At the welcoming abode of Lakeside Lanes, the Libertyville Wildcats and the Warren Blue Devils played their first match of the season on Nov. 8, 2022. The varsity bowling team along with the Blue Devils split into two teams, both having a best of three matches, with three players on each team.

Game One:

From the moment they started Game #1, it looked like things were definitely going to be interesting. The first varsity team, consisting of seniors Jack Campbell, CJ Villani, and Antonio Oliverii, had a bit of a slower start than they had hoped, getting more spares than strikes while the Blue Devils took the lead. The second varsity team made up of seniors Luke Marx and Ryan Kaputa, and junior Charlie Imm wasn’t faring any better, with the Blue Devils getting more strikes than spares and the Wildcats getting vice versa. 

Out of nowhere though, the tables completely turned! The first varsity team started hitting harder and faster with their shots, with Antonio Oliveri taking full advantage of the field. But the Wildcats were just warming up. The second varsity team upped their game by racking up double the points they had in the first few frames. Senior Luke Marx was the match’s highlight by getting a streak of strikes along with his teammates, putting his team at 557 points in contrast with Warren’s 508. 

“It was a tough start,” Oliverii said. “We kind of figured out the lanes near the end game, so we got better throughout the day.” By the end of the first game, the Wildcats barely took the game back from the Blue Devils. 

Game Two:

Entering Game #2, the Wildcats knew they had to bring their A-game, whether it be cheering on their teammates after an amazing play or figuring out the best way to get strikes on their alley. When their second game started, the Wildcats really stepped up their game. 

The second game, just like the first, was again quite slow. But this time, the first varsity team racked up many more points in the first few frames than they did in the first game, with the balls being an average of over 15mph. On the other hand, senior Luke Marx again made an amazing play by getting over 75 points in only 4 frames, putting the Wildcats up against the Blue Devils. 

As the Blue Devils attempted to fight back, the varsity teams fought against the struggle, placing well-laid runs and heavy swings to get as many pins down as possible. In the end, both teams prevailed again with the first varsity team getting 557 points over Warren’s 508 points and the second varsity team getting 509 points over Warren’s 382 points.

Game Three:

Okay, as we enter Game #3, the final game of the match, forget what I said before. THIS TIME the wildcats brought their A-game. By now, no one was holding anything back. The Wildcats had shaken all the rust off and brought out a shiny new coat of pizazz. Each team was throwing out its best cards, all of them attempting to gain the upper hand. Almost immediately, senior Luke Marx of the second varsity team took advantage of the field, getting a turkey (three strikes in a row) in the first three frames. 

The real star of the show though was senior Jack Campbell and his amazing play on the first varsity team. Campbell didn’t hold anything back, giving everything he had in every ball he threw down at the pins. He threw strike after strike giving the Wildcats the upper hand against the Blue Devils. It wasn’t just Campbell, though. Both CJ Villani and Antonio Oliveri were feeling the heat. They were all getting strike after strike, giving them the advantage over Warren. With the Wildcats giving their A-game, the Blue Devils quickly followed. 

Even though the Wildcats were bringing their full effort, it was still a very close match. Back at the second varsity team, the varsity team had a struggle with the Blue Devils, with their plays faltering to Warren. But now it was junior Charles Imm’s time to shine. Imm quickly amassed over 100 points in his final 5 periods, making the second varsity team’s total of 189 against Warren’s 139, giving them the final victory. 

By the time the third game for the first varsity team was nearing its end, senior Jack Campbell had amassed over 11 different strikes throughout the entire game alone, giving him over 270 points, which made his play the highlight of the entire game. But Campbell wasn’t alone. Senior CJ Villani followed close behind, amassing a total of 215 points at the end of his run. This gave the first varsity wildcats team the final victory of 640 points over 551.

The Wildcats had won the night! While the Cats may have won their first game of the season, they knew they had a lot more work ahead of them. “It’s our first match of the year. So I think we were a little nervous going into it,” said Coach Sweeny. “We were the conference champs last year. So we got that kind of on our shoulders trying to try to repeat that. So we just kind of got to relax and trust ourselves”.