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Fitch, Boardman and Girard among boys qualifying teams
HUBBARD
The parking lot at Bell-Wick Bowl was so crowded for Friday’s Mahoning-Trumbull sectional, that even the package delivery man had to walk a distance instead of getting the usual front doorstep spot.
There was more room inside, especially in the standings, where the teams had ample separation.
Fitch won both the boys and girls championships, while the Boardman and Girard teams were also double qualifiers to the NEO district at Crest Lanes next weekend.
Fitch’s boys team rolled 4590 and Boardman 4319, while Girard was the sixth qualifier with 4043. Other boys teams advancing to district were third-place Canfield (4260), No. 4 Champion (4204) and fifth-place Niles (4094).
Fitch coach Dino Balkan’s squad had the best single-game score of the day with 1165 in the opener at 2 p.m.
“It gave us the momentum we needed,” said Balkan, whose Falcons followed with 1130 and 1042 before the start of Baker games. “That 3,337 is pretty high and it’s all actual and that’s what’s amazing, especially for high school kids.”
“We stayed steady, nothing spectacular, yet still averaged over 208 for Bakers. I just wanted to teach the boys that, when they have the lead, they have to keep going and not ease up,” he said.
Boardman repeated as a district qualifier for the second straight year under coach Al Dohar. The Spartan boys were runnerup, while the girls placed third.
Leading Boardman were sophomores Nick Tancabel (654) and Jake Wagner (645), who was also Boardman’s high-average bowler in the regular season with 217.
“We had high expectations with the boys being Federal League champions,” Dohar said. “We had a tough loss to Canfield in early January and beat Fitch, so we knew we could stack up with the competition.”
Of Friday’s matches, Dohar said, “We got past the first few games then caught fire in Bakers [rolling 1360 for six games].
Among boys, Fitch’s Dwayne Learn Jr. had the top three-game set of 789 and Hubbard’s Mitchell Cohol had the second-highest series of 717.
Champion’s Dan Simmons, defending state individual champion, had 676, but, like Learn, is moving on as a team member.
Cohol, only a sophomore, said he stayed focused.
“I kept my head on straight,” Cohol said of his mental approach on Friday, when the Hubbard team fell short as the 10th-place finisher with 3845.
Prior to the Baker round, Canfield made a strong push in its third game of the afternoon when the Cardinals registered 1083, behind Ben Shoman, Mike Dercoli, Andrew Letscher, Anthony Bettile and Paul Harris.
Shoman, a sophomore, pushed Canfield over the 1,000 mark with his first ball in the 10th frame. Letscher contributed with a 279 single.
“They all pitched in pretty good that game,” said coach Carl Hurd, whose team reached district four straight years before missing in 2011-12.
Niles ended drought of several years by advancing.
“We did well our first two games, then we faltered on our last regular game,” said 10th year coach Jim Kennedy. “We were a little shaky in our first two Baker games, but our kids were determined to make it.”
Champion coach Bryan Gill said that his Golden Flashes could be stronger — personnel-wise — than their 9th-place team at state last year.
“We were very strong on our individual games, which gave us room to spare when we struggled in Bakers,” Gill said.