Right up until the very last shot late Sunday afternoon, the issue was in doubt, the Liverpool boys bowling team in a desperate fight for the Section III Class A championship with Utica Proctor right on the Raiders’ home lanes at Pin-O-Rama.
But it was the Warriors hitting enough key strikes and spares to not just win the sectional title, but take the Division I (large school) prize and the berth in next month’s state tournament close to home at Strike-N-Spare Lanes.
The sectional tournament has a six-game format, and in the first game Sunday morning Liverpool bolted out with a 1,122 as Deacon Roberson led with a 255, while Zak Ormsby had a 233, Josh Winzens shot 231 and Brandon Davis had a 224.
In the second game, the Warriors slumped to 951 (despite a 244 from Davis) as defending champion Fulton took the lead, but the third game proved crucial as the Red Raiders only managed 918, allowing Liverpool, with its 1,105, to go back in front as Winzens posted a 266.
At the end of the morning session, the Warriors stood at 3.178 to Fulton’s 3,067, with Proctor (3,016) looming in third place, but the drama was just beginning.
In the fourth game, Proctor’s 1,129 made up most of the ground on Liverpool, who had 1,009. The fifth game proved a virtual draw as the Warriors had 1,001 and the Warriors had 997.
So the margin was 46 pins with one game left, and Proctor inched up closer, bringing it down to the final frame. The Raiders finished with 6,178 – but the Warriors, with 6,198, held them off by 20 pins after hundreds of shots taken during the day.
Davis did more than just help win a sectional team crown. By shooting 235 and twin 243 games in the afternoon for a 721 series following a 668 morning session, his total pinfall of 1,389 tied him with East Syracuse Minoa’s Sean Timmons for the individual sectional title.
Winzens could not maintain his morning pace, but still 11th with a 1,256 pinfall as he closed with a 212 to help the Warriors pull it out in the team portion.
Ormsby’s 247 third game got Liverpool into the lead, and he finished at 1,223 to get16th place, while Devin Roberson had a 230 in the fifth game to keep the Warriors in front and, with 1,164 overall, earned 27th place.
Even without bowling in the third game, Deacon Roberson contributed afternoon games of 224 and 204 to finish at 978. Logan Herrmann replaced Roberson in the third game and his 188 was just as important as any other.
Cicero-North Syracuse finished third in Class A, and fifth among large schools, with a pinfall of 5,687, never quite able to get into the championship fight as its best team game was just 1,008 in the fourth.
Tim Cloonan started out with a 267, one of the best games of the day (Fulton’s Anthony DeMasi and Proctor’s Christian Stoddard led with 279), and added a 242 in the afternoon on his way to 12th place for the Northstars with a pinfall of 1,247, nine behind Winzens.
J.J. O’Connell shot a 225 on his way to a 1,157 series and 30th place, two spots ahead of Justin Morris, who shot 201 or better in all three afternoon games of his 1,153 total. Tyler Dottolo shot 937 for five games and Kyle Patterson had 709 for four games.
Top individual bowlers, boys and girls alike, head to Rome’s King Pin Lanes this Thursday at 3 p.m. for the individual sectional shootout.
