PERRY TWP. — Boardman High School’s boys were looking for a chance to reach match play during Saturday’s Muskingum University Invitational at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes.
Green’s girls had a lot more in mind.
“Our goal coming in here was to win,” Bulldogs senior Marissa Perrine said.
Both accomplished their goals in the 46-team field that included 23 teams in each division.
The tournament format was three regular games and three Baker System games during qualifying before each division was cut to the top eight teams for best-of-three Baker System matches by seed.
GREEN TOPS GIRLS
With three players scoring in the top individually and earning all-tournament team honors, Green moved up one spot after finishing second during last week’s Panther Challenge in Norton to claim its first tourney title of the season.
“They did just excellent all day. They used their early momentum and took it through the rest of the day,” Green head coach Eydie Snowberger said. “We were grinding. We wanted this one so bad after last week.
“I don’t know if the coaches wanted it more they they did. This is the kind of momentum we need to take us through.”
The Bulldogs, who were fourth after Game 1 of the three regular games during qualifying, rolled 1,100 in Game 2 to jump into the lead as senior Marissa Perrine shot 247, her sister, sophomore Madison, added 238 and sophomore Layla Nicholas shot 246.
All three girls made the all-tourney team, with Marissa Perrine finishing as the top female for the second week in a row with a 660 series. Madison Perrine added 606 and Nickolas had 585.
“This was very big for us. We’ve bonded together more than I’ve seen the last four years,” Marissa Perrine said. “The shot was there for me, but it was more the mental game than the physical.
“Our goal was to win, and that’s what we did.”
Green ended up with the No. 1 seed with 2,777 total pinfall, finishing 129 pins ahead of second-place Nordonia. The Bulldogs did not lose a game during the best-of-three Baker System match play, stopping No. 8 seed Akron Hoban, No. 5 seed East Canton and No. 6 seed Tallmadge in the title match.
Tallmadge had a chance to take Game 1 of the championship match, but failed to convert a 7-pin spare in the 10th frame en route to a 156-148 loss. The Bulldogs then rolled 221-133 in Game 2.
“I think they were thinking a little too much in that first game against Tallmadge,” Snowberger said. “Being able to pull that out gave them all the push they needed and they took off from there.
“I’m just amazed at how good they are. When one is struggling, the others are there to pick them up.”
Tallmadge was led in qualifying by Makayla Legg’s 591 series, which also qualified her for the all-tourney team.
The Bulldogs also remain unbeaten in the Stark County High School Bowling Conference.
FROM NO. 8 TO TITLE
Boardman senior Dan Enright needed three strikes in the 10th frame of the final qualifying Baker System game to forge a tie and force a rolloff with Medina for the final spot in match play with 3,309.
In the ninth and 10th frame rolloff, Enright tied his Medina opponent with 28, forcing a second rolloff. This time, sophomore Donny Bagdassarian earned a 40-26 win to keep the Spartans’ hopes alive.
“I think after winning that rolloff, we just started throwing the ball with more confidence,” Boardman boys coach John Lucansky said. “Everyone was getting excited and they fed off each other. We bowled great throughout those matches.”
The Spartans swept past No. 1 seed Perry (shooting 246 and 231, their high Bakers of the day by 50 pins) and No. 4 seed Tallmadge in best-of-three Baker matches before claiming the title with a 2-0 win over No. 6 seed Mansfield Senior.
“Honestly, this was a team effort. No one really had outstanding sets today, but when we needed a big shot out of somebody, they stepped up and did it,” Lucansky said. “We have a mix of everything … guys that can rev the ball up and kids with a little less rev rates that work out later in events like this.”
The Spartans’ roster has just two seniors to go along with three sophomore and three freshmen. Nicholas Morar led the Spartans with a 592 series and Austin Rule added 586.
The Spartans also finished second at the Division I Kickoff Classic in Columbus to start the season, also a confidence booster.
“We had a couple of freshmen out there for the first time, and to have the confidence to throw like that in that kind of tourney early is super special,” Lucansky said of the Kickoff runner-up finish. “It just gives us more confidence.”
Mansfield also had a shot in Game 1, falling 233-213, before losing 216-161 in Game 2.
But the Tygers had their moment earlier when Davion Wilson shot the first 300 in the team’s seven-year history during Game 2 en route to all-tournament team honors. It was the lone 300 of the event.
“We played together, and that was impressive to see,” Mansfield head coach John Grant said. “When one kid was down, the other kid go up. In our other matches, we were able to jump out in front of everyone and it just fueled our energy the rest of the day.”
Grant said when the program began in 2015, the school district made him keep everyone who showed up for tryouts — 50 students.
“And I was doing it by myself then. The second year, we lost our bowling center and had to move to Lex Lanes,” said Grant, whose team is in the Ohio Cardinal Conference. “But we’ve been steady, around 30 kids for both boys and girls, every year since. We’ve been solid.”
NOTEBOOK: This is one of four tournaments sponsored by Muskingum University. The second is Dec. 17 in Coshocton, followed by Jan. 16 in Wilmington and Jan. 28 in Heath. … The oil pattern was the OHSAA sectional and district pattern for the 2023 tournaments. It is standard for all sectional and district events. … United Local’s Ethan Hively had the day’s top series with 719, including a high game of 276 in Game 1. He finished one pin ahead of Nordonia’s Bryce Lewin (703). In addition to Wilson’s 300, Perry’s Evan Nave shot 288. … Perry led the boys division after qualifying with 3,666, 43 pins ahead of Nordonia. Tallmadge was the lone boys team from the top four to survive the first round of match play. .. Marissa Perrine turned in the top girls individual game with 247, one pin ahead of teammate Nickolas.
MUSKINGUM INVITATIONAL
(At AMF Hall of Fame Lanes)
BOYS
Quarterfinal match play (best-of-three Baker System): Boardman d. Perry 2-0; Nordonia d. Lake 2-1; Mansfield d. United Local 2-0; Tallmadge d. Akron Hoban 2-0.
Semifinals: Mansfield d. Nordonia 2-0; Boardman d. Tallmadge 2-0.
Championship: Boardman (233-216) d. Mansfield (213-161) 2-0.
All-tournament team: Ethan Hively (United Local) 719; Bryce Lewin (Nordonia) 718; Joe Bannister (Akron Hoban) 703; Gavin Warren (Tallmadge) 687; Davion Wilson (Mansfield) 683
GIRLS
Quarterfinal match play (best-of-three Baker System): Green d. Akron Hoban 2-0; Nordonia d. Mentor 2-1; Tallmadge d. Struthers 2-0; East Canton d. Perry 2-0
Semifinals: Green d. East Canton 2-0; Tallmadge d. Nordonia 2-0.
Championship: Green (156-221) d. Tallmadge (148-133) 2-0.
All-tournament team: Marissa Perrine (Green) 660; Heather Walker (Mentor) 641; Madison Perrine (Green) 606; Makayla Legg (Tallmadge) 591; Layla Nickolas (Green) 585.
