By BILL SNIER
NORTH CANTON — Brandon Leggett and Zach McCutchan have been competing with and against each other since their days at Canton McKinley High School.
The pair joined with teammates Alex Coffelt, Dylan Shankle, James Tucker and Jonathan Waggoner to earn a top-eight finish during the 2022 OHSAA Division I State Championships in Columbus.
The past two seasons, McCutchan, a 20-year-old two-handed righty, has been dominating Park Centre Lanes with 15 300 games and seven 800 series, with a high of 845 this season.
But on Nov. 5, it was Leggett’s turn to gain the upper hand — and it nearly was a lot more than that.
Leggett, a 21-year-old Canton right-hander, opened play in the Hannon Electric league with his first career 300.
But he wasn’t finished. Far from it.
He followed up by throwing the front 11 strikes in Game 2 — a total of 23 in a row — before leaving a 1-2-4-10 washout on the 12th ball for 296.
He then started Game 3 with the front seven strikes before settling for 244 and his first career 800 series — an 840.
“I was just throwing it hard and hoping,” said Leggett, a Massillon Fresh Mark Inc. employee whose previous high came the previous week in the same league (782) with a high game of 279.
“I’ve just been trying to keep up with (Zach) if possible.”
Leggett admitted the nerves got to him on the 11th ball of Game 1 in his quest for his first 300.
“I was fine until that point, and then I started to think about it,” said Leggett, who used his Storm Phaze II for the milestones. “I just told myself to stay under control, keep it slow, throw it to the same area and try not to miss it by much.”
Leggett admittedly did not have a specific target area, except for keeping his ball “around 10 (board) and keeping on line the best I could.”
It continued through Game 2 — until the final ball in the 10th frame.
“After that first game, all I was hoping to do was get a couple of strikes in Game 2,” said Leggett, who averages 224 in the league. “I just threw that shot too hard and got it outside. I just got a little too excited on that one.”
But he was able to resume his strike run in Game 3, finishing with 31 out of 32 strikes before leaving his first spare of the night — a 4-7 — in the eighth frame.
“The big thing for me honestly is I’m trying to control my speed more,” said Leggett, who throws the ball between 19 and 20 mph. “I want to try to slow it down a little, keep everything else slow, and get the ball moving more.”
After a strike in the ninth, the big disappointment came in the 10th frame when he left a 4-9 split on a high pocket hit — with the opportunity to go much higher.
“That was very disappointing honestly because my spare game has been good recently. That just killed me,” Leggett said. “It was so exciting. Honestly, I thought I had the chance to beat Zach’s high series.”
Leggett, who has been bowling since he was age 3, also bowls league at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes, where he is averaging 210.
“To be honest, I was just happy I shot that first 300,” Leggett said, adding he wasn’t thinking about the 800 even though he only needed 204 the final game to reach that milestone.
Now, it’s on to the next milestone.
“It just feels amazing,” said Leggett, whose father Michael, a Canton left-hander, was there to witness the feet and also is on the team. “I wish I could do it again next week, but it will probably be a minute before I do.”
But after what his former high school teammate has accomplished, who knows?
BURNS HITS FOR 300
Also during the Hannon Electric Women’s Trio league at Park Centre, Plain Township right-hander Renae Burns recorded her fifth career 300 game.
Burns, who has a career-high series of 793, finished the night with 778.
,