Forest Hills High School Boys Bowling Edged By South Shore, 2-1

It went down to the wire, but Forest Hills boys bowling failed to overtake South Shore High School late in Game C, losing its playoff match 2-1.

The Rangers' A-team captured the first game, 701-642. The B-team dropped the second tilt, 449-416, forcing a Game C, with the Vikings' A-squad defeating Forest Hills A-team in a game A rematch, 690 to 658.

It was a disappointing end to a fun playoff run for the Rangers, who still have two bowlers, , who will be participating in the individual championships later this week.

Hero: A-teamer Gary Pacheco led South Shore with scores of 201 and 205, respectively, in both of his matches. Breaking the 200-pin barrier twice was enough to push his team over the top and capture the win for South Shore. 

Turning Point: Both teams went pin-for-pin, but the Vikings pulled away late in Game C when Kijana Griffith, Ryan Demott and Pacheco all closed out their nights with strikes and spares, forcing Bustillo to throw three consecutive strikes for the win. In the end, despite a valiant effort, Bustillo managed a strike and a spare in the final frame.

Quotable: "It's disappointing to lose, but I'm very proud of the way my guys battled and fought," Forest Hills head coach Ira Wolin said. "We took them to the last bowler of the last frame, and they won. Somebody's got to win, somebody's got to lose. We did our best. Nobody gave up , nobody quit."

Bottom Line: The 19-seeded Vikings never once succumbed to the pressure of playing 14-seeded Forest Hills, showing their mettle down the stretch, which pleased head coach Jennifer Aniello, who took them from 2-10 record last year to 14-2 and the playoffs this season.

"It was a big upset. They were a little bit up on us from what our commissioner and the stats were telling us," said Aniello, who teaches at Lafayette High School. "Last year, we had a really rough year. We came back this year and it was great season for us. No matter what happens from here on in, this has been the best season for us."

Key Stat: South Shore racked up 17 strikes in the final game, while the Rangers recorded 15. The difference was enough to put the final game in the win column for the Vikings.

Teams

Game A

Game B

Game C

Final

(19) South Shore

642

449

690

2

(14) Forest Hills

701

416

658

1