To start off the first bowling match of the year, the boys varsity bowling team played Northview. Northview is a very talented and difficult team to beat. A win was within reach and the boys were hoping to pull through; however, their efforts weren’t enough to beat the Wildcats.

To kick off the match, two baker games were played. In the first baker game, the team lost 131-176, and in the second, 136-151. These losses affected the team’s play heading into individual games as they were already losing 8-0 which was an intimidating score and it is difficult to make a comeback with that large of a point difference at the varsity level.

“We were dominated in the baker games and that set us back mentally,” Peyton Price said. He continued to add, “Most of the players were certain that we were going to lose the match and lost all hope of winning.”

The majority of the team accepted the impending fate of a loss. By having this mindset, it led to the team having a poor performance in the individual games. The team was well aware that they were going to lose badly—but they were hoping it wasn’t going to be too bad. That realization took away the team’s positive morale and competitiveness and overall led to below-average scores.

Northview dominated throughout the whole match because of its secret weapons—two to be exact: the Pranger brothers. The Pranger brothers, Kyle [senior] and Cayden [sophomore], are both extremely gifted with bowling abilities. Years of hard work and determination to be the best of the best is what put them on top. Kyle is a 2-time state champion and despite Cayden being an exceptional bowler, he lives under his brother’s shadow hoping to surpass his brother’s bowling ability and take away his state title.

These brothers challenged our fourth and fifth bowlers Luke Stiles and Peyton Price. Luke and Peyton both, unfortunately, lost to them during the first round of individual matches but in the second round, they both won. This win against the Pranger brothers eased the boy’s tension about losing the overall match because a win over the Prangers was more meaningful than winning the overall match. To Peyton, his individual win meant a lot because he beat a two-time state champion 202-198. It wasn’t a good bowling day for Peyton or Kyle as their averages are much higher than a simple 200 but a win is a win.

Overall, this loss to Northview was unfortunate, but the boys will bounce back and win their next match against East Grand Rapids on Wednesday, January 11.