Cougars Bowl Over the Competition



Even without the guidance of head coach Rich Goldstein, the Cranford Cougars' bowling team was able to fend off Roselle High School on Wednesday at Jersey Lanes in Linden.

The win is big for a Cougars team that has started the season strong, and is further momentum toward a season goal of a conference championship.

The Cougars started off strong and never looked back, capturing the first game of the series against Roselle by a wide 935-744 margin.

"It's a good win. We did really well today in our first game," said Cougars co-captain Michael Milwicz following the series. "A 935 is the best we've done all season."

The Cougars didn't knock down quite as many pins in their next two games in the series, but still scored enough to hold off Roselle in both games. The score of Game 2 was 790-662 in favor of the Cougars. Roselle would get its closest to matching Cranford in the third game, but still fell 691-590 to a talented Cougars squad.

The effort was undoubtedly enough to top Roselle, but points to an issue of stamina the Cougars will look to address going forward, said Milwicz.

"We kind of lost (momentum) in the second and third (games) because we were getting tired," said Milwicz. "Still, we won all three, and we feel good about it."

The Cougars will take on Plainfield High School on Monday, January 3 before their big showdown against Union Catholic two days later on Wednesday, January 5.

Cranford will look to bring its absolute best to the Union Catholic match, as it could very well help decide how the season will unfold.

For the Cougars, the early success so far this season bodes well for the big challenges that lie ahead.

"If we keep doing this well, we can beat Union Catholic, since that's the team that we need to beat," said Milwicz.

The Cougars, among a host of other area bowling squads, can be seen during their matches at Jersey Lanes, Inc., located at 30 North Park Avenue in Linden.