STRUTHERS — A day that didn’t start on a positive note for the McKinley High School boys bowling team ended with a big win over a Federal League rival.
The Bulldogs, who had transportation problems at the start of their journey to Holiday Bowl, earned the No. 1 seed following qualifying and stopped Hoover 2-1 in the title match of the 14th annual Super Bowl Blowout.
In the girls division, Perry’s four-year reign as tournament champions came to an end as Boardman earned a 2-0 win over the Panthers.
The tournament featured a format of 15 qualifying Baker System games, with the top five in each division of the 32-team field advancing to a best-of-three stepladder finals.
STUCK BUT NOT DERAILED
McKinley almost didn’t make it to Struthers after their bus got stuck in a snowbank in a parking lot near the high school.
“Even when it happened, we knew we would get here,” McKinley head coach Kim Heaton said. “We just told them then to have fun. I didn’t care if we bowled a 131 game.
“We just marked up, hyped up and rolled our game. That was our whole mentality coming in.”
The Bulldogs, despite games in the 140s and 150s, never fell lower than second during qualifying en route to topping the field with 2,958 total pinfall, an average of 197.2, and 29 pins ahead of second-place Hoover.
Perry, the No. 5 seed entering the stepladder finals, opened championship round play with a 2-1 win over Fairport Harbor Harding. The Panthers had games of 212-163-247 to the Skippers’ 193-238-181. Neither team won a game on the right lane.
In the quarterfinals, Perry stopped Pennsylvania state champion and No. 3 seed North Allegheny again 2-1, with the Panthers rolling games of 171-176-199 to their opponents’ 199-159-186.
But in the semifinals, the second-seeded Vikings stopped the Panthers’ run 2-0, rolling games of 204-195 to Perry’s 169-174, and setting up a rematch of the Park Centre Holiday Tournament, also won by the Bulldogs.
“The boys came out of the gates the first eight or nine games and did a good job on the condition. Basically, we got a little tired,” Hoover head coach Jeff Sabella said. “We are going to be working on some physical conditioning heading into the tournaments.”
McKinley opened the final match with a 245-192 win in Game 1. Despite having a pair of open frames, the Bulldogs struck on every other shot.
“We had a couple of big 240 and 250 games in qualifying and a few clean games,” Heaton said. “We didn’t think it was a bad shot on the title pair. There was still plenty of oil in the middle, which is to our favor. We just had to adjust from the outside in and I think we did that.”
After Hoover bounced back with a 212-178 win in Game 2, the Bulldogs shot 200 the final game to the Vikings’ 174 with Zach McCutcheon striking out in the 10th frame for McKinley.
“When you are not well-conditioned physically and tired, you break under pressure,” Sabella said. “The ones in better condition under pressure will get it done.
“The boys were doing a good job of keeping their mechanics in line, staying behind the ball, showing good timing and hitting their marks, It wasn’t until the last two games of Bakers in qualifying that they waned a little bit. But I’m happy with the performance and I think we can build on it. We’re looking forward to sectionals.”
As for McKinley, the Bulldogs have won three tournaments this season and — for the first time since the Holiday Tournament — are back to full strength for the stretch run.
“This is an indication of what we can be. It’s been a struggle the last few matches,” Heaton said. “Hopefully, it will continue.”
PANTHERS FALL SHORT
In the girls division, Boardman was simply dominant.
The Spartans’ qualifying total pinfall (2,949) would have put them second in the boys division overall en route to the No. 1 seed.
“They just adapted so well today. When the lanes would break down, they would simply adjust,” Boardman girls coach Justine Cullen said. “They were really in their spots today. They were something special.”
During the final six games of qualifying, the Spartans had games of 245, 213, 215 and a finale — and tournament girls high — of 255 en route to averaging 196.6.
“The first half, we struggled a little and couldn’t quite find our rhythm. But then I changed the lineup around a little and the girls caught fire and executed great,” Cullen said. “The second half of Bakers in qualifying was the best we’ve bowled this year.”
The Panthers, who were the No. 2 seed after finishing 181 pins behind the Spartans, stopped home-standing No. 4 seeded Struthers 2-1 in the semifinals. Perry had games of 200-154-217 to the Wildcats’ 195-201-146.
“They are a good team and they don’t make a lot of mistakes,” said Perry head coach Joe Altimore III,, who has now lost two of three final matches to the Spartans this season in tournament play. “It’s the same scenario we’ve mentioned before. Teams that over-end the ball when the lanes break down will have a pretty big advantage.
“We had a fairly decent day. We’re going to miss spares; no one is perfect. But the problem is, you can’t dig a hole and miss spares.”
In the title match, the Spartans had games of 202-201 to stop Perry’s 160-181.
“This was big. We’ve been wanting to get into an all-Baker tournament all season because that is our biggest weakness,” Cullen said. “To get a win in this way and shooting numbers like that is going to make us feel so good going into the postseason.”
In the opening stepladder match, Struthers stopped Hoover 2-0 with games of 143-156 to the Vikings’ 113-121. The Wildcats (180-183) then came back to stop No. 3 seed Central Catholic (158-145) again in two games.
The Crusaders finished with a total pinfall of 2,407, 361 pins behind Perry. Hoover finished with 2,209 as the No. 5 seed.
Perry now must prepare for tough February, including two matches with Federal co-leader Green.
“We have two three-match weeks and two other matches to make up after sectionals due to postponements. Unfortunately, the back end of our schedule is loaded,” Altimore said. “But I wouldn’t trade any of my kids for anyone else. We are that committed.
“I’ve always said we will learn more from our losses than our wins.”
NOTEBOOK: The tournament oil pattern was a 41-foot district pattern that will be used during OHSAA district play this season. Holiday Bowl is host for the Division II district. … The tournament started about 10 minutes late awaiting McKinley’s late arrival. There were 32 teams in the field. Other area teams included Louisville’s boys and girls and Central’s boys, but totals were not available at this writing. … East Canton and Carrollton pulled out of the event early Saturday due to transportation issues. … The high boys game was 297 by North Allegheny (Pa.).