Written by Junior Freelance Writer River Martinez.
Despite the gloom of the dreary rainy Washington weather on a Monday afternoon, inside Daffodil Lanes, there was a buzz and crack of competition. The Puyallup Vikings, sixth-place finishers in the SPSL Championship, faced off against the Bonney Lake Panthers, newcomers to the competitive 4A bowling league. Both teams entered with a 1-1 record and a drive to climb the standings. The stage was set for a very close match against these two teams, Panthers and Vikings craving dominance and a 2-1 standing in the league.
Game 1- A Game of Cat and Viking
The Panthers started strong with only one open frame across the board for the team in the first frame, producing one strike and three spares, pulling them into an early lead in pinfall.
However, the Vikings struck back with an early turkey by the third frame, building confidence
against Bonney Lake. Key contributions from Violet Vincent (138) in the sixth frame and Aubrey Strickling (123) in the seventh created spares that rejuvenated the Panther's team spirit. But the Vikings never let up taking and receding pinfall back and forth. Brooke Musial (176) fought back, achieving her first turkey in a match, marking the success that the Panthers would have as they finished out the first game with a 40-pin lead.
Game 2- Turkey Dinner Saves the Day
Spirits dipped as the Panthers began to leave open frames, dropping the lead they held in the first game and pushing the Vikings ahead. The Panthers only continued to lose steam, leaving pin after pin-up as the Vikings did not let up the strikes and spares. Both teams struggled with gutter balls in frame seven. However, Jayden Thayer came to the rescue as her seventh frame strike replenished the team drive. The Panthers conjured a team turkey, three back-to-back strikes, and Thayer added another turkey in the ninth-frame. The Panthers successfully bounced back with passion, pulling ahead by 50 pins with tenth-frame performances from Musial (136), Vincent (110), and Thayer (200), whose strike balls and pickups secured a
sizable lead.
A Give and Take in Bakers
The Bakers round began with a strong strike, followed by a narrowly missed 6-7 split attempt by Vincent. Brieanna Huynh started the game up again with a beautiful pickup, followed by an amazing strike by Strickling. Musial led again, one strike under her belt in this baker, with another one in the sixth frame. Meanwhile, the Vikings struggled to pick up much-needed spares, ending the first baker with an eighteen-pin deficit against our BLHS
bowlers, team scores resting at 156 to 138.
The second baker opened, and the Vikings showed their reliance as they got spare after spare, which our Panthers failed to provide. Thayer pushed the team forward with another frame-five strike, and Huynh used the momentum for a frame-eight strike. With full speed ahead, the Panthers roared back, ending with a 130 game to a Vikings 141. The Vikings comeback was too little and too late as the Panthers secured their win overall with a 57-pin advantage, the Vikings unable to close the gap.
League Play Continues as Panthers Heat Up
With a 2-1 record, the Panthers gearing up for their next match against Graham-Kapowsin at Daffodil Lanes on December 3rd at 3 pm. Steady improvements in individual performances and Bakers rounds have positioned Bonney Lake as a rising force in the 4A league. With their confidence building, the Panthers are proving to be a team to watch this season.
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