On October 8, the boys bowling team faced off against Forest Hills High School hoping to secure their first win of the season. Despite working hard to tie the series, the team was eventually defeated in the last tie-breaking round.
In a pre-game huddle, coach Lauren Caiaccia reminded the team that they had already beaten Forest Hills in an earlier scrimmage. The briefing was concluded with Ms. Caiaccia stating, “Everyone has to stay focused and supportive. No technical feedback except from me.” With an energetic “Harris!”, they ended the huddle and began to bowl.
The objective of the game is to win at least two of the three rounds. Games A and B are played by Team A and Team B respectively, with each team consisting of four players. Game C is only played if no clear winner emerges at the conclusion of Game A and B.
The first frame of Game A ended with a comfortable start for the team with a nine, eight, spare, and an eight for junior Caleb Hong, sophomore Brian Balayon, senior John O’Neill, and senior captain Daniel Wuest respectively. While Daniel was unable to get any strikes or spares in his first three frames, the opposing team’s anchor earned a double (two consecutive strikes) and a spare.
Things started looking up for the Hawks in the fifth frame when Brian earned the team’s first strike and Daniel obtained his first spare. The team finally began to close in on Forest Hills as they picked up three spares and one strike, closing the gap to 469-489. In what everybody assumed would be a close loss, Daniel shocked both teams by scoring the game-winning turkey (three consecutive strikes). Game A ended with a final score of 558-551, in favor of THHS.
While Team A played Game A, Game B was also taking place. Junior Christopher E started the team off with a strike in the first frame. On his third frame, he was also able to hit a spare, and follow it up with another strike in the fourth frame. Unfortunately, his teammates unsuccessfully attempted to obtain spares and strikes, resulting in the team trailing behind by 60 points at the fifth frame.
Their streak of misfortune continued through the second half of the game. The pins simply would not fall when junior Daniel Sarabia, freshman Kennis Kong, and freshman Bernard Silverstein missed strikes by one pin. Christopher continued to anchor the team with a strike in the seventh frame and the high score of 117. Team B lost to Forest Hills 390-467.
For Game C, Ms.Caiaccia chose not to make any changes, sending Team A to play in the tiebreaker. Despite catching fire in the final frame of Game A, Daniel continued to struggle. Caleb, also having a rough time performing to his absolute best, was subbed out in frame eight, and replaced by Christopher. Instead, both Johnny and Brian were put to work. Ultimately, Forest Hills overpowered THHS 556-455 to take home the win.
Despite the loss, Ms. Caiaccia expressed pride in the fact that the team was coming together and improving from continuous practice. Daniel, however, expressed his disappointment at the loss after coming so close. Both Johnny and Brian noted that their performance exceeded their expectations and really gave them ideas on what they needed to improve.
