Boys/Co-Ed Bowling: Brother Martin, Rummel, Slidell, Denham Springs reach Division I semis

HARAHAN – Some things are different, and others are more of the same after Tuesday’s early rounds of the Division I boys/co-ed bowling playoffs at Colonial Lanes.

Five-time defending state champion Brother Martin won twice Tuesday to reach the semifinals for the 10th consecutive postseason, where the Crusaders will face a familiar foe in Archbishop Rummel, which avenged a regular-season loss to district rival Jesuit to reach the round of four for the first time since 2019.

The other semifinal will match Slidell, a second-year program who was the last team in the bracket, against Denham Springs, which is in the semifinals for the first time in more than 15 years after a dramatic seciond-round victory.

No. 6 seed Brother Martin (13-1) moved on after a 17-10 victory over St. Amant that featured three series above 700.

Sam Vollenweider had a 712 on games of 257-235-220 and Jacob Vangilder had a 709 on games of 226-258-225 to lead the Crusaders, who rolled a 3,591 team series, but the match’s high set belonged to St. Amant anchor Chase Cagnolatti, who had a 770 (266-246-258).

Rummel and Jesuit battled 22 days ago with the Blue Jays prevailing 17½-9½, but the Raiders quickly flipped the script Tuesday in a 22-5 victory.

Seventh-seeded Rummel (12-2) won five individual matches and took a 158-pin lead after the first game, then repeated that pattern to close out the match after two.

Jacob Beatty’s 265 and Blake Caire’s 245 led a 1,220 middle game for the Raiders, who captured eight of nine matches on the high pair. Caire and Jesuit’s Grant Gehring’s had identical 654 series. The Blue Jays finished 12-2.

Slidell knocked off East Ascension 17-10 in its second-round match.

Like Rummel, Slidell jumped to an early 7-1 lead in its second-round match against East Ascension. The Spartans rallied to pull within 10-6 after a 1,215 middle game, but a 214 from Landon Hoffman and a 212 from Cameron Lackey in the final game helped the Tigers maintain their edge in total pins.

Lackey had a 648 and Hunter Mullen a 622 to lead Slidell (10-3).

The most dramatic match of the day matched No. 5 seed Denham Springs and unbeaten and fourth-seeded Alexandria. The Yellow Jackets led 6-2 after one game and 11-5 after two, but the Trojans were down just 30 pins.

Will Turrentine’s 242 helped put ASH in position to rally, and the match was tied with just one bowler left to bowl in the final frame – Denham No. 3 Cooper Bush.

Bush, needing a strike to win his point and the match or a spare and strike to tie and send the match to a rolloff, left a 4-pin on his first shot. But it was soon discovered that Bush had bowled on the wrong lane.

By USBC rules, the frame was replayed, and Bush, who finished a team-best 647 series, got up and delivered a clutch strike to win his game, 198-191, and the match for Denham (13-1), which, ironically, was knocked out one match short of the semifinals last year in a 14-13 loss to Brother Martin.

Four of the five area teams to reach the playoffs advanced out of the opening round.

Jesuit, the highest seeded local team in the field at No. 2, defeated Catholic High 17-10 in its first match behind anchor Joseph Anderson, who flirted with perfection in the middle game before finishing with a 278 as part of a 697 series.

Brother Martin was pushed to the limit in a 17-10 victory over Central Lafourche. The Trojans led 6-2 after one game and the match was 8-8 heading to game three. Blake Hebert’s 256 at No. 3 sparked a strong Crusader finish. Vangilder had a team-best 649 series to lead Brother Martin, while Bryce Jackson closed with a 234 for a 622 series to pace Central Lafourche.

Rummel started fast and never looked back in its opening round 20½-6½ victory over Hammond. Anthony Linker’s 235 keyed a 1,230 opening game for the Raiders, who had a 3,494 team series. Linker had a 642 series and Caire had a 634 to lead Rummel.

Slidell faced top-seeded Captain Shreve in the opening match, but the Tigers were underdog by seed number only, rolling to a 22-5 victory over the Gators.

With an advantage of about 150 pins in starting lineup averages, Slidell rolled a 3,571 team series, led by Lackey’s 679 and Hunter Mullen’s 670.

No. 12 seed Holy Cross, the fourth Catholic League team to reach the playoffs, lost 24-3 in the opening round to Denham Springs. The Yellow Jackets swept each of the first two games. John Ekey’s 609 series led Denham, while Gavin McDow had a team-best 560 for the Tigers (9-4), who made their first playoff appearance since 2019.

The Brother Martin-Rummel semifinal will be a rematch of a regular-season meeting won by the Crusaders, 15-12.

The final day of early-round bowling playoff action is Wednesday at Bowlero Kenner with the girls taking the lanes. Undefeated Archbishop Chapelle is the highest-seeded team from the New Orleans region at No. 4.

LHSAA Bowling Playoffs

Division II Boys/Co-Ed

First Round – Monday at All Star Lanes, Baton Rouge
(1) Archbishop Shaw 24, (16) St. Thomas More 3
(8) E.D. White 22, (9) Belaire 5
(5) St. Michael the Archangel 24, (12) Madison Prep 3
(4) Patrick Taylor 26, (13) French Settlement 1
(3) David Thibodaux 15, (14) Houma Christian 12
(11) Albany 20, (6) Teurlings Catholic 7
(10) Belle Chasse 20, (7) University Lab 7
(2) South Terrebonne 22, (15) A.J. Ellender 5

Second Round – Monday at All Star Lanes, Baton Rouge
(1) Archbishop Shaw 23, (8) E.D. White 4
(4) Patrick Taylor 21, (5) St. Michael the Archangel 6
(11) Albany 26, (3) David Thibodaux 11
(2) South Terrebonne 22, (10) Belle Chasse 5

Semifinals – April 4 at Premier Lanes, Gonzales
(1) Archbishop Shaw vs. (4) Patrick Taylor, 9:30 a.m.
(11) Albany vs. (2) South Terrebonne, 9:30 a.m.

Championship – April 4 at Premier Lanes, Gonzales
Semifinal winners, 1:30 p.m.

Division I Boys/Co-Ed

First Round – Tuesday at Colonial Lanes, Harahan
(16) Slidell 22, (1) Captain Shreve 5
(8) East Ascension 21, (9) Lafayette 6
(5) Denham Springs 24, (12) Holy Cross 3
(4) Alexandria 22, (13) Parkway 5
(14) St. Amant 20, (3) Airline 7
(6) Brother Martin 17, (11) Central Lafourche 10
(7) Archbishop Rummel 20½, (10) Hammond 6½
(2) Jesuit 17, (15) Catholic-BR 10

Second Round – Tuesday at Colonial Lanes, Harahan
(16) Slidell 17, (8) East Ascension 10
(5) Denham Springs 14, (4) Alexandria 13
(6) Brother Martin 17, (14) St. Amant 10
(7) Archbishop Rummel 22, (2) Jesuit 5

Semifinals – April 4 at Premier Lanes, Gonzales
(16) Slidell vs. (5) Denham Springs, 11:45 a.m.
(6) Brother Martin vs. (7) Archbishop Rummel, 11:45 a.m.

Championship – April 4 at Premier Lanes, Gonzales
Semifinal winners, 3:45 p.m.

Girls

First Round – Wednesday at Bowlero Kenner
(1) H.L. Bourgeois vs. (16) South Terrebonne, noon
(8) Alexandria vs. (9) Patrick Taylor, noon
(5) Captain Shreve vs. (12) St. Scholastica, noon
(4) Archbishop Chapelle vs. (13) Airline, noon
(3) Albany vs. (14) Academy of Our Lady, noon
(6) Central Lafourche vs. (11) Lafayette, noon
(7) St. Joseph’s Academy vs. (10) St. Amant, noon
(2) Dutchtown vs. (15) Denham Springs, noon

Second Round – Wednesday at Bowlero Kenner
H.L. Bourgeois-South Terrebonne winner vs. Alexandria-Patrick Taylor winner, 2:30 p.m.
Captain Shreve-St. Scholastica winner vs. Chapelle-Airline winner, 2:30 p.m.
Albany-AOL winner vs. Central Lafourche-Lafayette winner, 2:30 p.m.
SJA-St. Amant winner vs. Dutchtown-Denham Springs winner, 2:30 p.m.

Semifinals – April 3 at Premier Lanes, Gonzales
Quarterfinal winners, 10:30 a.m.

Championship – April 3 at Premier Lanes, Gonzales
Semifinal winners, 1:30 p.m.