After their biggest success of the season Monday, the Cranford bowling team kept the momentum going, throwing a scare into Arthur L. Johnson by taking the first game before the Crusaders fought back to win the match two games to one.
"I'm pretty happy with their performance today," said coach Richard Goldstein. "They bowled the best they did so far this year as a team. I'm pleased with their performance today, they're getting a little more confident, they're taking more risks, and it's paying off for them."
Johnson came in averaging 150 pins more than Cranford, but that didn't deter the confident Cougars from having their best day of the season with 2,455 total pins. Junior Chris Juliano, who had a career-high 247 in his last start, followed that up with a 243 in game one for the upset-minded blue shirts, who also received a 211 effort in the first game from junior Mike Milwicz.
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"I got three lucky strikes in a row, but I tied them together," said Juliano." I just keep going up, that's what I'm planning to do."
"The first game was a huge confidence booster," said Goldstein. "I had a talk with them on the bus, told them to focus, don't stress about the team you're playing, focus on your personal game, go in strong, be a team, root each other on, and it paid off for us."
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Juliano finished with a 615 series, while Milwicz was second-best at 546.
"I kind of went back to my old ways a little bit because I'm used to it," said Milwicz. "I'm trying to get under the ball a lot more than usual. When I throw the ball, I get a mix and that's what causes the explosion. And when I have the explosion, it means I'm throwing the ball really well."
What has the Cougars excited is that everyone has raised their game recently, which bodes well for the rest of the season.
Tim Coda rolled a career-high 216 in the middle game.
"I tried something new today," Coda said. " I actually tried to curve it, it worked out pretty good. The second game I altered, on the advisement of the team captain (Juliano), that worked out really well, a 216, I'm really happy about that. I feel I'm more confident. Now I know I can actually do it."
Sophomore Brad Sigl moved up from junior varsity to help the cause as well.
"I think I was tensing up a little bit," said Sigl. "During the second game I found my groove, but then I kind of lost it. I have to work out the kinks in my game, but I think I have a good stable basis, I just have to get better."
It seems that everyone is fired up after their huge win Monday against Roselle.
"Absolutely," said coach Goldstein. "They're noticing the improvement with the right equipment, some of the guys purchased new balls, they've been using it, trying new things, and it's been working for them."
"We're definitely getting better," said Juliano. "I hope to keep getting better throughout the year."
