Regional champs look forward to good showing at state

by Angie Asam– Staff Writer

The Huron bowlers would not be denied the regional championship trophies as both teams were able to pull out victories. The boys would defeat Mason County Central (MCC) by just one pin to take the title while the girls trailed after the baker games but would not look back, defeating Ewen-Trout Creek by more than 400 pins to take the championship. The Hurons will now move on to the state finals at Airport Lanes in Jackson on Friday. The qualifying round of eight baker games and two regular games begins at 8:25 a.m. A lunch break and time to condition the lanes will follow before the top eight teams, boys and girls, will begin the quarterfinals, consisting of four baker games and one regular game. The top four teams out of the quarterfinal matchups will move on to the semifinals. The top two teams will then move on to bowl for a state title at 5:00 p.m.

Following the baker games, the Huron boys were in third place, 170 pins out of first. They would win the first regular game by 155 pins. Winning the second game by four pins, they trailed just 11 pins going into the final game. The boys answered and would not be content to just make the state competition; they went after the regional title and rolled their best game of the day with a 953.

?The end of the match was bizarre, and it came down to MCC?s final two bowlers. If both bowlers rolled nine pins on their first shots, the Hurons would finish second. The first bowler got nine on his first shot and missed the spare. The final bowler needed nine on the first ball or a mark to beat the Hurons; he stepped up and rolled 8 pins and missed them both, giving the Hurons the one-pin victory,? said coach Brian Bannasch. The girls? team trailed by 31 pins following the baker games and would not be denied. They defeated Ewen-Trout Creek by 166 in the first game to take the lead by 135 pins. ?From there the team just got stronger and won the regional title by 429 pins,? said coach Bannasch. Each of the five MHSAA regional bowling competitions for the girls have been between Rogers City and Ewen-Trout Creek, who has won the last two.

IN THE INDIVIDUAL COMPETITION Rogers City had seven bowlers qualify for the state tournament. Seniors Henry Dietlin and Ryan Darga would place third and fourth, respectively, with just two pins separating them, 1,217 and 1,215. Junior Devon Ferris would qualify in ninth place with a 1,115. Dietlin and Darga will be making their third appearance at the state finals, and Ferris will be making his second straight appearance. Ferris rolled a 203 in his final game to secure a spot in the state finals. Coach Bannasch was pleased with the efforts of his seniors saying, ?They (Darga and Dietlin) bowled solid all day on a demanding lane condition in which only four bowlers averaged over 200.? Alec Gajewski and Lucas Bellmore placed 15th and 18th, respectively.

The Lady Hurons would qualify almost in order as they qualified fourth, fifth,

sixth and eighth. Danielle Darga led the way with a 956, followed by Katie Darga with a 955, Kaelie Florip with 935, and Tayler Bannasch with 930. Danielle Darga, who placed fourth in the state last year, is making a return trip to the finals while Katie Darga, Florip and Bannasch will all be making their first trip. Ashley Bellmore placed 13th, missing qualifying by just three places. The seven individuals will move on to Airport Lanes in Jackson on Saturday. The competition begins with the qualifying round with 60 bowlers. In this round, bowlers will bowl six regular games, and only the top 16 will move on.

The 16 moving on will bowl three games with only the best two being counted. The matches remain the best two-of-three as the field goes from 16 to eight, to four, then to two, and eventually to a state champion.

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