AHSAA photo by David Holtsford
By Chris McCarthy, Publisher
The Southside High bowling teams acquitted themselves well earlier this week in Mobile.
The Panthers boys placed third overall and the girls finished fifth at the AHSAA Class 6A/7A state tournament at the Bowlero Bowling Center.
“Our kids were obviously disappointed that they didn’t achieve their goals, but they had a lot of fight against some pretty stiff competition,” said Southside head coach Jason Bozeman. “It’s a big step up from 1A-5A to 6A/7A, and our kids showed that they belonged. They didn’t go out easy, that’s for sure.”
In the tournament’s opening round on Monday, Feb. 3, the Panthers (27-3) dropped to the consolation bracket after losing by one pin, 1,406 to 1,405, against Dothan. However, Southside proceeded to beat James Clemens, 1,514 to 1,254 and Stanhope-Elmore, 1,487 to 1,438 to advance to the consolation third round against Dothan on Feb. 4, in which Southside exacted a measure of revenge with a 1,525 to 1,379 victory. The Panthers then fell to Thompson, 1,661 to 1,550, in the consolation finals.
Brady Ellis and Dalton Suther paced Southside in traditional round single game scoring on Monday at 210, followed by Trey Morgan at 203.
Morgan bowled a 269 traditional round on Tuesday, while Ellis (211) and Suther (210) also topped 200 in the traditional round.
The Lady Panthers (22-3) opened the tournament on Feb. 3 with a 1,264 to 999 win over Foley before falling to Hoover, 1,323 to 1,259 in the winner’s bracket semifinals. Southside rebounded with a 1,338 to 914 over Stanhope-Elmore in the consolation second round, setting up a third round consolation match against James Clemens, which defeated Southside by a score of 1,337 to 1,168.
Southside’s Bella Perkins posted the top traditional round in Monday’s action, rolling a 225. She was followed by Cora Clontz (pictured below) at 204, Keira Phillips at 180, Brayleigh Peppers at 179 and Katelyn Phillips at 176.
“Our girls beat James Clemens twice this year, including one for the regional title,” said Bozeman. “So it was quite an upset. It just goes to show that no matter who you are bowling against, if you’re not on your game, anything can happen. You definitley can’t take anyone lightly at a state tournament.
Bozeman pointed to the mental toughness required to be successful in bowling.
“In this sport, you have to have an immediate short-term memory, especially in the Baker format where each of the five bowler gets two frames,” he said. “So every time you leave a frame open, you give your opponent the opportunity to jump head of you. You need to be able to shake off a bad throw and move on to the next frame.”
Bozeman certainly has a good deal of experience coming back next season, especially on the girls team with every starter returning.
“It was my first time experiencing this, and I learned a lot,” said Bozeman. “We’re excited to get the ball rolling for next year. We have three starters from the boys coming back, so they’ll have the opportunity to be leaders. All three of them told me that they didn’t wany to feel this way again, so that’s a very good sign.
Bozeman pointed to his assistants as crucial to the development and success of both teams.
“Billy Cox helps with the boys, and he’s a walking encyclopedia of bowling. Ashlee Hull, who won a state title when she was here at Southside, knows what it takes to be successful. I’m very blessed to gain knowledge from those two people.”
