medalist honors over Mahar.

The Century junior, who shot a 74, said he has taken part in a number of playoffs, losing only one, and he enjoys them.

"The pressure's off," he said. "It's just you and the other guy."

Century fell just a bit short of crosstown rival Bismarck for the team title. The Demons finished with a 309, the Patriots 311.

Bismarck, which has been the West's top team most of the season, got good scores from up and down its lineup. Casey Gleich, who was named the West Region senior athlete of the year, led the way with a 76. Oliver Boeckel and Jordan Bosch each checked in at 77, while Austin Gunderson carded a 79.

That qualified all four as individuals for next week's state tournament - 80 and below made the grade. The top six teams also qualified.

"I was pleased with all the guys, the way they played,"Bismarck coach Mike Bichler said. "The conditions were not the greatest. The greens weren't the greatest, because they just plugged them.

"… It was important to play well today and go into the state tournament with a higher seed,"he added. "It's an advantage that I didn't want to lose out on."

Dvorak certainly seems to be hitting his stride at the right time. The West Region victory was second in a row.

"I'm finally playing a little bit better and getting some wins," he said.

Dvorak was incredibly consistent on Tuesday. He had one double-bogey on No. 4, a birdie on 7, and a bogey on 12. The rest were all pars, the most important coming on the 344-yard No. 6.

"Right after I made double on (No. 5), I had a 20-footer for par that I made,"he said. "That was kind of important."

Mahar, a freshman, shot a 40 on the front nine. But strong putting carried him to a 34 on the back nine.

"The first nine holes was a little sketchy, but the back nine Ibirdied four out of my first seven,"Mahar said. "… On the back nine I made a lot of nice putts for par and for birdie."

Mahar came into the playoff with some momentum, sinking a 25-footer on No. 17 to save par.

The playoff started on No. 18, a 513-yard hole with a dogleg right. Both players hit their drives left, Mahar into a sand trap, and Dvorak into some tall native grass.

"First bad drive Ihit all day,"Dvorak said.

It didn't hurt Dvorak a bit. He drilled a 7-iron about 165 yards, to within about 60 of the hole.

"I had a pretty good lie," Dvorak said. "It actually went a lot farther than Ithought it would."

Mahar had a tougher lie in the sand, but hit a 4-iron into the middle of the fairway about 110 yards out.

Both players made the green with their third shots, but Mahar was about 30 feet from the pin, and Dvorak about half that distance.

Mahar was a few feet short with his birdie putt, while Dvorak hit his dead solid perfect.

"I'd been leaving them short all day, but it was right in the middle, it got to the hole and went in,"Dvorak said.

Although he came up short, Mahar was pleased to be in contention for medalist honors for the first time.

"I don't really feel like I could have done anything different in the playoff," he said. "I was hitting the ball good. He made birdie, and I didn't."

Team Scores

1. Bismarck 309. 2. Century 311. 3. Dickinson 328. 4. Mandan 329. 5. St. Mary's 334. 6. Minot 338. 7. Turtle Mountain 345. 8. Williston 365. 9. Jamestown 374.

Individual Results

Top 10

1. Kavin Dvorak, Cen, 74 (won playoff). 2. B.J. Mahar, Wil, 74. 3. Branden Boff, Man, 75. 4. (tie) Casey Gleich, Bis, and Jack Bietz, Cen, 76. 6. (tie) Oliver Boeckel, Bis and Jordan Bosch, Bis, 77. 8. (tie)Austin Gunderson, Bis; Rob McLeod, Cen; Jake Deforest, SM; and Cody Duchscherer, Min, 79.

By Team

Bismarck (309):CaseyGleich 76, Oliver Boeckel 77, Jordan Bosch 77, Austin Gunderson 79, Brittian Bentz 82, Taylor Klundt 90.

Century (311):KavinDvorak 74, Jack Bietz 76, Rob McLeod 79, Matt Menge 82, Peter Pomonis 85, Sam Carlson 86.

Dickinson (328):Chandler Pender 80, Jarl Abrahamson 81, Cole Baker 81, Tanner Halter 86, John O'Brien 90, Mike Malkowski 94.

Mandan (329): Branden Boff 75, Colter Schwagler 81, Ethan Marcellais 85, Chris Neubauer 88, Coulee Luger 88, Taylor Bohn 99.

St. Mary's (334):Jake Deforest 79, Davis Becker 84, Michael Gilchrist 84, Tanner Megal 87, Casey Dohm 88, Josh McCormick 90.

Minot (338):Cody Duchscherer 79, Ian Visina 80, Ryan Rasanen 89, Devin Blada 90, Rand Hammer 91. Brendan Dick 93.

Turtle Mountain (345):Nevin Gillis 80, JohnRoss Desjarlais 83, Laramie Keplin 87, Jade Malaterre 95, Zach Hall 98, Weston Poitra 99.

Williston (365): B.J. Mahar 74, McCade Evanson 95, Ryan Jessen 96, Nate Smith 100, Robby Keehn 104, Derek Anderson 113.

Jamestown (374):Blake Harris 84, Miles Traiser 85, Nick Graves 88, Matt Graves 117, Mitch Smyth 118, Brandon Stahlhut 122.

n NOTE:The top six teams qualify for the state tournament. All players who shot 80 or better qualify as individuals.

Awards

Senior athlete of the year:Casey Gleich, Bismarck.

Coach of the year:Lynn Gress, Century.