Franklin Regional bowlers leave nothing to spare

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, March 26, 2018 | 11:00 PM

The Franklin Regional boys bowling team finished their season with a 9-1 record and a lot of postseason success. They started off with a WPIBL title, finished third in regionals, giving them an opportunity in states, where they fell just short in the semifinal, finishing third.

“I could not have asked for a better season by these boys,” coach Adam Reabe said. “It was awesome to watch these kids perform at a high level on the biggest stages and was just an overall fun experience.”

“We did not start how we wanted to, but it was nice to see the progression of all of our guys throughout the season,” senior Kyle Wilkinson said. “Our top six got stronger as the season went on. It made the game a lot easier and fun for us as a team.”

In the WPIBL tournament, Franklin Regional defeated Butler in three games, giving them a chance at top-ranked Norwin. After falling in the first match, Franklin Regional went on to win the next two and take the championship.

“It was important not leave any open frames against Norwin,” Reabe said. “We were able to pick up some spares and execute when we needed to. It was a total team effort.”

“I struggled at the WPIBL tournament, but I trusted my teammates to pick me up there and they did exactly that,” Wilkinson said. “Despite my performance, I felt it was important that I still was able to lead the team as a senior so I played that role. We got the win, that's all that matters.”

The Panthers were seeded third out of four teams at the state tournament. In the first round, they defeated fourth-seeded Daniel Boone, taking two of three matches. They went on to play No. 2 seed Penn Manor, where they won the first match, lost the second by one pin and lost in the third to finish third. Penn Manor went on to win its third consecutive state title.

“I thought we played real well against such a talented team,” Reabe said. “When you play teams like Penn Manor, you can't make many mistakes and we left some spares out there that we wish we could have back that were costly.”

“Taking the first match gave us a little comfort I think,” Wilkinson said. “When you lose by a pin, you look back at what you could have done differently and what hurt you, so that one got to us mentally.”

Franklin Regional will continue to bowl in the coming weeks at the Pepsi State Qualifiers and the Pennsylvania Youth Bowling Championships. Wilkinson and sophomore Alex Smith have qualified to compete at the Junior Gold championships in July in Dallas.

Cody Scott is a freelance writer.

Tags: Franklin Regional