The 2017-2018 bowling team after Bi-Regional play: (back row, from left) Assistant Coach Chris McCabe, junior Adam Francis, senior Gerard Miller, senior Mason French, senior Alex Barron, junior Jake Stiegler, junior Alex O’Neil, Coach Todd Bourgeois ’88, (front row, from left) Bowling Team Mom Lynette Greco, junior Bradley Fugetta, junior Grant Greco, senior Trent Greco, freshman Ben Hunn, pre-freshman Luke Wood, and pre-freshman Brennan Barry

The Jesuit Varsity Bowling team rolled into All-Star Kenner lanes bright and early to compete in the Louisiana Bi-Regional Tournament on Tuesday, March 27.

The Jesuit Bowling Team enjoys breakfast together at IHOP before the meet.

Senior Alex Barron rolls one down the lane.

Senior Gerard Miller takes aim.

Match 1 – Jesuit Vs. St. Paul’s School

After a hearty breakfast at IHOP, the No. 10 seed Blue Jays went head-to-head in their first match up against No. 7 seed St. Paul’s School at 11:00 am. Jesuit handily beat the St. Paul’s Wolves with an impressive score of 24-3. Senior Alex Barron and freshman Ben Hunn started off game one blazing down the lanes with a 231 and 220, respectively. Following close behind was junior Jake Stiegler with a 191. This put the Jays and Wolves neck-and-neck in the first game of the match, each seeing wins from three bowlers. Jesuit won game one 5-3.

Outscoring St. Paul’s by 119 pins in game one, the Jesuit bowlers really hit their strides in game two, winning six out of six match ups. Five of the six bowlers fired off scores above 200 – senior Trent Greco (201), junior Alex O’Neil (208), Hunn (214), Barron (222), and Steigler (257). By the end of the game, the bowlers had outpaced the Wolves by 280 pins, nabbing all of the bonus points for a 0-8 win.

The Blue Jays held on to their lead seeing five out of six bowlers victorious over their opponents. Junior Adam Francis led the way with a 188 game that included a “Chicken Sandwhich” (a strike, three spares, and another strike), followed closely by senior Mason French with a 180 game that included a “Turkey” (three consecutive strikes).  Jesuit beat their opponents in the final game with a 7-1 victory, solidifying a Jesuit match win by 3404 pins to St. Paul’s 3001. Francis finished with a 521 series and O’Neil with a 562 series.

Senior Mason French lines up his shot.

Match 2 – Jesuit Vs. Holden

The Blue Jays, after a quick twenty-minute break between matches, went straight into their second match up against the undefeated No. 2 seed Holden Rockets at 1:00 pm. Holden won the best-of-27 point match, 23-4, in a match much more competitive than the final totals.

It was a boisterous event filled with loud encouragement from both the Rockets’ and the Blue Jays’ fans. Each strike and spare made was met the with resounding sound of clapping and cheering. Holden, with a fresh set of bowlers having had a bye for the first round of the tournament, took game one 6-2, edging out the Jays by just 96 pins. Leading Jesuit in game one was Francis and O’Neil who fired off a 198 and 209, respectively, each earning a point.

The Blue Jays picked up speed in game two with three Jesuit bowlers scoring over 200 – O’Neil (208), Greco (224) and Stiegler (259). Stiegler bowled a clean game (only strikes and spares) with four front strikes and a back string of strikes–striking in frames 8 and 9 and ending with a turkey. But even Stiegler’s impressive showing of 259 was no match for Holden’s top bowler who scored an almost perfect game with a 279. The Rockets extended their lead with 233 pins and ended the game with all six of their bowlers earning points for a 0-8 win.

Undeterred by Holden’s lead all the Jesuit seniors –Gerard Miller, Mason French, Alex Barron, and Trent Greco– stepped up to bowl for their final game as Blue Jays. Jesuit rallied with two senior bowlers, French (194) and Greco (238), outscoring their opponents. Three of the Jesuit bowlers finished off the game with an impressive series total of over 550 – Barron (569), Stiegler (606), and Greco (632). Despite the Blue Jays strong efforts in all three games, the Rockets tallied more pins at the end of the game three. Snatching two points for all three games’ team total and then winning three extra bonus points for overall pin count. The final pin count stood in Holden’s favor beating Jesuit 3755 pins to 3388 pins.

While the Blue Jays as a team are out, four bowlers placed for singles — Barron, Greco, O’Neil, and Stiegler — and will advance to the State Championship Singles Tournament in Baton Rouge on Friday, April 6^th.  Barron, Greco, and Stielger also have received All-District 2nd Team awards for their season averages — 189, 188, and 190, respectively.

View the Photo Gallery from the Bi-Regional Tournament

Senior Trent Greco hurls one down the lane with careful aim.