While veteran standouts Brian Haskell, Brad Nurski and Harry Roberts recorded comfortable victories, a pair of Missouri Western teammates gave St. Joseph five qualifiers for the match play round of 32 at Missouri Amateur Championship.

Benton graduate Caleb Carter and Central graduate Dan Crawford each overcame some miscues on the backside to win their matchups Thursday afternoon at St. Joseph Country Club. Carter defeated Ryan Weinhaus of Chesterfield 2-and-1 then returned to the course to watch Crawford.

Just a case of one Griffon supporting another.

“We’re same team; it’s like brothers. We take care of each other and give each other more crap than you can think of,” said Crawford, a junior-to-be who beat Webb City’s Severiano Smith 2-and-1.

Playing in the Missouri Amateur for the first time, Carter led 3-up going to 13 but dropped that hole and the next one to Weinhaus. Carter immediately reestablished a comfortable lead by winning No. 15 to go 2-up before halving the final two holes.

Carter held few expectations entering the week, deciding to make a qualifying try earlier this month only because of the hometown locale.

“I didn’t think I made the qualifier to make it here,” said Carter, a senior-to-be at Western who plans to play the first semester for the Griffons before entering the school’s police academy, “and I figured I’d just try to shoot 150 (in stroke play) and try to get in. That’s exactly what I shot. I didn’t really expect to win this match either. My expectations were fairly low, playing in this event for the first time.”

Crawford led 3-up at the turn against Smith before his Missouri Southern rival came back to win holes 12, 13 and 14 to even the match. Crawford immediately answered with a birdie to go back 1-up then finished the match with a birdie at the par-5 17th to close out Smith.

Playing in match play for the first time in his three trips to the Missouri Amateur, Crawford managed to overcome his mid-round stumbles and earn some confidence.

“It was comfortable coming into the last three holes,” Crawford said. “Anything can happen on 17 and 18. I had to have a lead going into it.”

But Crawford and Carter were the lone locals to survive the morning tee times.

Nurski dominated Brad Boan 5-and-3, Roberts scorched past Jesse Helms 7-and-5, and Haskell breezed past Lowell Catron 5-and-4. All three of those golfers are on the same side of the bracket but don’t meet in today’s second round or the afternoon third round.

The earliest potential matchup would be between Roberts and Haskell in the quarterfinals, set for Saturday morning.

St. Joseph’s Mark Korell (4-and-2 to Springfield’s Kevin Kring), Mitch Girres (4-and-3 to Golden City’s Brian Whittle) and Greg Diederich lost their opening-round matches, but Diederich provided some afternoon drama.

Playing against perennial contender Skip Berkmeyer of St. Louis, Diederich fell behind 2-down after two holes with help from an out-of-bounds tee shot with the driver on No. 1. The Central graduate recovered to draw even after winning Nos. 4 and 5 but would never lead.

The matchup proved poignant and intense for two players with a history.

Berkmeyer and Diederich met in the round of 32 during the 2006 Missouri Amateur and went into the 16th hole tied. Diederich made birdie to take an apparent lead until Berkmeyer called a penalty stroke on Diederich for his caddie standing behind Bermeyer while he attempted a putt.

Diederich automatically lost the hole, and Berkmeyer went on to win the match.

“For the first three holes, there wasn’t a lot said between the two of us,” Diederich said of Thursday’s atmosphere. “It was very awkward for the first five holes.”

Berkmeyer led 2-up entering 16, but a deep-left tee shot left him mired in the rough, and Diederich won the hole to pull within one and two to play. Berkmeyer reached the par-5 17th in two while Diederich’s third shot flew the green and settled into the rough.

Diederich’s chip rolled down the hill and appeared to go in the left side of the hole before spinning around the cup and spitting out on the right side.

“The ball disappeared, the whole ball,” Diederich said. “I thought I jarred it.”

Berkmeyer made a routine two-putt to close out the hole and the match then gave Diederich a pat on the back and apologized for the circumstances of their previous matchup.