MANCHESTER — The only time Hooksett's Austin Fox and Amherst's Chase Dembisky have met in match play, Fox posted a 1-up victory to win the Intermediate Division of last year's Red Ryan CYO Golf Tournament. Dembisky will have a chance to even the score Thursday morning.

Fox and Dembisky each won two matches Wednesday to advance to the semifinals of the 55th annual Red Ryan CYO Golf Tournament's Intermediate Division (under 19) at Derryfield Country Club. The players are scheduled to tee off Thursday morning at 8.

“It's gonna be fun,” Dembisky said. “That match against Austin last year. ...I gave it away. I was 4-up through 12 holes, then I just started hitting bad shots. I gave two holes away and then he started playing better.

“I've gotta be more consistent (to win today) and then I gotta make putts, as always.”

Fox, who graduated from Manchester Central, will have the edge in course knowledge, since the Central golf team uses Derryfield as its home course.

“The other two Manchester schools — Memorial and West — used Derryfield too, so I'd say I probably played one out of three (high school) matches on this course,” Fox said.

“I just have to play smart. I probably won't hit a lot of drivers, especially if it's as windy as it is today. I'll try to play as close as I can to the (100-yard marker). The only time I made birdies today is when I had to hit from about 80 yards to 110 yards. I'm real comfortable with that distance.

“I don't expect either of us to play bad. I think it'll come down to whoever makes more birdies. I don't expect pars to win holes tomorrow.”

► Red Ryan CYO Tournament website.

Dembisky, 18, played four years of varsity golf at Souhegan High School, and will play college golf at Division II Mars Hill College in Mars Hill, N.C. He shot a 2-under-par 68 during Monday's round of stroke play to earn medalist honors in the Intermediate Division.

Fox, 19, attends New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord. He plays on the golf team at NHTI.

“Some of the [college] players at that level have never played golf before,” Fox explained. “My first college golf match we were playing at Loudon and I had a putt on the first hole. I asked my opponent to pull the pin, and he's like, 'Oh, you don't putt with the pins in?' There's been a lot of teaching, but it's been a good experience overall.”

Bedford's Dylan Cowette will face Chesterfield's C.J. Konkowski in the Intermediate Division's other semifinal.

There will be a new champion in the Junior Division (under 16), as John Cook, the No. 16 seed, eliminated top-seeded Joseph Bowker — last year's Junior Division champion – in Tuesday's morning round of match play. Jake Rand, who played golf at Bow High School, knocked off Cook, 4 and 3, in the quarterfinals Tuesday afternoon.

Another notable upset occurred in the Junior Division when 15th-seeded Macky Seppala defeated second-seeded Douglass Champagne, 3 and 2, Tuesday morning. Champagne, a 13-year-old Bow resident, was the medalist in the Junior Division. Champagne's late birthday made him eligible to compete in the Mite Division (under 13), but he opted to play up.

The three players who shared medalist honors in the Mite Division — Eric Keilty, Ryan Fitzgerald and Michael Kesselring — each advanced to today's semifinals. Each player shot 41 during a nine-hole round on Monday.

Ian MacDonald won last year's Mite Division championship, but was not eligible to compete at that level this year. MacDonald was eliminated from the Junior Division's First Flight following a loss in Monday's quarterfinals.

Two rounds of match play are scheduled in each division today.

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Roger Brown may be reached at rbrown@unionleader.com.