Hubs bowling team primed for future success

Top three players eligible to return for senior seasons in 2018

Russell Hodges
Posted 1/23/18

This season, the Hubs varsity bowling team reached the sectional level for the first time since the IHSA changed its postseason format during the 2013-14 school year. And with three juniors and two underclassmen eligible to return next season, head coach Doug Koch and his squad have their sights set on greater achievements for 2018-19.

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Hubs bowling team primed for future success

Top three players eligible to return for senior seasons in 2018

Posted

ROCHELLE — This season, the Hubs varsity bowling team reached the sectional level for the first time since the IHSA changed its postseason format during the 2013-14 school year. And with three juniors and two underclassmen eligible to return next season, head coach Doug Koch and his squad have their sights set on greater achievements for 2018-19.

Rochelle placed 12th out of 16 schools at IHSA’s DeKalb Sectional this past weekend after qualifying with a top-4 finish at the IHSA Sycamore Regional. The Hubs ended their 2017-18 season with an overall record of 4-11, and the boys placed sixth out of seven teams in the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference.

“It was an awesome season, and it was fun working with the boys,” Koch said. “Watching them improve with their averages and their games, and seeing them go regionals and place fourth was an awesome feeling. Going to sectionals was a great thing.”

Junior Tyler Johnson totaled 18 conference points to finish ninth individually in the NIB-12 this season. Johnson averaged 193.96 pins per game, while junior Brady Shank ended the year with Rochelle’s high team average of 193.99. Johnson recorded Rochelle’s high team series of 717, and Shank’s best series was 679 with a high game of 258.

Shank grabbed 13 conference points for the Hubs, and junior Dallas Driver earned 10 conference points of his own. Driver averaged 188.85 this season to finish as Rochelle’s No. 3 bowler, but more importantly, he will likely be back next year along with Shank and Johnson, the team’s No. 1 and No. 2 bowlers.

“Watching Brady, Tyler and Dallas grow and improve their games was amazing,” Koch said. “We’re looking for high expectations for next year. I think if the boys work hard this summer, this team cam make it to state.”

Senior Tyler Nalley was arguably Rochelle’s most improved bowler, averaging 174.61 pins per game in just his first varsity season. Senior Mark Bratko was Rochelle’s only varsity bowler to be a four-year member of the program, and Bratko ended his final season with a 172.99 average and a high series of 704. Senior Ozzy Fulgencio will be graduating from the junior varsity squad.

With two open spots to fill on next year’s varsity team, Koch will likely lean toward sophomore Logan Ortega and freshman Keith Holland, who earned varsity experience this year. Ortega’s high game was 223, and Holland’s top score was 171.