By BILL SNIER
CANTON — It has been quite a week for former Ohio Masters champion Dean Vargo.
The 25-year-old Willowick right-hander finished second to Mike King as the top seed in the Cleveland USBC Bernie Vozar Masters Invitational at Rollhouse Parma on April 27.
Then, on Friday night at Roseland Lanes in Oakwood, he took first place in a singles sweeper.
Sunday, he was on his game from start to finish, taking the qualifying lead after Game 3, surviving two rounds of two-game match play, emerging as the No. 1 seed for the stepladder finals, and then stopping No. 2-seeded Alan Felmlee`185-165 to claim the 22nd annual Furbay Electric Open title on Sunday at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes.
Vargo was one of only two players to shoot 700 over the first three games on a difficult oil condition when the cut to the top 20 for match play took an average of 188 for five games.
“It was about the Purple Hammer,” said Vargo, who led qualifying with 1,205, an average of 241 and 27 pins ahead of his nearest competitor.
“As long as I stayed up the back of the ball and stayed right, it worked well. Fortunately, I was able to stay an adequate distance farther right than anyone else. It allowed my heads to stay fresh, which was why I was able to stay with that ball all day.”
Vargo shot just 215 in Game 1 to sit eighth, but then moved up to fifth with 228 in Game 2. HIs next two games of 268 and a tourney-high 278 in Game 4 put him out in front.
He crossed during qualifying with Mentor right-hander Kevin Oravecz, who played a similar line and finished second to Vargo during qualifying, averaging 235.6
“Kevin has a similar game with medium power and he’s more of a shot maker,” Vargo said. “We kind of watched what each other did in practice and played off each other.”
Vargo began his journey to the stepladder finals by stopping left-handed No. 20 seed and 2024 Ohio Queens champion Melissa Voytko 462-349 in his opening two-game match. He followed up with a 460-410 win over University of Akron right-hander and Copley High School coach Caleb Shovestull 460-410.
FELMLEE’S RISE
Felmlee, a 35-year-old Russell, Pa., right-hander who was making his third Furbay appearance after making the top 10 a year ago, finished third in qualifying with 1,133 (226.4 average).
“With the field and the difficult condition, it makes it worth the trip,” said Felmlee, a plastics engineer who had a three-hour journey to his home on the eastern side of Erie, Pa.
Felmlee, also playing the extreme outside line on the condition, used a Hammer Black 78D Pearl and Purple Hammer most of the day.
“The first game I was a little more in. But as I kept bowling, I just kept going farther right away from the traffic,” Felmlee said. “I new there was friction and the ball would read there. I stayed right of first arrow all day.”
He used the Purple during qualifying, throwing the Black “just to get a feel for it” on fill balls at the end of games. He then went to the Black during the first two rounds of match play.
He stopped two-handed righty Eric Randazzo 485-287 in his opening match, and then topped left-hander Kevin Cowper 404-347 in the Round of 10 to earn his No. 2 spot for the stepladder finals.
“I missed some spares at the end of the second round that would have given me the No. 1 seed,” said Felmlee, with stepladder seeding determined by four-game pinfalls from match play.
It was a preview of things to come.
STEPLADDER RUN
Felmlee’s first stepladder match came against 31-year-old Garfield Heights left-hander Andrew Smith, who finished fourth during qualifying.
Smith, the No. 3 seed for the stepladder, stopped 2024 March Madness champion Oravecz, the No. 5 seed, 247-200 in the quarterfinals, striking on his final five shots..
But things changed for Smith in the semifinals.
Felmlee, employing the same line as he had all day and with ball speeds ranging from 20 to 24 mph (on spare balls), struck on nine shots, including throwing the final six in the game with no open frames.
Smith, after his late run in the quarterfinals, started with a 1-3-4-6-7 washout in the first frame and added 4-10 and 6-8 splits in the third and fourth, respectively, to fall behind early before getting his only strike of the game in the fifth frame.
With his late run, Felmlee ran away to a 248-130 win to set up the meeting with Vargo.
Oravecz had advanced to the quarterfinals with a 211-200 win over three-time Furbay champion Frank Testa, a 41-year-old Massillon right-hander.
While Oravecz was able to overcome two open frames with a pair of three-strike runs in the game, Testa had just two doubles and a 4-6-7-10 split in sixth frame.
TITLE MATCH
Coming on to the pair, Vargo liked his look during his four practice balls.
“It looked pretty good, but that pair didn’t seem to have as much room to the right as I had seen,” Vargo said. “The heads didn’t seem as fresh to me and it was a little difficult to get the ball to the spot and hold its energy.”
After starting with a double and a 10-pin spare, Vargo left a 1-2-4-6-10 washout in the fourth, getting two pins, and a 2-4 spare in the fifth.
He then made a decision.
“I was kind of that mentality that, ‘Hey, this ball worked for me all day … let’s make it work,’ ” Vargo said. “I tried to move a bit right and find more head oil and keep the ball away from the hook zone just a little bit.
“I didn’t do the greatest job of it.”
Meanwhile, Felmlee also started with a double, but left a 2-4-5-8 “bucket” in the third. He got just two pins.
Then, after a strike and a 2-pin spare, he left a 3-6-9-10 spare in the sixth, but again failed to convert.
“The left lane was tighter and when Dean came on, he was throwing urethane in the same spot,” Felmlee said. “It eventually started pushing the oil down ad the ball wasn’t picking up like it was the first match.
“I also got a little amped up and wasn’t throwing it as well. I was throwing it a little faster and didn’t give the ball a chance to read either.”
While Vargo continued to cover spares the rest of the way from the fifth through the 10th frames with no strikes, Felmlee made a switch to the NU Blue Hammer in the eighth and was able to strike. But then, he left a 4-6 split in the ninth.
“I switched to the NU Blue, but unfortunately, the light hits and the heavy hits didn’t make any makables either. That was the unfortunate part,” said Felmlee, who doesn’t bowl as many events as he used to with a growing family of two children under age 10.
“Not covering those two spares that weren’t easy hurt. It pretty much came down to missed spares.”
Vargo’s decision to stay with the Purple Hammer kept him clean except for the one washout. He finished with just three strikes.
“I got a little tired and pulled a couple of shots,” Vargo said. “But in the end, it worked out better because it kept me out of trouble. Getting to the No. 1 seed is great, but when you have to sit about 90 minutes, you kind of cool down even though you have the warmup pair. It can be difficult.”
Vargo converted four one-pin spares the final four frames for the win, striking on his final ball, after Felmlee had a strike and 10-pin spare in the 10th frame.
Now, Vargo looks to new horizons. He quit his job two weeks ago.
“I’m going to do some independent coaching and hopefully work in a pro shop,” said Vargo, who coached the Fairport Harbor Harding High School girls to the OHSAA State Division II Championships this season.
“I’m going to be bowling and traveling and picking up some odd jobs along the way.”
He will do that with a new title under his belt.
NOTEBOOK: Only nine players in the 95-player field averaged 200 or better on the difficult pattern. … There was a one-ball rolloff for the final spot in match play between Voytko and Tristan Stewart, who both tied at 940 after qualifying. Voytko struck on both of her shots while Stewart struck, but left an eight-count on his second ball. … Martez Walker and Eric Bator tied for the final cash spot in 24th place with 935. … Defending champion Joe Bailey fell to Oravecz 434-419 in the Round of 10 match play. In addition to Testa, 2022 champion Brian Ball reached match play, but was beaten by three-time winner Testa 444-344 in his opening match. … Three senior players — Ball, Carl Bishop and Matt Coffelt — reached match play. Coffelt advanced to the second round before falling to Testa 392-306. … Overall, there were 11 right-handers, five left-handers, three two-handed righties and one two-handed lefty in match play. … All five of the stepladder finalists chose to play the outside line on the title pair (Lanes 19-20). … Vargo became the first No. 1 qualifier to win the event, according to tournament director Joe Altimore III. The top qualifier does receive a $150 bonus in addition to Vargo’s first-place check of $1,200. … Tournament sponsors included Track, AMF Hall of Fame, Ten Back Pro Shop, Wagrich Excavating, Diehl Auto Group, Fishermans Central, M&L Heating and Cooling, Apex Roofing, Poling Painting, Apex Roofing and Ziegler Tire. … Our thanks to tournament director Altimore, Dawn Altimore-Eckenrode and Kim Hogue for their help with our report.
FURBAY ELECTRIC OPEN
(Sunday, at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes, Canton)
Round of 20
(Two-game match play; losers each receive $175)
Dean Vargo d. Melissa Voytko 462-349; Kevin Oravecz d. Alex McCourry 395-335; Alan Felmlee d. Eric Randazzo 485-287; Andrew Smith d. Brandon White 454-375; Joe Bailey d. Tony Wagner 482-337; Jordan Norris d. Newt McClellan 398-381; Frank Testa d. Brian Ball 444-344; Caleb Shovestull d. Ryan Liederbach 397-376; Kevin Cowper d. Carl Bishop 365-302; Matt Coffelt d. Joe Gugliotta 402-371.
Round of 10
(Two-game match play; losers each receive $250)
Felmlee d. Cowper 404-347; Oravecz d. Bailey 434-419; Vargo d. Shovestull 460-410; Smith d. Norris 393-391; Testa d. Coffelt 392-306
Stepladder finals
Match 1: Oravecz d. Testa 211-200; Testa wins $400
Match 2: Smith d. Oravecz 247-200; Oravecz wins $500
Match 3: Felmlee d. Smith 248-130; Smith wins $600
Championship: Vargo d. Felmlee 185-165; Vargo wins $1,200; Felmlee wins $800.
