By Lee Davis
Spain Park added a blue piece of hardware to the school trophy case recently. But it wasn’t just a new trophy – the trophy represented a new sport.
The Jaguar boys bowling team claimed the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s first-ever sanctioned bowling championship on Jan. 28. Spain Park out-bowled runner-up Stanhope-Elmore 1,836-1,576 to claim the big blue trophy at Oak Mountain Lanes.
“It was a great effort for all our kids,” Jaguar coach Steve Hobbs said. “We put together our best effort at the right time. I’m proud of them for what they accomplished.”
Freshman Devin Dowell led Spain Park, rolling a score of 181 in the traditional format. Sophomore Jalen Johnson turned in a total of 179.
In the semi-final match, Spain Park edged Mary Montgomery 1,831-1,754. Senior James Waller topped the Jaguars with a 228 total in the traditional game.
Spain Park started the state tournament with early round victories over Fairhope and Benjamin Russell.
Ironically, the school had developed a bit of a bowling tradition even before the sport was sanctioned by the AHSAA. Jaguar bowler Ryan Kendall earned a scholarship to Wichita State University last season and led his club team to a 17-0 record, winning the Thompson Warrior Classic and the Rebel Roll Tournaments.
“We had a lot of kids who enjoyed bowling but there was no state tournament – so no real champion,” Hobbs recalled.
That changed when bowling was officially sanctioned by the AHSAA just before the 2015-16 school year.
“Our athletic director told us that they (the AHSAA) were sanctioning bowling as a sport, so we put a call out to get a team organized,” Hobbs said. “We held tryouts and, unfortunately, had to cut some kids because we had so many come out. It was clear that we had some very good bowlers.”
The record proved Hobbs to be correct. Spain Park posted a 20-1 record in dual matches and repeated as champion of the Rebel Roll. Varsity players averaged 172 pins per match for the season. Johnson had the highest average with 186 pins in 27 games and bowled a season high of 254 in a dual match against Stanhope Elmore late last year. He averaged a game of 194 in the state tournament.
Junior Andrew Harris averaged 198 in the state championship rounds but probably made his biggest contribution earlier at the regional tournament in Foley. He bowled a critical 234 to lift the Jags to a state tournament-qualifying second place position.
While many of the Jags are long-time bowlers, Hobbs said two of his players were relative newcomers to the sport. Waller began playing only two years ago, and John Gotham, also a senior, picked up the game last year and also made a major contribution to the team’s success.
Hobbs minimized his own role in Spain Park’s championship run. “These guys already know how to bowl,” he said. “I might be able to give them some advice about helping a ball break properly or something like that, but my main job is to know who is hot and who isn’t at a particular time in a match. It’s also important to keep them mentally tough at all times. I guess my job is motivational as much as anything.”
Other members of the team are juniors Ryan Caraway, Dan Charles, Alex Culwell and Andrew Harris; sophomores Brady Cooper; and freshmen Tucker Contorno and Wyatt Lumsden.
“People are already asking if we can win it (the championship) again,” Hobbs said, laughing. “We’re only losing two seniors so we should be very good again next season.”
Hobbs said he was excited about the future of varsity bowling – not just at Spain Park, but across Alabama.
“We’ve already got a nice rivalry with Stanhope Elmore,” Hobbs said. “That’s part of what makes it fun. I think this sport is going to keep growing and growing.”
No matter how big high school bowling gets, the 2015-16 Spain Park boys team will go down in history as Alabama’s first official state champion.
