Sweet Home boys bowling crowned Division II champs

Sweet Home's boys bowling team defeated West Seneca East, 4-3, on Wednesday at Wimbledon Lanes to capture the ECIC Division II title.

Ryan Kaminski led the Panthers, rolling his second 700 series of the season. Kaminski had games of 211 and 262 and finished with two clutch strikes to roll 223 for a 702 series.

Captain Aaron Klein shot a 640 series with games of 233, 177 and 230. Jonathan LoPresti had games of 190, 221, and 204 for a 615 set. Other high games were bowled by Ryan Clark (211, 211); Shaun Louis (218); and Chris Louis (203).

Peter Schaefer rolled games of 181, 201 and 201 for a 583. Schaefer had the highest average for the entire season with a 205.36.

Ryan Kaminski had team-high game (289), high series (754) and second high average (203.6).

Sweet Home finished 9-1. The "A" team average was 194.85. The "B" team average was 184.68. The "A" and "B" team average was 189.76.

Williamsville South

Sweet Home's only loss came to the Billies, 4-3, on Dec. 12, at Transit Lanes. South won the match by one pin in the second game of the "B" match.

The Billies' other wins came twice against Williamsville East (6-1 on Dec. 13 at Transit Lanes; 6-1 on Jan. 3 at Transit Lanes) and West Seneca East, 4-3, on Jan. 14 at Manor II Lanes. West Seneca East finished second in the league.

South's losses came against Hamburg twice (6-1 on Dec. 10 at Legion Lanes; 4-3 at Transit Lanes); Iroquois twice (5-2 on Dec. 19 at Transit Lanes; 5-2 at Airport Lanes on Jan. 16); West Seneca East, 5-2, at Wimbledon Lanes; and Sweet Home, 7-0, on Jan. 9 at Manor II Lanes.

"Division II was very competitive this year," said South coach Rick Newton. "Hamburg surprised us as well as Iroquois. Many matches were decided by a few pins. The talent on almost every team was deep, and most teams had eight solid bowlers. A small mistake could be the margin of defeat and one good game the margin of victory."

Alex Petrie led South with a 210.13 average. Russ Scheiss averaged 195.97. Adam Petrie rolled a 185.57 average. Tony Cirbus had a 179.48 average.

"Alex Petrie may be the best scholastic bowler in the league, and Russ Scheiss is incredibly explosive and has yet to reach his considerable potential," said Newton. "Tony Cirbus is the most improved young bowler on the team, and Adam Petrie can be as good as anybody. We look forward to the challenges ahead."

Newton said while it was an up-and-down year, he feels solid going into rolloffs and sectionals in February.

"We had a second-place finish in the Maryvale tournament early in the year," said Newton. "Sectionals is a five-man team (not eight, as in league play). We feel our five will match up to any team in Erie County."