Bowling: Brother Martin downs Shaw in battle of unbeatens

HARAHAN – Defending state champion Brother Martin and Archbishop Shaw entered Thursday’s matchup at Colonial Lanes unbeaten and ranked first and second, respectively, in the first release of the LHSAA’s boys bowling power rankings.

The Crusaders walked away with a 19-8 victory, but if both teams continue to perform as they did Thursday, there could be a second matchup this year, deep into the playoffs.

Led by senior Carson Colletti’s 752 series, Brother Martin (8-0) rolled a 3,864 team set, second-best in the state this year to the Crusaders’ own 3,902 on Tuesday against Crescent City Christian.

For much of the day, the Eagles (8-1) were matching strike for strike. They finished with a 3,611 series, joining Brother Martin as the only teams in Louisiana this year to top the 3,600 mark.

Colletti – one of six Brother Martin seniors honored before the match – opened with day with eight consecutive strikes and had a first-game 279. Though the teams split six individual matches in game one, Brother Martin took the two points for team total pins on a 1,307 game to Shaw’s 1,226. Jonathan Arena – who was matched against Colletti – led Shaw with a 241 opening game.

The Crusaders’ right pair was better in game two. Colletti “slipped” to a 268 but fellow seniors Ricky Carmona (227) and Dylan McDonald (233) picked up the slack, helping Brother Martin take seven points for a 12-4 lead and built its pin margin to 258.

Carmona’s 222 was high for Brother Martin in the final game, but Shaw’s Andrew Hill topped him in the No. 5 slot with a 257. The Eagles only won two of six individual matches but edged Brother Martin 1,210-1,205 to grab two more points.

McDonald had a 666 series, Carmona a 652 set and Ashton Catalinotto a 621 for Brother Martin.

Arena led Shaw with a 672 set, followed by Hill’s 640, Garrett Alello’s 638 and Jonathan Freeman with a 601.

Of the 10 bowlers who saw action in all three games, all averaged at least 198 for the day as both teams displayed their lineup depth that can carry them deep into the postseason next month.

Jesuit 26, Kenner Discovery 1: The Blue Jays got big scores throughout their lineup in a victory over the Swamp Owls at AMF All Star Lanes in Kenner.

Preston Roark had an opening-game 254, William Adams a 268 and Joseph Anderson a 236 in game two and William Carpenter a 234 and Gary Sims a 223 in the final game for Jesuit (6-2), which had a 3,401 team series.

Cruz Elmer’s final game 159 delivered the lone point for Kenner Discovery (3-5).

Patrick Taylor 25½, East Jefferson 1½: The Tigers got back on the winning groove, easily defeating the Warriors at Westside Lanes in Harvey.

Preston Jones led Patrick Taylor (6-2) with a 670 series, including games of 256 and 224. Jake McInnis closed with a 214 for a 569 series, and Jadon Lieu had a 508 set.

East Jefferson (0-7) picked up its points in the first game behind a 193 from Cornelius Piper and a 192 from Ethan Jenkins.

Crescent City Christian 22, St. Augustine 5: The Pioneers used a big series from Chaz Emery to take their first victory of the year, defeating the Purple Knights at AMF.

Crescent City (1-5) got games of 219-199-243 from Emery for a 661 series.

St. Augustine (0-8) had solid middle games from Will Sam (194) and Kingston Jones (189).

Girls – Academy of Our Lady 27, Patrick Taylor 0: The Penguins remained the only unbeaten girls team in the New Orleans region with a shutout of the Tigers at Westside.

Laney Sasso led AOL (7-0) with a 567 series, including a 203 middle game. Skylar Alexander had a 202 final game for the Penguins.

Gabrielle Viviano’s 152 final game led Patrick Taylor (0-7).