Compared to its one-win record last season, FHC bowling has prospered this year. 

“Last season, we didn’t win a lot,” junior Peyton Price said. “We beat Lowell once, but other than that, we had trouble keeping up with other teams.”

This season, however, has looked completely different for both teams; the boys team beat rival Forest Hills Northern for the first time in four years, and the girls picked up their first victory since the Winter of 2020. While this season morphed into something special for both teams when they entered February with “W’s” in the win column, there have been plenty of growing pains too. 

On Monday, those growing pains were front and center as the Rangers took on FHN in the two teams’ second meeting of the season. Quickly, the Huskies got out in front after winning the first baker game. Shortly after, though, FHC found its footing and won baker game number two 161-142. 

For the majority of the season, the individual rounds have not been nice to FHC. The Rangers have either bowled exceptionally well or exceptionally awful; there’s no in-between. Monday just happened to be one of the days the boys tripped up, even if senior Korbin Thompson won both of his matches.

“I thought that they [the boys] played pretty well in the baker games, but the rest of the game was more of a challenge for them,” head coach Terry Metzner said. “I thought Korbin and Wes played the best; both showed me that I could rely on them.”

A few lanes over, while the boys were in a baker-game dogfight, the girls team was digging itself a hole too big to fill back up. In the first two baker games, FHC didn’t deal Northern any blows, mainly because of the Huskies’ one-man advantage. For the first time this season, though, the girls team didn’t let their blunder in the first two baker games get to their heads and affect the rest of the game. In dominating fashion, FHC won all but one individual matchup in Game One thanks to a barrage from sophomore Olivia Smith, senior Maurielle Hayes, and freshmen Sam Sturgis and Emmy Willemin, who combined for a total of 377 points in Game One. Unfortunately for FHC, its success in the lanes was short-lived. In the end, the girls lost 22-8.

Next up on the docket for FHC is Grand Rapids Christian at home on Wednesday, February 16.