The first week of the Hubs varsity bowling season has been a mixture of positives and negatives, but head coach Doug Koch is encouraged by how the Rochelle boys have performed after hosting the LaSalle-Peru Cavaliers at T-Byrd Lanes on Thursday.
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ROCHELLE — The first week of the Hubs varsity bowling season has been a mixture of positives and negatives, but head coach Doug Koch is encouraged by how the Rochelle boys have performed after hosting the LaSalle-Peru Cavaliers at T-Byrd Lanes on Thursday.
Junior Tyler Johnson rolled his second consecutive 600 series, shooting 625 against the Cavaliers after totaling 654 at Mardi Gras Lanes on Tuesday. Junior Brady Shank added 554, but the Hubs were unable to bring home the victory, falling 10-0 to drop to 0-2 overall.
“They’ve improved quite a bit from last year,” Koch said. “They’re a little more consistent.”
Three LaSalle-Peru players went over 200 in the first game, with Bryce Schmitz throwing 235 and Matt Jacobson adding 210. Landen Miller chipped in 209 to lead the Cavaliers in a 1,197-1,026 win over Rochelle in the first game. Johnson’s 216 and senior Mark Bratko’s 192 went down as Rochelle’s top two scores.
“Tyler is on fire,” Koch said. “I’m really impressed with him. He walks straight as an arrow on the approach and when he starts on the center dot, he ends on the center dot. He’s solid at the line and he doesn’t step out of his shot. He stays in his shot and he follows through correctly.”
Shank led the Hubs in the second game with 215, and junior Dallas Driver added 193 in a 1,101-1,025 loss to LaSalle-Peru. Bratko (186) and Johnson (184) also locked down solid games for Rochelle. David Hiller shot 206 to lead the Cavaliers in the second game.
“[Dallas] needs to slow down on the approach and stay in his shot,” Koch said. “When he did, he threw strikes. When he’s on his game, he’s more focused and his form is much better. He’s walking straight and throwing the ball with good speed.”
LaSalle-Peru won the third and final game 1,164-940. Hiller’s 216 and Silex Hounsve’s 213 propelled the Cavaliers to victory, while Johnson’s 225 topped the Rochelle scoreboard. Shank’s 171 rounded out an otherwise underwhelming game from the Hubs. Rochelle will return to the lanes on Tuesday against Geneseo.
“When [Brady] is struggling, I think he’s trying to hook too much of the lane,” Koch said. “He played more up the middle in the oil and he brought the second game back big time. He wasn’t keeping his speed up on the ball in the end and I think he was trying to feather it into the pocket.”
