Willard bowlers refuse to be knocked down
Shelby wouldn’t go quietly in their bid to spoil the Willard’s bowling Senior Night.
The Whippet varsity boys outscored the Flashes by 141 pins over the first three games of Bakers, turning a 105-pin deficit into a 36-pin lead, only to see Willard (21-1) mount a comeback in the fourth and final game-outscoring Shelby, 161-118, to pull out an air-tight 2,207-2,200 victory Tuesday night at Dynasty Lanes.
Willard’s all-senior Round One line-up opened with an 892 first game, but cooled off in the ensuing game, dropping to a 765, which opened the door for Shelby to begin their comeback effort. Trailing by 126 after the opener, the Whippets chipped 21 pins off in Game Two, before opening Bakers with a 204 game and outscoring Willard, 530389, over the first three Bakers for a 2,082-2,046 advantage.
Chase Daniel was the lone Crimson Flash to throw above his average on the evening (+4), as he led WHS with a 367 series. Trent Mock opened with a 201 and finished with a 341 series, while Dylan Thompson and Austin Wallace chipped in with series totals of 330 and 325, respectively.
Caleb Ousley notched a 155 game and Bryce Dials bowled his first varsity game of the season and added a 139.
The Whippets were led by Payton Montgomery’s 357 series that finished with a 198 second game. Phil Snipes added a 324 and Kaden Cirata tallied a 321. Tyson Adkins tacked on a 297 series and Nate Rietschlin (136) combined with an SHS team game (117) for 253.
Willard won the varsity girls match, as well, 1,799-1,520, as Kendall Kelley remained red-hot in her recent play for the Lady Flashes. She scored a match-best 340 series, scoring 48 pins above her average on the night. Senior Carissa Metcalfe added a 329, while Erica Barclay finished 22 pins above average with a 324 series.
The Lady Whippets did have a 300-plus series night, as Arica Uplinger and Julia Auck led the way at 283 and 273, respectively.
Willard (17-1) established a 236-pin lead after Round One, as seniors Harmony Kidd and Tilly Ott added series totals of 249 and 243, respectively.
Allison Russell finished with a 246 for Shelby, while Ashley Huber and Breana Brickly rounded out the scoring at 232 and 210.
The two teams split the junior varsity contests, with the WHS boys wrapping up an udefeated 11-0 campaign, behind a 1,772-1,601 win over the Whippets.
Ian Mcclanahan (+12) and Ben Martinus (+10) led the effort for Willard with series of 317 and 312. Mason Hunt and Lucas Yeagley bumped down to make room for the seniors to all compete with the varsity on the night and added series scores of 285 apiece.
Ethan Rodriguez and Landon Henry tallied single-game totals of 116 and 98 for the Flashes.
Shelby’s top series was a split 267 between Sam Vousden (155) and Russell Cole (112). The Whippets did outscore Willard, 424-359, over three Bakers.
The Lady Whippets junior varsity came away with an 836-764 win. They led by 74 pins after Round One and were only edged by two over two games of Bakers.
Ava Deel and Emma Steinmetz tallied series of 209 and 208 for the Lady Flashes, finishing 12 and 19 pins above their averages. Mika Damian added a 159.
Gracie Rietschlin led all bowlers with a 241 series. Khayla Yeager added a 224.