Aside from a handful of make-up matches, the first half of the 2013-14 bowling season is in the books. Yup, already. But fear not, we haven’t even gotten to the major-tournament portion of the schedule, and there are still plenty of matches left that will decide league/division titles.
Taglines dropped in for one such contest Thursday at Holiday Bowl in Oakland. The Mahwah and Westwood girls went head-to-head for first place in the Big North Patriot Division… last winter, the Thunderbirds beat Westwood late in the season to win the title by two points. In their first meeting this season, the Cardinals won, 7-0, to remain unbeaten in the division and move 11 points ahead of Mahwah in the loss column — but it was about as close as a sweep possibly could be (details and full standings after the jump).
Westwood won the first game by 34 , the second by 1, and the third by 48 to take the total pinfall, 1,913 to 1,830. That’s right, one pin separated the teams in Game Two, and the T-Birds’ undoing was a pair of splits in the 10th frame… one was the dreaded 7-10, the other a 4-6-7 that anchor Allison Homler nearly converted on her final ball. Homler had a great angle on the shot and got the 4-pin to ricochet off the back wall, but it missed the stubborn 6, and that was the potential game-tying pin. (As “vengeanceâ€, the senior covered a 4-7-10 spare in Game Three).
Mahwah got off to a good start in the third game and led after frame No. 5. That’s when Westwood’s anchor, Kaitlyn Stapleton, reeled off three straight strikes to get the team going (plus prompt the amusing “turkey†graphic to appear on the score monitor), and the comeback was on. Junior Marissa Rivers took the comeback theme to the extreme — her first throw of Game Three was a Gutterball Greg special, but she and the Cards could have cared less after her third strike in the 10th frame helped seal the deal. Kudos, too, to T-Birds senior Anna Zaat for keeping the pressure on with a match-high 222 in the finale.
So we know where that leaves the Big North Patriot Division girls leaders, what about everyone else? Full standings for the Big North and NJIC are below, with this disclaimer: NJIC teams bowl only divisional matches, all two games apiece… Big North teams have three-game matches, but some are cross-divisional and do not count in the standings, so their division and overall records are shown:
Boys Bowling Standings
(Through Thursday, Dec. 19)
BIG NORTH CONFERENCE
UNITED DIVISION
Paramus Catholic: 19-9 (21-14 overall)
St. Joseph: 12-2 (26-2)
Bergen Catholic: 9-5 (21-28)
Don Bosco: 2-12 (21-14)
DePaul: 0-14 (7-28)
NOTES — PC has faced everyone in the division once and has the lead, but St. Joe’s beat the Paladins, 5-2, on Dec. 3. The Green Knights have to make up a snow-out with Don Bosco and must play Bergen Catholic twice in the second half.
LIBERTY DIVISION
Passaic Tech: 26-2 (33-2 overall)
Bergen Tech: 21-7 (30-12)
Clifton: 21-7 (23-12)
Passaic: 2-26 (2-33)
Kennedy: 0-14 (0-28)
Eastside: 0-14 (0-42)
NOTES — The schedule I have says that Clifton and Passaic Tech were supposed to face off on Wednesday, but we never got a score. We’re also missing Kennedy/Passaic from Dec. 11. Little help?
FREEDOM DIVISION
Northern Highlands: 28-7 (40-9 overall)
Indian Hills: 21-0 (33-2)
Hackensack: 11-10 (11-17)
Paramus: 5-9 (7-21)
Ridgewood: 3-18 (3-25)
Ramapo: 2-26 (7-35)
NOTES — You may notice a theme start to develop… Indian Hills and Northern Highlands have not played each other yet, but that happens in their first dual match of the new year on Jan. 7 at Holiday Bowl.
INDEPENDENCE DIVISION
West Milford: 17-4 (38-4 overall)
Fair Lawn: 14-7 (23-12)
Lakeland: 12-16 (19-16)
Wayne Valley: 11-10 (30-12)
Wayne Hills: 2-19 (11-31)
NOTES — Mark it down, Jan. 7 at T-Bowl in Wayne, Fair Lawn vs. West Milford for the division lead. The first-place Highlanders have won five matches by 7-0 scores and only lost to Wayne Valley, 4-3. FYI: This used to be a six-school division, but Passaic Valley is not fielding a team this year.
NATIONAL DIVISION
Pascack Valley: 26-2 (31-4 overall)
Bergenfield: 19-2 (26-9)
Teaneck: 19-16 (26-23)
Demarest: 16-12 (18-17)
Tenafly: 7-28 (7-28)
Old Tappan: 4-31 (4-31)
NOTES — The first Bergenfield/PV match of the season was scheduled for Dec. 10, but (no) thanks to snow, we’ll have to wait until Jan. 6 to see this division’s leaders go head-to-head.
PATRIOT DIVISION
Westwood: 26-2 (47-2 overall)
Mahwah: 13-8 (27-22)
Ramsey: 10-11 (17-18)
River Dell 5-16 (10-32)
Pascack Hills: 2-19 (9-26)
NOTES — Mahwah became the first team to take a game from Westwood on Thursday, but the Cardinals are still firmly in control.
AMERICAN DIVISION
Fort Lee: 12-2 (26-9 overall)
Dumont: 7-7 (24-11)
Ridgefield Park: 2-5 (6-29)
Cliffside Park: 0-7 (2-26)
NOTES — If Dumont stays on Fort Lee’s heels, this race will come down to the teams’ final-week meeting on Jan. 27.
NORTH JERSEY INTERSCHOLASTIC CONFERENCE
COLONIAL DIVISION
Hawthorne: 20-0
Pompton Lakes: 20-0
Rutherford: 15-5
Garfield: 10-10
Eastern Christian: 5-15
Glen Rock: 5-15
Manchester: 3-17
Mary Help: 2-18
NOTES — Leaders Hawthorne and Pompton Lakes will meet on Jan. 9… The score called into The Record from Dec. 9 read “Garfield 5, Glen Rock 0″, but a score I saw elsewhere indicated that Glen Rock won, 5-0. The standings reflect a Garfield win, so if that is incorrect, please email us.
MEADOWLANDS DIVISION
Secaucus: 20-5
Wallington: 20-5
Lyndhurst: 18-2
North Arlington: 12-13
Becton: 10-10
Wood-Ridge: 8-17
St. Mary: 7-18
Hasbrouck Heights: 0-25
NOTES — Leaders Secaucus and Wallington square off on the first match back from break, Jan. 6. Both dropped 5 points to Lyndhurst but are otherwise unbeaten… Lyndhurst lost 2 points to North Arlington and has played one fewer match than the leaders. The Golden Bears will make up their Dec. 17 snow-out against Becton after the holiday break.
PATRIOT DIVISION
Leonia: 20-0
Park Ridge: 15-0
Palisades Park: 15-5
New Milford: 10-5
Harrison: 10-15
Midland Park: 8-7
Hawthorne Christian: 3-17
Bogota: 2-18
Queen of Peace: 2-18
NOTES — A couple of snow-outs still to be made up here, but you haven’t missed the big one: Leonia vs. Park Ridge on Jan. 9 at Parkway Lanes. If the standings remain as they are, those teams might actually play two in a row, with a position round set for Jan. 13.
*****
Girls Bowling Standings
(Through Thursday, Dec. 19)
BIG NORTH CONFERENCE
UNITED DIVISION
Holy Angels: 14-0 (35-0 overall)
Immaculate Heart: 5-9 (35-14)
Paramus Catholic: 2-12 (23-12)
NOTES — Holy Angels is halfway home to repeating as United champ. The race will come down to the second full week of January: Angels/IHA on the 14th, Angels/PC on the 16th. The second IHA/PC match is Jan. 29.
LIBERTY DIVISION
Bergen Tech: 28-0 (30-5 overall)
Clifton: 14-7 (26-16)
Passaic Tech: 12-16 (12-30)
Passaic: 5-16 (7-21)
Eastside: 4-10 (4-31)
Kennedy: 0-14 (0-21)
NOTES — Bergen Tech swept through the first half of its divisional slate, including a 7-0 win over Clifton on Dec. 6. The rematch is set for Jan. 13… In the meantime, if someone could kindly pass along results from Passaic/Kennedy on Dec. 11 and Passaic/Clifton on Thursday, it’d be much appreciated.
FREEDOM DIVISION
Northern Highlands: 24-11 (29-20 overall)
Paramus: 14-0 (28-7)
Hackensack: 14-7 (14-14)
Ridgewood: 11-10 (18-17)
Indian Hills: 7-14 (9-26)
Ramapo: 0-28 (1-41)
NOTES — Talk about your unbalanced schedules… Northern Highlands already has faced everybody in the Freedom once, while Paramus has played only two division matches. However, the Spartans swept NH, 7-0, and their only loss came against Holy Angels in a cross-divisional showdown.
INDEPENDENCE DIVISION
Fair Lawn: 21-0 (35-0 overall)
Lakeland: 7-14 (12-23)
Wayne Valley: 5-9 (26-9)
Wayne Hills: 2-12 (11-31)
NOTES — For the girls, the Independence is a lot smaller since neither Passaic Valley *nor* West Milford field teams this season. Fair Lawn swept Wayne Valley, 7-0, on Dec. 5, but the Indians will get another shot at the leader on Jan. 13.
NATIONAL DIVISION
Teaneck: 35-0 (42-0 overall)
Tenafly: 24-11 (24-11)
Old Tappan: 21-14 (21-14)
Demarest: 9-19 (15-20)
Pascack Valley: 2-26 (2-33)
Bergenfield: 0-21 (5-37)
NOTES — Yeah, about Teaneck… they’ll be ranked the next time The Record Top 5 comes out. They have the second-best team average in the entire conference behind fellow unbeaten Holy Angels, and the rest of this division may have trouble catching up.
PATRIOT DIVISION
Westwood: 28-0 (47-2 overall)
Mahwah: 10-11 (38-18)
Ramsey: 9-12 (23-12)
River Dell: 7-14 (21-21)
Pascack Hills: 2-19 (6-29)
NOTES — See above. This one might not come down to the end of the season again.
AMERICAN DIVISION
Dumont: 12-2 (22-13 overall)
Fort Lee: 5-9 (5-30)
Ridgefield Park: 2-5 (9-26)
Cliffside Park: 2-5 (2-26)
NOTES — No one has bowled more than two matches against division opponents yet, so we’ll see how things shake out after the sun sets on 2013.
Speaking of which, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. Hey, no matter which holidays you celebrate, those two give you a good reason to take off on a Wednesday (this year, at least), so why not enjoy them? See you ’round the lanes…
—GT