Bellmore-Merrick Bowls Over Island Trees

Right from the first frame, the Bellmore-Merrick bowling team filled up the score sheet and never looked back, defeating Island Trees on Thursday with an 11-point sweep.  

Led by coach Joe Bianca, the Bellmore-Merrick team comprises the best bowlers from three schools: Bellmore JFK, Calhoun High School, and Mepham High School. In a packed alley at South Levittown Lanes, the Bellmore-Merrick squad defeated Island Trees in all three games played to claim nine points (three points per game), and won the accumulative score (all three games combined) for the other two points.

Ricky Hough, a Mepham junior, led the charge in game one, with a 265 game to lead Bellmore-Merrick to an 871-725 victory. Hough was in a groove all game, at one point throwing seven strikes in a row.

"It feels good," said Hough on getting off to a positive start. "But my main goal is to finish up the game strong and not worry about what I did the first part of the game. Just try to finish up strong and try to help the team win."

That he did. Hough, ranked second overall in Nassau Country last year, and third in the state, averaged a 225 over the three games en route to leading his team to victory.

Game two featured a different top-scorer, with C.J. Marino, also from Mepham, bowling a 202. Also chipping in with a solid game was Calhoun's Scott Castellano with a 194. Bellmore-Merrick took game two by a score of 776-617. Although the game did not contain the eye-opening scores put forth in game one, the squad was still very satisfied with the all-around team effort.

"I think we did good as a team," Castellano said. "We didn't get down on each other, and we kept each other in the game."

Game three brought yet another bowler into the limelight. This time, senior Mike Cappuzzo of Calhoun led the pack, bowling a 256.  Bellmore-Merrick won the game soundly, 803-617.

"A little over my average," Cappuzzo joked of his phenomenal game. "It's a pretty good game, I guess."

With a different bowlers stepping up each game, the key to Bellmore-Merrick's victory on Thursday was consistency, according to coach Joe Bianca.

"We bowled well, but we could have bowled better," Bianca said. "The consistency was there; when one guy was down, the other guy picked it up. We won all three games and all eleven points to keep us in first place."

Bianca also praised the individual performances from Hough and Cappuzzo.

"They are returning varsity guys for the third straight year," Bianca said. "Last year they bowled in the counties, and they're consistent bowlers. We expect them to be back there and hopefully win counties as a team this year."

Next up, the Bellmore-Merrick squad (3-1) will bowl in the placements on Thursday, December 17, where it will try to exact revenge on Wantagh, the team accounting for its only loss this year. 

The Bellmore-Merrick girls team was equally as victorious on the day, also winning all eleven points as they won all three games and the accumulative point score, respectively.