By Rubin E. Grant
Luke Eaton wasn’t rolling strikes, so he switched bowling balls, changing to one with some venom.
The switch worked wonders for the Spain Park senior.
After rolling a 172 in the first round of the traditional bowling competition, Eaton rolled the top scores in the second and third rounds with a 244 and tournament-best 247, respectively, to earn medalist honors with a 663 series in the AHSAA 2024 Class 6A/7A state boys tournament last Thursday at Bowlero Bowling Center in Mobile.
“I didn’t start off great, so I changed balls,” Eaton said. “I use a MOTIV ball and I was using a ball with a microcell polymer core, but I changed to the Venom Shock, which is a little heavier and more reactive to the course. It definitely hit the spot.”
The Jaguars (20-2) also captured the Class 6A/7A team title on Friday, defeating rival Thompson 4-2 in the championship bracket finals in the Baker Format best-of-seven dual match.
Spain Park won its second state title in three years and fourth overall. The Jags won the 2022 championship, then finished as runners-up to Sparkman in 2023. Their first two titles came in 2016 and 2017.
“This was our redemption year ‘cause we came so close last year,” Spain Park coach Stephen Hobbs said. “This was our best year to date. We were area champs, regional champs and state champs, and our guy was the individual state champ.”
Eaton became the Jags’ third consecutive individual champion, joining Cole Henson in 2022 and Ethan Lee in 2023.
Eaton was sitting near the lanes, counting scores and watching the other contenders to see if any of them would best his 663 series. When none did, he was stunned.
“I said, ‘OK, I won the individual,’” he said. “Then, I was like, ‘Wow!’”
Coming into the tournament, Hobbs figured Eaton stood a good chance to win.
“He has been our top bowler all year long,” Hobbs said. “His goal was to win the state title. In years past, he has pressed a little too hard and gotten too tight. In the first four or five frames this time, he struggled. But he listened to his coaches, changed balls and got on a roll. After the fifth game, he got into a zone and didn’t miss.”
Spain Park’s other senior, Michael Kimble II, who finished second in 2023, tied for fifth with Hewitt-Trussville’s Nate Dodson with a 589 series in the traditional round.
Eaton, who is headed to Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina to bowl, and Kimble came back the next day, joining juniors Evan Kelty and Ray Olatubi, sophomore Connor Shamblin and freshman Griffin Mikos to help the Jags claim the team title.
Hobbs was especially pleased with Mikos’ contributions.
“I had to bring him into the match in several clutch situations when other bowlers were struggling,” Hobbs said. “After sitting for hours, he came in cold and bowled exceptionally well every time.
“Our win this year was a total team victory.”
It wasn’t easy. The second-seeded Jags beat Hartselle 4-3 in the quarterfinals of the Baker Format, winning the pins battle by only 40 pins.
In what turned out to be classic battle from the get-go, Hartselle pulled out a dramatic 236-211 win in game three to take a 2-1 lead. The Jags persevered by winning the final two games to advance to the semifinals.
Spain Park pulled out another 4-3 win over defending state champion Sparkman, winning the final game 225-192. The Senators shocked the Jags in game six, winning 257-182. Both teams combined to knock down 2,627 pins.
“That was a very satisfying moment to win that,” Eaton said.
Spain Park took that momentum into the finals, building a 3-1 lead heading into game five. Thompson rallied for a 229-217 win, but the Jags then closed out the finals with a 177-157 win in game six.
The Warriors (16-5), coached by Chris Hollingsworth, won a hard-fought 4-3 battle over Dothan in the quarterfinals and swept top seed Hewitt-Trussville 4-0 in the semifinals.
“It’s been a good run,” Hobbs said. “Hopefully we can keep it going for hopefully the next three years.”
John Carroll Earns 1A/5A Title
John Carroll Catholic (14-2) captured its first state bowling crown in school history with a dramatic 4-3 victory over East Limestone (11-4) in Class 1A/5A boys.
The fourth-seeded Cavaliers and third-seeded Indians battled to a 2-2 tie after four games in the finals. East Limestone then squeaked out a 163-162 win in game five. John Carroll settled down and won games six and seven 168-156 and 151-137 to win the championship.
The Cavaliers, coached by Kathryn Miller, advanced to its first-ever state bowling final with a 4-1 victory over Gulf Shores in the first round, followed by a difficult 4-3 win over top-seed Scottsboro in the semifinals.
John Carroll picked up an important win in round two of that match as both teams struggled. The Cavs won 157-156, then clawed back from a 3-2 deficit to win game six 210-180 and pulled out another nailbiter in game seven 184-182 to win the match. The Wildcats won the pin battle, 1,192 pins to 1,168.
East Limestone, which won the state boys title in 2021, beat defending state champion Etowah 4-1 in the other semifinal.
In the boys traditional round, John Carroll sophomore Braden Mauro finished fifth with a 559 series and teammate Anthony Mokry was seventh with a 541 series.
