The Archbishop Carroll boys bowling team came up short against La Salle with a score of 3-1 on Jan. 11 at Wynnewood Lanes.
With the boys game canceled on Wednesday, they were certainly ready to get back out there on the lanes.
“I’m super stoked for this game,” senior Stephen Thomson said. “This would be a big win against a great team.”
Carroll came out of the gates a little rusty. Only one player had a score over 170. Thomson had a great first game for the Pats, racking up a 179, and picking up the lacking score of some of his teammates. La Salle dominated the first game, and going into the second they were up by 134 pins. Following a pep-talk from Coach Thomas Quintois, the boys went back to the pit, ready to bowl.
Although he bowled a low score in the first game, senior Marco Petroccia completely flipped it around in the second. While some of the La Salle bowling members were lacking, Petroccia took advantage of this opportunity and put up a career high of 255 with nine strikes. Not only did Petroccia take advantage of this opportunity, but so did senior Patrick McGonigle. McGonigle racked up six strikes, and finished with a score of 206. Just like that, the Pats were back in this match, going into the third game up by 4 pins.
“It was something special to watch,” senior James Klusarits said. “Marco’s score put us right back in the match, and gave us a chance to win.”
Going into the third game, it looked like the Pats had a pretty good chance at beating one of the best teams in the Philadelphia Catholic League. However, La Salle proved why they are top contenders in the PCL when three out of five of their players racked up two strikes each in a row. The Pats hopes began to dwindle. Despite the great performance by La Salle in the third game, senior Jesse Ventre racked up a score of 214 to try to put the Pats closer. However, that was not enough and La Salle took the third game.
The boys ended up taking the L, 3-1. However, they did get one solid win against a well-respected team.
“Although we ended up losing, I really like where our team is at and I believe we have a chance to go far this year,” McGonigle said.
The boys now move to 16-16 on the season, and play the number one ranked team, Conwell-Egan Catholic High School, on Jan. 16 at Bristol Pike Lanes.
