Denham Springs entered the playoffs with the #10 seed and faced off in the three round playoff at Creole Lanes in Houma Louisiana in an effort to secure a berth in the Final Four to be held at Premier Lanes in Gonzales next week.  

 

vs. Archbishop Rummel (#23)

The Jacket boys started off the post-season against an opponent we saw earlier this season in Archbishop Rummel out of the Catholic league in New Orleans. Schools from this league always prove to be a landmine in the playoffs with lower seeds. They play a brutal schedule every season often toggling with multiple title contenders each year. Just two seasons ago, Rummel rode a 21 seed all the way to the championship game. Since our match earlier in the season Rummel has really turned it up including a season ending performance of 3720 (206 avg) against Patrick Taylor including a scintillating game of 1321 (220 avg). Every expectation was that this match was going to be much closer than the first meeting.

The Jackets jumped out the gate 6-2 on the Raiders with numerous subpar performances from both teams who were really trying to find their way in an unfamiliar environment. Cade Fletcher led Denham Springs with a 231 and a win out of the anchor spot and Mason Ballard flexed the power of two hands to lead the low lane with a 201. Denham held a slim 52 pin lead on Rummel after the first game. Jackets won total 1046-994

The energy from the fans was high during the match and the boys really fed into it. In game 2 the team shined offering up its best performance of the day and setting the Raiders back on their heels needing a miracle to come back. Once again the Jackets took 6 wins to their 2 heading into game 3 with a commanding 12-2 lead. Three Jackets doubled-up with Cade Fletcher dropping 226, Gabe Eunice etching a 223 on the score sheet and Mason Ballard continuing his two hand dominance with match leading 234. The Jackets shot 1205 in game two for a 200 average and overwhelming Rummel’s 994 effort. 

Game 3 saw Rummel pitch in their best effort of the match with a 1075 but ran into another solid effort from the Jackets who posted an 1138 with two more games over 200 from Gabe Eunice (213) and Mason Ballard (209).   

Cade Fletcher finished with a 628 and Mason Ballard finished with a 644 in the winning effort.

Between matches the teams were required to leave the bowling center to allow for proper COVID compliance and to give spectators of arriving teams the ability to watch their teams play. The team grabbed lunch and met at one of the families mobile home and tailgated for their own match in true south Louisiana style. After a little fuel up and short strategy talk it was back to the battle.

 

vs. Central (#7)

The second match of our run saw us face a familiar opponent, one who when the battle lines aren’t drawn are the best of friends. This was a match that we would have liked to have seen during the regular season like we have for many years prior. It wasn’t meant to be but fate had it that we would settle the “true district” score in the playoffs. Central returned everyone from a team that finished ranked #1 in the state last season and entered the match with a curiously low #7 seed. Central finished 11-1 with their one loss being a narrow one to the #1 power ranked team in the state.

The first game set the tone for the whole match with Central making a strong statement dropping not one, but TWO games over 250 by Andrew Coward (265) and Charles Rawls running 8 out the gate and finishing with a 277. Cade Fletcher joined the 250-fest from our squad to finish with a 251. The Jackets matched some of the intensity but solid spare shooting coupled with occasional blocks of strikes were no match for the big guns of 6+ strikes offered by Central. The Jackets found themselves down 2-6 and down by 165 pins early.

Game 2 unfortunately saw the most pedestrian performance of the playoff run with a 1026 (171 avg) for the team. Central kept up their solid work averaging nearly 200 with an 1185 and adding another 159 to their now commanding lead.

Still, there was a mathematical chance AND some fight left in these Jackets. I reminded the boys of who they were and noted that an exceptional effort combined with a subpar effort by our opponent would result in something they could tell their grandkids about. Those stories happen in sports when teams don’t give up the effort. With that, the Jackets ended with their best effort of this match of 1107 and a narrow win over Central in game 3 to grab a little bragging rights. Cade Fletcher tossed a 213 and Mason Ballard threw in a 226.  Our team value the last two weeks focused on confidence. These boys really showed today that confidence is a big factor in bowling your best.

The Central match was marred by one of those things you cannot control in sports. A couple of spare balls were literally destroyed by the machines leaving two of our low lane bowlers having to shoot spares the old school way. Given their lack of experience without a spare ball we likely gave up 40-50 pins in the last stanza which would have made our improbable late run a little closer. As it was, Central moved on, the battle lines were lifted and our “true district” member would eventually end the day as Final Four participants.

I can’t express how amazing the playoff environment was with these two teams. Both groups of fans brought tremendous energy that fed both teams and really brought out some amazing fire. I want to give a big thanks, especially to OUR parents and friends who were able to make it and support this team. That “7th man” is a big big help.  

 

 

While the loss in the second round is not how we wanted to end this season the team is still making progress towards our ultimate goal of winning a state title.

We finished the season 11-3 with the losses being against the #1 power ranked team in the state (Catholic x2) and a team (Central) that is very likely to end up in the championship game with a real shot at bringing a state title back to the group of public schools. The last public school to win a championship in bowling was Barbe in 2011. Since then Catholic, Archbishop Rummel, Vandebilt Catholic and Brother Martin have dominated the top podium in high school bowling.

In 2019 a 130 average was good enough to play in the low spot on this team at the start of the season. That team was led by two freshmen averaging 180. That team finished 8-4 and was knocked out in the second round by Central LaFourche, a public school which made a valiant run at a state title that season. Since then the team has recruited friends and gotten the word out about tryouts. We have improved our practice routines and are building around core values that represent our team culture. We have brought many students on and exposed them to our sport and taught them what we know and some of those kids have bought in, joined leagues, gotten private lessons and improved their performance. As the effort has increased the team has improved.

In 2021 a rising 175 average is what it took to play in the low spot on this team. Next season it should exceed the average of all the members of our 2019 8-4 playoff squad. It takes a low of 190 and a high at or near 220 to be a state title contender in Louisiana. With the improvement we are seeing in youth leagues those numbers are likely to keep rising. It typically requires depth and a versatile roster and that is what we are building. The template it there and we know the effort required to attain it is great.

Great season Jackets!

 

Jackets pow wow after the win against Archbishop Rummel

The boys entered the rematch against Catholic looking to avenge their only loss of the season earlier at All Star and try to position ourselves for a Top 4 seed.

Game one started off a little slow for the Jackets but they were able to recover and post near average performances on the high lane. Meanwhile the Bears got into a good groove in the middle of the game to open up a sizable lead before the end of the first, posting average to above average performances with 5 out of their 6 bowlers. After one we found ourselves down by 164 pins and behind 2-6. Dylan Fowler led the team out of the one spot with a 202.

Game two was the best game of the match by the Yellow Jackets. Still, wins were hard to come by. An outstanding performance on the high lane of 259 by Catholic bested Gabriel Eunice who rolled a match high 222 for the team shutting down an attempt to stay closer to even in game two. Dylan Fowler once again eclipsed the 200 mark with a 209. Cade Fletcher also pitched in a 205.

Game three had the Jackets in a situation similar to the first matchup needing 7 wins and total to take the win. As with last match, the Jackets ran out the gate strong, especially on the low lane taking a lead of over 100 pins early that they were never able to chip away at. Hayden Rainey started with the front 5 before settling out to a game ending 193 to take his point. Dylan Fowler etched his third 200 of the day on the record with a 208 to take his point. On the high lane Gabriel Eunice secured a 600 with a 201 to take his point.

Neither team bowled exceptionally well — meaning significantly above average — outside of a couple of outstanding performances, one for each team. For the Jackets Dylan Fowler was that performance out of the one spot. He was 3-0 today which is a tremendous feat against a team as deep as Catholic.

On the bright side, the Jackets were 5-4 on the low lane against the #1 power ranked team in the state. In the playoffs, low lane performance is often what separates the contenders from the field.

We finish out the season with Zachary on Monday at Circle and await our power ranking fate as we head into the playoff hunt.

Final score 7-20.

Boys: 9-2

The Jacket girls looked to even their record back to .500 with a win over Glen Oaks. In recent matches the girls had shown improvement featuring several games at or above the 700 mark with a few approaching 800. This match would prove to be a little of a struggle.

In game one the team struggled to achieve averages with two exceptions at the 4 and 5 spot. Isabelle Duval tossed in a solid performance bowling 132 which beat her average by 33 pins. This set the team off with 3 wins on the high lane and a total pins advantage to take a narrow 5-3 lead.

Game two proved to be a setback with the team not only narrowly losing total pins but surrendering 5 points to the visiting Glen Oaks squad. The Jackets thus lost game two 1-7 and surrendered a 4 point advantage heading into game three now down 6-10. The Jackets retained an overall total pins advantage which is worth three points in the final outcome. Audrey Cedotal tossed in a 151 to carry her point at the 6 position.

Game three proved to be the deciding factor with Ann Savignol tossing in a 152 to lead the team for the day and the top 4 bowlers carrying their points to give the jackets a 6-2 advantage and recovering for the win. The team also added to their overall total pins advantage which gave the team the necessary points to carry the match.

Final Score was 15-12.

Girls: 5-5

Girls team photo vs. Glen Oaks

The boys brought a 7-1 record into a matchup against a 5 win Baton Rouge High team at Circle bowl. A win here would go a long way towards helping our power ranking as it would be the third 15 point + team on our schedule in a row.

Several of our boys struggled a little out the gate with the approaches and lane conditions at Circle. Still, it didn’t keep Cade Fletcher from breaching the 200 line with a 207. Hayden Rainey tossed in a 194 from the two spot. The Jackets carried the game 7-1 and would head into the second stanza with a 221 point advantage on total pins.

In game two we sat a few high performers who were struggling to allow them to adjust in the practice frames before playing them again in game three. Alex Cedotal and Cooper Bush came in and delivered solid performances to help boost the team to a more representative 1092 finish. Dylan Fowler tossed in a match high 224 in his second game and Mason Ballard dropped a 211 to carry his point. The Jackets sealed the match with another 7-1 win to take a 14-2 lead into game three.

Game three allowed us to sit a few more and get our other two starters back in the game with a little more practice time. Both players delivered with Gabriel Eunice tossing in a 224 and Quincy Brown getting back on track with a 196.

Today did see some above average performances particularly from our starting one and two spot bowlers.

Starting two Hayden Rainey averaged 192 over the games he bowled and Dylan Fowler delivered a three game season high of 573 out of the one spot for a 191 average.

#9 Boys: 8-1

Mason and Cade survey the landscape while Quincy returns from a shot. Aaron is tabulating team scores.

The Jacket girls are looking to move their record to .500 with a match against a visiting Lutcher.

The girls started off strong on game one with 5/6 girls over 100 and Ann Savignol tossing in a game high 182. Audrey Cedotal continued her solid page with a 172 and the point at the 6 spot. The girls finished game one with a 6-2 advantage. The 797 the team bowled in game one was their highest for the season to date. The girls held a 128 pin advantage after the first game.

Game two saw the team nearly match the feat with a 794. Alex Fontenot notched her high game ever bowling a 190 in the 2-spot. Ann Savignol kept pace with the first game notching a 161.

Game three saw a nearly identical performance to the first two with another 6-2 win. Audrey Cedotal recorded the highest game of the match with a 191 in the final block and Catherine English bowled a 158 in the two spot.

Audrey Cedotal finished with the high series on the team with 172,156, and 191 for the first 500 of the season for the team with a 519.

With the three identical 6-2 wins and the 3 points for total pins, the Jackets won the match 21-6

Girls: 4-4

The Jacket boys were looking to notch a good win on their schedule as Archbishop Rummel out of the Catholic League in New Orleans met up with us at Premier lanes in Gonzales to finish out the series between New Orleans and Baton Rouge crossover matches. The two teams were pretty evenly matched with averages being within 10 pins at nearly every position on the roster.

The boys noted that the lane conditions were going to force them to move in and throw uncomfortable lines. Still, they worked well with what the lanes gave them racing out quick dropping a 1142 out the gate with Mason Ballard shooting 200 in the 3 spot and Cade Fletcher continuing his torrid pace from the last match rolling 233. About half the matches were close towards the end with late marks in the 9th and 10th being the difference. The Jackets led 8-0 after 1 and scored a 150 pin advantage in total pins.

Game 2 saw the team continue their solid start with three players bowling 200. Cade Fletcher once again led the team with a 253. Quincy Brown tossed in a 220 from the five spot and Mason Ballard once again notched a deuce with a 204. The Jackets also picked up 6 more points to get to 14 putting the match out of reach for Archbishop Rummel.

The last game of the match allowed for a couple of substitutions from our varsity bench. The team repeated their 6 point performance from the second game with three more 200 games. Mason Ballard finished out the 600 with a 227. Quincy Brown started his last game with the front eight strikes to finish with a 256.

Cade Fletcher notched the high-6 with a team leading 688 series (233,253,202).
Quincy Brown finished with 670 (194, 220, 256)
Mason Ballard finished with 631 (200, 204, 227)

The Jackets finished with a 3459 with a total pins advantage of 596 pins. The team nearly shot 700 on the high lane the last game and notched a 214 average for the top three spots despite a few pedestrian games mixed in there. The 1 and 2 bowlers rolled pretty consistent games indicating that they do not intend to surrender their roster spots just yet to our steadily improving bench. 

The final score was 23-4 in favor of the home Yellowjackets.

Boys: 7-1

Cade stares down the pins in a duel, a duel he would win.

The girls found themselves in a matchup where the opposing team was down two bowlers. Even in these situations, raising the intensity and taking care of business is necessary to grab the win.

Game one set the tone fast with the Jacket girls jumping out to an 8-0 advantage. Audrey Cedotal paced the girls in game 1 with a match best effort of 171.

The second stanza really saw the girls pour it on with a 151 in the five spot from Ann Savignol and another solid 158 from Audrey Cedotal. The rest of the team pitched in with average to above average efforts to reach their second highest single game total for the season at 735.

The last same saw a slight step back from game a great game two but the girls really kept the pressure on adding another 6.5 points to the total. Audrey Cedotal once again paced the team with a 167.

The girls finished with their best team series of the season, 2134

Audrey Cedotal led all bowlers with a 496 (171).

The final score was 24.5-2.5 in favor of the Jackets.

Girls: 3-4

 

Girls say hello before the match against St. Michael’s

Zachary was our last home game of the season at All Star and thus our senior day. We recognized Alex Cedotal, Quentin Armstrong and team manager Aaron Bogan for the contributions they have made to this team and Denham Springs High School over the years. We wish them well on their future endeavors and look forward to finishing out the season strong for our seniors.

The boys team headed into the Zachary match fresh off a close loss to Catholic High who moved to #1 in the state in the most recent power rankings. The Jackets dropped out of the top 10, all the way down to #18 after the loss. Fortunately the rest of the season pits us against four of five teams with winning records, including a forthcoming rematch with Catholic and a inter-regional battle with Archbishop Rummel on Thursday. These games will give us an opportunity to redeem our loss and move our power ranking in the right direction.

The Jackets started strong out the gate racing out to an 8-0 advantage over the visiting Broncos. Cade Fletcher led the team finishing with a big string of strikes in his first game to end with a 234.

Game two saw the Jackets drop one point in the five spot in game two to add 7 more points and put the match out of reach for Zachary. Senior Alex Cedotal picked a perfect time on shine on senior day in game two with a turkey in the 10th to finish off his opponent with a 181. Mason Ballard added a deuce with a 212 and Cade Fletcher continued his hot start with another bag of strikes and a 247.

Game three saw the boys knock down six more points for the final margin of 24-3. Mason Ballard logged a second 200 on the day with a 201 and Dylan Fowler contributed a 191 in the 4-spot. Cade Fletcher continued his torrid start to the day to finish out with a team season high and Baton Rouge region leading 726 (234, 247, 245).

Quentin Armstrong, Alex Cedotal and Aaron Bogan receive their senior pins on senior day.

Boys: 6-1

The first match of the season for in-district rivals Denham Springs and Catholic saw two teams heading into the match on long winning streaks and both undefeated. Catholic had already served notice to the rest of the state with a season defining win earlier in the season over Brother Martin. Brother Martin is the most decorated high school bowling program in Louisiana right now and is the most recently crowned state champion from a couple of years ago. They boasted the longest regular season winning streak in Louisiana high school bowling of 49 games. Catholic brought that streak to an end and has since reeled off several other wins heading into the match with Denham, 6-0. Denham Springs on the other hand has faced a litany of teams providing little challenge on the way to a 5-0 record with an average margin of 25-2. Today would put both teams to the test.

Game one started off strong for both teams but especially for Catholic on their low lane with their one bowler drifting off a long string of strikes to end the first game with a crushing 269 and a win against an otherwise solid performance in the one spot for Denham. The difference between the two teams was in that matchup. Denham took two wins on the high lane but found themselves down 90 pins total The score was 2-5 in favor of Catholic after 1. The Jackets reeled off a solid but rather pedestrian 1164 (194 average) for the first game to Catholic’s 1254. Cade Fletcher led the team with a 208 in the first game.

Game two saw the best performance by both teams in the match, with Catholic dropping another incredible game by one of their seniors on the low lane with a massive string of strikes and a finishing score of 278. Denham saw 5 of it’s 6 bowlers over 200 for the game but still managed to lose ground when Catholic matched the feat and gained another 121 pins on the total advantage. Dylan Fowler tossed in a 227 for the Jackets on the low lane to notch a win against a 224 on the Catholic side. Sophomore Quincy Brown dropped in a stout 244 on the high lane to peel off a point against one of the best bowlers in the state. The effort also saw three other 200 games by Mason Ballard (219), Gabriel Eunice (214) and Cade Fletcher (212). After game 2, the Jackets found themselves down 5-11 and down another 121 pins for a grand total of -211 for the two games. The Jackets finished with a season high 1224 in the game (204 avg).

Game three saw the Jackets down in a desperate situation needing to win all 6 matches and take total pins in order to bridge the gap left by the first two games. By the fifth frame of the last game the Jackets were stringing them strong and actually had a lead near the difference and saw 5 of 6 bowlers ahead in their matches. Still, Catholic is not a team to take a challenge lying down and they began to run off the strikes towards the end of the game and close off all hope for the Jackets to pull off the late win. The Jackets closed the gap by 45 pins overall in the last game taking it 1168 to 1123.

The match saw four bowlers over 600 for the Jackets and the same number for Catholic. The difference in the match was a few exceptional games for Catholic vs. a few anomalously low efforts on the Jackets score sheet. Two matches and total in one of the other games would have made the difference between a loss and a win. In high school bowling, a 16-11 margin is a relatively close match especially with teams where every man on the roster is capable of games over 250. In the end the Jackets had 10/18 games over 200 and another 6 games over 180.

The final for total pins was 3556 for Denham Springs and 3722 for Catholic. The total difference was 166 pins, almost all of which fell in two matchups with games over 250 for Catholic. Still, it was a great performance with the Jackets putting themselves in a position to make a run and win the match against the strongest Catholic team in the last few years and a clear Final Four capable team. We know what we have to work on and where we can go from here. We know there is some ceiling we left out there and realizing that ceiling is the next step between getting close against state title contenders and making a long playoff run knocking those teams off.

Baton Rouge High brings the first district action of the season. The match was played at All Star Lanes.

Game one started off slow with everyone bowling below their average except for 6-spot Cade Fletcher who tossed in a 257. Still the visiting Bulldogs were no match to the pinfall totals of the Jackets with nearly every Jacket taking a win and bursting out the gate to a 7-1 advantage.
Game two allowed a couple of substitutions and saw drop backs in performance from both teams. Cade Fletcher delivered the lone deuce of the match with a 208.
Game three saw us sit our 5-spot bowler and move some of the middle of the lineup into the high lane. They did not disappoint closing out game 3 with a flurry of strikes and another 1100. Quincy Brown provided a spectacular finish with a match high 258.

Brady Null came in off the bench for the match making a case for more time at the one spot with games of 156 and 172.

The final score was 25-2 Jackets.

The first three games of the season allowed us to use several bowlers in the roster and allowed me to balance a solid number of games between them to see how various bowlers perform in matches. Eight bowlers had at least 5 games in the first three matches with two more getting a game in varsity play early in the season. The boys next matchup against Archbishop Rummel will be our toughest match of the season to date and will require the best of what we have put on the lanes this season.

JV: 1-1
Girls: 1-2
Boys: 3-0