AKRON — Stow-Munroe Falls never entered the top 10 at the Northeast District Division I boys bowling tournament until the third regular game.
And the Bulldogs still were 69 pins out of the cut with two Baker System games remaining.
But a 450 Baker set can turn things around in a hurry.
Stow-Munroe Falls used those last two games to catapult into a fifth-place tie with Amherst Steele and earn the third trip to the state championships in program history Sunday at Stonehedge Family Fun Center.
Nordonia, which held a 131-pin after the opening three regular games, took the district title with 4,320 total pinfall, 115 pins ahead of second-place North Canton Hoover (4,205).
Other state qualifiers included Avon Lake (4,151), Tallmadge (4,102), Steele and Stow-Munroe Falls (4,054), just 49 pins ahead of Wooster (4,005).
“We just told them to give it all they got the last two games. They knew they were around the (cut) line,” Bulldogs coach Kevin Gates said. “We knew we needed a good quality game and then just let the chips fall where they may.
“The kids took it one shot at a time, executed and came out with a good enough game.”
The Bulldogs turned in the third-high Baker System series of 1,205 to earn their first state trip since 2018, shooting 235 and 215, respectively, their final two Baker games.
Wooster, which held a 66-pin lead going into the final Baker set over Cleveland St. Ignatius in the race for the sixth spot despite an earlier 135, shot 123 and 209.
“It wasn’t just that game. We left a lot of spares out there that hurt us,” Wooster coach Tracie Leiendecker said.
The top six teams and top six individuals who were not members of advancing teams qualified for the state tournament set for 10:30 a.m. March 11 at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl.
Sunday’s format included three regular team games and a six-game Baker System set.
HOOVER’S COMEBACK
Although Nordonia led most of the day, it was Hoover that held the top spot after Game 1 with 1,028. But things changed drastically in Game 2 when the Vikings had just 873 to fall to seventh.
“We decided not to change a thing the more we thought about it,” Hoover head coach Jeff Sabella said about his discussion with boys coach Austin Crowe. “On that last pair, one lane was different than the other and it was grabbing a little more. With the adrenaline and everything going on, we just wanted to stay where we were.”
The Vikings rebounded with 1,092 to jump back into third.
“It was just getting back to basic stuff, make the spares. Avoiding the spare drops from the second game to the third was very important,” Crowe said.
The Vikings then put together the high Baker set of 1,212, including four 200 games with a high of 225. The worst game (166) came on the same lane they struggled on in Game 2.
“We tried to make an adjustment the second time, but that lane was a challenge,” Sabella said. “But we made up for it.”
Junior Chase Wensel led the Vikings with a 702 series, making the all-tournament team with a fourth-place individual finish, while sophomore Cole Hapstak added 601 and junior Connor Lab had 581 for the Vikings, who will be making their first state appearance as a team
“After bowling not so well at sectionals, I just switched up my game plan and threw urethane all day,” said Wensel, who borrowed his brother’s Storm Fast Pitch. “Our whole goal was to make it to states for our one senior (Austin Crowe). We really wanted it for him.
“We just knew we had it in us. We just let the nerves get to us sometimes.”
UP AND DOWN FOR TALLMADGE
Like Hoover, Tallmadge had its ups and down, but never fell out of the top six, including shooting 1,062 (despite a 129 substitute score) in Game 3 and starting the Baker round with 230.
“They started out with 1,004 and that was so important for momentum. The second game we struggled, but the third game was a fantastic finish,” Tallmadge coach Scott Krainess said. “If you would have told me we would shoot 4,102, I would have said you’d better check yourself in somewhere.
“I thought the scores would be a lot of lower, and that’s what I told the kids. I couldn’t be happier or prouder of this group. We had a lot of unknowns coming into the season and to their credit they kept the big picture in mind to be able to bowl their best when sectionals and districts came around.”
Seniors Gavin Warren and Kaiden Cantiberos, who were members of the Blue Devils’ last state team as freshmen, led Tallmadge with 702 and 622, respectively, junior Brandin Ullman had 605 and sensor Kyle Bender 602 as Tallmadge will be making its third state trip.
NORDONIA ROLLS
With senior Matt Willis leading the way with a 657 series, Nordonia took the lead in Game 2 with a tourney-high 1,101 and was never headed. Junior Kyan Frehauf added 645 and senior RJ Lewis shot 636 for the Knights.
“This is just a good bunch of kids. To make the top six was my goal coming in, but you always want to win,” said Nordonia coach Ty Lachowski , whose team finished third at state a year ago after losing in the semifinals to Marion Harding. “We set goals for this year and as we got here, making the top six and reaching state was one of them.
“My boys will tell you they wanted to win it. Our goal is always one step above.”
The Knights overall will be making their eighth state appearance with last year being their best finish.
“We’ve got some things to work on and we’ll see how it unfolds,” Lachowski said.
Others are looking for more than just making the trip to Columbus.
“We wanted to make sure the guys weren’t sending the ball right to the out of bounds … the Park Centre effect,” Sabella said. “We need to find a tougher condition to practice on. From sectionals to district, they didn’t play the same.”
Krainess said his Blue Devils will be more prepared.
“We aren’t going to be just happy to be there. That’s what we learned the last time,” Krainess said. “The goal was to get there. Now, let’s see what we can do.”