By BILL SNIER
CUYAHOGA FALLS — If you ask the two winning high school bowling coaches what it took to bring home first-place trophies during the 12th annual Clutch Classic on Saturday, they were in complete agreement.
“After our girls realized they weren’t going to be striking a lot and it was going to be a spare shooting competition,” Green girls coach Alex Snowberger said, “they put it all together.”
“The biggest thing for us today was making spares,” Triway boys coach Vince Yoder said. “Yes, we struck a lot. But we made a ton of spares.”
Both divisions became runaways late at Clutch Lanes and Sports Center as Green and Triway, respectively, continued to pile up pins after leading during the regular games. The tournament format was three regular games followed by six Baker System games to determine the champions in the full field of 12 boys and 12 girls teams in the 24-lane center.
TITANS DEFEND TITLE
Triway, the tournament’s defending champion, took a 12-pin lead after Game 1 with 1,047 total pinfall and was never stopped, opening a 134-pin lead heading into the Baker System round. The Titans shot a tourney-high 1,078 in Game 2.
The Titans finished with 4,450 — 146 pins ahead of runner-up Amherst Steele (4,304). The remainder of the top five included Copley (4,222), Peninsula Woodridge (4,184) and Cuyahoga Falls (4,183).
“This team can get really hot and they can get really cold, but we got hot at the right time, and that’s all that matters,” Yoder said. “Our first two games, we made 47 out of 50 spares as a team.”
A key for the Titans in the opening three games was the performance of senior right-hander Jacob Yoder, who is in his first year with the varsity. Yoder led tournament individuals with a 749 series, and was backed up by fellow senior Aeron Meshew’s 667 and 631 from Owen Fiesler.
“That was pretty impressive to watch. He came up from JVs last year and this was going to be his chance,” Vince Yoder (no relation) said. “I really didn’t know what we were going to get.
“I call him my robot. Once he gets lined up, he just repeats shots. If he’s throwing the ball well, he repeats shots over and over again. All I did was move him left or right a couple of times. Everything else was him.
“The biggest thing for him is getting around the ball. I threw him a few pointers this morning and he started off hot and stayed that way.”
Jacob Yoder said he surprised himself with the performance, adding “I’ve never done this before … it feels great.”
“I just listened to my coach, moved when I needed to move, looked at my mark and just threw the ball,” Yoder said. “My goal is just to repeat shots. I never thought I would be able to do that.”
Steele made a run at the Titans during the Baker round, shooting 501 their first two games to jump from fourth to second and stand just 121 behind Triway. The Titans only shot 354 during their next two Bakers, but Steele had just 362 so the gap remained 113.
Triway then shot 245 and 217 its last two games, including the front seven strikes in Game 5 and the front five in Game 6, to secure the title.
“Lanes 9 and 10 and 7 and 8 hooked earlier than 11 and 12 (last pair for the Titans). We had our high game during the team games on 11 and 12 so we knew were were going to be fine,” Yoder said. “The other two pairs played a lot different. Nine and 10 was going a lot longer and then, all of a sudden, they hooked early, and 9 and 10 started hooking early at the end of Game 3.
“After the break, they hooked quite a bit more. Our guys had to move their feet two to three boards and in some cases four to five. The balls were hooking on the fronts early and that’s hard for some of our kids who throw straighter to go left to right. But we got through it.”
Steele coach Steven Taylor also saw the transition after the break and felt it helped his team make a run in the Bakers. The Comets finished with a high Baker series of 1,292 (a 215 average), but just 24 pins ahead of the Titans (1,269, 211.5 average).
“We had a good day today. The guys loosened up as the lanes got a little more open and they took advantage with some really good shots,” said Taylor, whose team has a fourth, third and second in three events this season and is 9-0 in matches.
“They did hook a lot more after the break and the gutters opened up. They could push the ball toward the gutter more, and they went off.”
Jon Roberts led Steele with a 690 series and Grant Taylor added 622.
Taylor admitted the Comets were scoreboard watching after their first two Baker games.
“We didn’t’ think we could catch the leader after what we shot in Games 3 and 4, but we were able to jump to second, and that was our goal,” Taylor said. “We just wanted to guarantee second place.”
Copley, which was second entering the Baker round, placed two players in the top five individually, including Eric Luster (719) and Chaz Franchetti (704).
It marked the second tournament win overall for the Titans this season.
GREEN EARNS SECOND TITLE
It also was the second win for Green’s girls, albeit on a different house oil pattern than the Bulldogs are used to seeing.
“I think the girls realized it was going to be a spare shooting competition. I told them that at the start and they didn’t believe me at first,” Snowberger said. “They realized the lanes were tighter than anything we had played on this season.”
The Bulldogs trailed Steele 911-898 after Game 1, but came back with 958 in Game 2 and 1,010 in Game 3 to take a 92-pin lead and were never headed. They led by 286 pins heading into the Baker round.
Green finished with 3,889, 217 pins ahead of runner-up Triway, which shot the high Baker series of 1,107. The remainder of the top five included Steele (3,578), Tallmadge (3,373) and Rootstown (3,333).
“We had some big games there. We didn’t talk about the transition during the break, but during the practice session, they realized the lanes dried out during that hour,” Snowberger said. “So we asked the five of them to make a big jump to the left, and that’s what helped us settle in for Bakers.
“Today, we were able to get all five girls lined up, which really helped.”
Junior Madison Perrine led the Bulldogs with a 652 series and senior Elena Hughes added 621 to finish among the top five individually. Junior Natalie Noirot also had 554 and sophomore Brooklyn Krager contributed 539.
Triway senior left-hander Emma Yoder topped the individual field with 690, including shooting 244 and 243 her final two regular games. Senior Addy Meshew added 580 and junior Kennedy Finley had 577.
Titans head coach Corby Anderson knew his team was not going to catch Green. But their performance in Bakers, averaging 184.5, was big for Anderson.
“When we start with a low 800 in Game 1, you’re not going to catch a team like that,” Anderson said. “But we’ve been killing them in Bakers. You put our team in match play and we’re going to hurt somebody.
“The girls that seem to struggle in regular games, you get them in Bakers and then you’re wondering what the heck is going on. I told them if I could choose one or the other, I’d rather have the Baker games when they count.”
Triway were coming off a win at the Park Centre Holiday Tournament, where they also had strong Baker games during a tourney that included match play.
“We’re definitely becoming a well-rounded Baker team. I think our low today was 166,” said Emma Yoder, who attributed her performance to a ball change to the Storm Virtual Energy Blackout for the final two games.
“With our Baker games improving, as long as we can qualify with their individuals, we will be OK.”
Anderson sees the tourneys as “stair steps” toward the postseason.
“We didn’t have any bad Baker games for the second week in a row,” Anderson said. “We cab’t get frustrated. We have to stay focused on what we’re doing. We don’t want to reach too far, so we’ll see.”
Snowberger preaches spare shooting to his Bulldogs, calling it “my thing.”
“During winter break, that’s what we worked on, and I definitely saw a difference today,” he added.
Vince Yoder also felt the more difficult house shot aided his team during its run.
“I think it helps with them being able to repeat shots,” Yoder said. “They don’t worry about throwing the ball hard, but more about targeting and letting the ball read the lanes.
“We practice a lot of one-step deliveries and a lot of spares. Getting the ball off the hand and lift is what we teach, and when we get on something like this, it helps. It’s just harder on sport shots because everyone kind of tenses up.”
Triway is in the midst of six tournaments in a row on consecutive weekends — all in preparation for the postseason in February.
“Game experience is what we need. I really don’t like bowling more than three times a week in matches or practices because the balls can get dirty, soak up more oil and don’t have the same reactions,” Yoder said. “Hopefully, we can get on a roll on both sides (girls, boys) and keep it going.”
As for Green, Snowberger’s intentions are clear.
“We need to stay focused,”Snowberger said, “and try to get that state championship.”
NOTEBOOK: The two Yoders (not related) took individual titles in their respective divisions. The remainder of the girls all-tournament team included Perrine, Tallmadge’s Dee Dee Elijah 631, Cuyahoga Falls’ Lori McCune 526 and Hughes. The remainder of the boys all-tourney team included Luster, Tallmadge’s Brandin Ullman 713, Franchetti and Roberts. … Triway’s girls shot 109 pins higher in Bakers to earn second place over Steele, while the Comets’ boys shot 117 pins higher than Copley to do the same in that division. … There was an hour break between the conclusion of the three-game opening round and the start of Bakers. … The event was contested on Clutch Lanes’ house 37-foot oil pattern. … Massillon’s girls did participate, but the Tigers’ boys were forced to pull out due to team illnesses. … Various gift baskets were raffled off during the event along with a bowling ball to benefit the Cuyahoga Falls bowling program. There was no gate admission for fans.
