Wildcats win Raider Rumble, have great showing at Simon Kenton

By Rhonda Hutchison

On November 18 the Pendleton County Wildcats Bowling team became the Raider Rumble Baker Champions for the second year in a row. 

In the boys division fourteen teams started the competition. Pendleton County, after ten baker games, were in second place with a total pin count of 1887 behind rival Boone County who sat in first with a 1904. Of the 14 teams only the top eight scoring teams advanced to the second round. In this round the eight remaining teams were divided into two four team groups according to seeding and all previous scores were thrown out. After four more baker games only the two top scoring teams from each group would advance to round three. Pendleton County found themselves first in their division and moving on but still trailing rival Boone County in pins. Again the scores were thrown out and the four remaining teams (Boone, Pendleton, Campbell, Cooper #1) bowled four additional baker games. With only the top two scoring teams advancing to the finals all teams swung into action. Once the pins stopped flying, Boone County had come out on top scoring a 749 followed closely by the Wildcats with a 726. Both teams advanced to the final head to head part of the tournament. With all prior scores erased, the winner would be determined by the first team to win two baker games. The Wildcats roared onto the lanes taking the first game 187-181. Not to be outdone, the Rebels came back to win the second game 221-146. With each team having one win the final game would determine the winner. Balls rolled, pin flew and the crowd cheered as each team fought for the win. At the end of the 10th frame only one team was still standing as Pendleton County took game three 204-165 to become the champs of the Raiders Rumble for the second year in a row.

In the girls division, eleven teams started the tournament. Using the same format as the boys division, the young Ladycat team took to the lanes. After 10 baker games the Ladycats had made school history by making the cut to round 2 with a total pin count of 1165. In Round 2 the Ladycats were unable to secure enough pins to advance. Tates Creek took the girls division win. Team members who participated were: Chance Enzweiler, Braden Brann, Bradley Brann, Leroy Bryant, Josiah Bryant, Colton Webster, Kyan Brewer, Alyiah Webster, Brooklyn Wrobleski, Maddie Crawford, Dara Morton, Kree Brewer, EmmaLee Chappell.

 On November 21, the unified teams were at Bellewood Lanes for a 20 Team Single Elimination match. In the seeding round PC#1 Jordan Ewers/Kyan Brewer seeded second while PC#2 Dylan Beckett/Maddie Crawford seeded seventh. Both Pendleton County teams had a bye in the first round. In the second round PC#1 eliminated Scott #4 while PC#2 eliminated Highlands#1 to allow both teams to advance to the next round. Although both teams advanced, the excitement was short lived when the Pendleton County teams realized that their next opponent was each other. Both teams fought a good battle but PC#1 came out the victor and advanced to the semi-final round. Still on a roll PC#1 continued their winning streak and eliminated Highlands#5 advancing them to the finals against Dayton#4. Jordan Ewers was on fire and led the PC#1 team to a game victory with a score of 163 to win the match. 

 On November 25, 12 of our Pendleton Wildcat Bowlers participated in the Simon Kenton Doubles Blowout Tournament held at Bellewood Lanes. In this tournament each team consisted of two bowlers (boy/boy, girl/girl or boy/girl) with each team bowling ten baker games. The winners were determined by total pin fall per team for the day. The tournament was divided into three divisions boys, girls and mixed teams. There were a total of 29 teams that took part in the tournament from various schools in the area. In the boys division, the Wildcats made a great showing with Bradley Brann/Braden Brann finishing second with a pin count of 2054 and Kyan Brewer/Leroy Bryant finishing third with a pin count of 2037. These two teams missed first by 33 and 50 pins respectively. Kyan Brewer and Leroy Bryant were also awarded high game in the boys division of the tournament with a 259 game. Other Wildcat teams in the boys division were: Adam Straus/Chance Enzweiler 1622 total pins, Karson Enzweiler/Josiah Hurdle 1371 total pins. In the mixed division of the tournament the Wildcats dominated. Kree Brewer and Lucas Thompson (Covington Classical Academy) took first place with a total pin count of 1819. Maddie Crawford and Aleck Meredith (Simon Kenton) were runner up with a total pin count of 1574. The Webster siblings, Colton and Alyiah, placed third with a pin count of 1146. High game in the mixed division went to Kree Brewer and Lucas Thompson with a 226 game.