Hannah Dowell
Madison O’Connor
Hendersonville High senior Storm Sparks rolled a 611 series in the Commandos’ Region 6 Tournament semifinal victory over Upperman.
HENDERSONVILLE The Hendersonville High boys and White House High girls bowling teams have one more step to take to reach the state tournament, but they’ll be attempting that task from different directions.
White House High senior Anna O’Connor rolled a high game of 226 in the Lady Devils’ Region 6 Tournament semifinal victory over Wilson Central.
The Lady Devils won the school’s first Region 6 championship on Thursday afternoon, while the Commandos settled for a runner-up finish in the finals at Strike and Spare Family Fun Center.
White House (27-1) rolled to a 25-2 win over Wilson Central in the semifinals and a 24-3 rout of Lebanon in the championship match to earn the Lady Devils the right to host a sectional match for the first time.
“It feels great,” White House senior Madison O’Connor said. “It’s definitely something special. We worked very hard to get here as a team, and we can’t wait to finish the road to get to state.”
O’Connor rolled games of 201 and 206 before – along with the rest of the Lady Devil starters – giving way to younger players for the final game with the match having already been clinched. That convincing performance happened in all three of White House’s regional matches.
“They came out this week, and they shot huge numbers,” White House head coach Keith Freemon said. “They put all three teams away after two games.”
The Commandos weren’t as fortunate in their championship match against Lebanon, falling behind 7-1 after the opening game and eventually suffering a 20-7 loss to the Blue Devils.
It was the second time in eight days that Hendersonville lost to Lebanon after winning both regular-season contests between the two teams. Lebanon also defeated the Commandos in the District 12 final last Thursday.
“I’d say the difference was that we were bowling from behind,” Hendersonville head coach Richard Zajac said. “We can’t allow that to get us down.”
Freshman Chandler Griffin rolled the Commandos’ best game in the finals (237) to allow him to defeat Lebanon senior Peyton Bell in the final game.
However, Hendersonville (21-3) squandered a chance to cut Lebanon’s lead late in the second game, losing the two-point, total pinfall bonus by two pins. Lebanon led 12-4 entering the final game, holding a 161-pin lead.
“We had a chance to come back in the third game,” Zajac said. “We just left too much work for ourselves.”
Hendersonville High senior Wyatt Patterson rolled a three-game series of 713 in the Commandos’ Region 6 Tournament semifinal victory over Upperman.
The Commandos had no trouble with Upperman in the semifinals, winning by a 23.5-3.5 margin. Senior Wyatt Patterson rolled games of 245 and 243 against the Bees.
However, the Commandos’ loss in the final means they have to play on the road for their sectional match, visiting McGavock on Monday at 2 p.m. at Hermitage Lanes.
Zajac hopes the must-win nature of the match gets his bowlers back on track.
“Lebanon is definitely a rival,” Zajac said. “We always enjoy bowling them, but we bowl best under pressure. From this point forward, it’s win or go home. I think that’s going to work to our advantage.”
The White House boys team narrowly missed an opportunity to join Hendersonville in the finals, suffering a 17-10 loss to Lebanon in the semifinals.
Lebanon held an 88-pin advantage and won four individual games by 10 pins or less.
Junior Jonah Anderson rolled a three-game series of 666 (234-222-210) to lead the Blue Devils, who fell to 20-7.
Jonah Anderson
“They’re young,” Freemon said. “We’ve got one senior. It would have been nice getting (to the state tournament) so they can see what it’s about. We’ll probably take them with us so they can feel it and see it and be ready for next year. I’m excited about starting next year for the boys today.”
However, this year still remains intact for the Lady Devils, who face Hume-Fogg on Saturday at 9 a.m. in their sectional match. At stake is a third-consecutive trip to the state tournament as a team.
“It means everything as a team that we’re finishing what we started,” Lady Devil senior Hannah Dowell said. “We’re completing our story.”
Reach Chris Brooks at cbrooks@tennessean.com or at 615-575-7118. Follow him on Twitter @CB_SumnerSports.
Region 6 semifinals
White House girls 25, Wilson Central 2
Game one
WHITE HOUSE (1,076) – Madison O’Connor 216, Anna O’Connor 169, Hannah Dowell 182, Abby Smith 175, Madeline Cain 187, Madison Beckner 147.
WILSON CENTRAL (914) – Kayla Hubbuch 125, Kristin Sheffield 102, Megan Metz 190, Michelle Boudreaux 153, Kristin Fredericks 154, Rickie Denson 190.
Game two
WHITE HOUSE (1,226) – M. O’Connor 184, A. O’Connor 226, Dowell 204, Smith 203, Cain 197, Paige Bolding 212.
WILSON CENTRAL (892) – Hubbuch 120, Sheffield 152, Metz 153, Boudreaux 161, Fredricks 178, Denson 128.
Game three
WHITE HOUSE (1,061) – M. O’Connor 159, A. O’Connor 160, Dowell/Kelly Onkst 161, Smith 160, Cain 213, Bolding 208.
WILSON CENTRAL (797) – Kristina Walls 105, Rachel Fox 111, Metz 159, Boudreaux 125, Fredericks 131, Denson 166.
Total pinfall: 3,363-2,603, White House.
Hendersonville boys 23.5, Upperman 3.5
HENDERSONVILLE (1,197) – Brandon Paul 159, Chandler Griffin 174, Wyatt Patterson 225, Timothy Smith 202, Braydon Satterfield 236, Storm Sparks 201.
UPPERMAN (1,072) – Briley Scantland 197, Merritt Cheney/Shawn Dexter 174, Ryan Ransom 182, Matt Mee 176, Jacob Nichols 152, Wesley Estep 191.
Game two
HENDERSONVILLE (1,247) – Paul 163, Griffin 198, Patterson 245, Smith 213, Satterfield 238, Sparks 190.
UPPERMAN (1,043) – Scantland 128, Dexter 144, Ransom 224, Mee 225, Nichols 174, Estep 148.
Game three
HENDERSONVILLE (1,248) – Joey Maxey 216, Griffin 212, Patterson 243, Smith 180, Satterfield 177, Sparks 220.
UPPERMAN (1,031) – Scantland 212, Dexter, Austin Vinson 137, Ransom 171, Mee 191, Nichols/Zeke Mahan 136, Estep/Cheney 182.
Total pinfall: 3,691-3,146, Hendersonville.
Lebanon boys 17, White House 10
Game one
WHITE HOUSE (1,113) – Johnny Baggett 158, Michael Frensley 171, Nick Meecha 152, Jonah Anderson 234, John Wright 185, Thomas Smith 210.
LEBANON (1,210) – Jake Sword 180, Tyler Burton 220, Tyler Moore 247, Peyton Bell 191, Hunter Fugate 155, Jarred Bradshaw 215.
Game two
WHITE HOUSE (1,141) – Meecha 183, Frensley 183, Baggett 189, Anderson 222, Wright 223, Smith/Kyle Vickers 181.
LEBANON (1,173) – Fugate 181, Burton 211, Moore 224, Bell 228, Sword 158, Bradshaw 171.
Game three
WHITE HOUSE (1,154) – Meecha 214, Frensley/Smith 159, Baggett 181, Anderson 210, Wright 173, Vickers 217.
LEBANON (1,113) – Fugate 161, Burton 166, Moore 174, Bell 183, Sword 182, Bradshaw 247.
Total pinfall: 3,496-3,408, Lebanon.
Region 6 Championship
White House girls 24, Lebanon 3
LEBANON (893) – Emily Lee 121, Delilah Henning 104, Hattie Isham 116, Amber Brakefield 143, Skyann Wiley 197, Lindsay Manning 212.
WHITE HOUSE (1,103) – Madison O’Connor 201, Anna O’Connor 214, Hannah Dowell 200, Abby Smith 162, Madeline Cain 211, Madison Beckner/Paige Bolding 115.
Game two
LEBANON (829) – Lee 122, Katelyn Dedman 122, Isham 129, Brakefield 123, Wiley 149, Manning 184.
WHITE HOUSE (1,129) – M. O’Connor 206, A. O’Connor 190, Dowell 192, Smith 185, Cain 165, Bolding 191.
Game three
LEBANON (858) – Lee 155, Lacota Goodwin 90, Isham 135, Brakefield 145, Wiley 169, Manning 164.
WHITE HOUSE (984) – Destiny Law 190, Meredith Rayburn 210, Kelly Onkst 173, Grace Waller 128, Mary-Paige Nowicki 74, Bolding 179.
Total pinfall: 3,186-2,580, White House.
Lebanon boys 20, Hendersonville 7
Game one
HENDERSONVILLE (999) – Joey Maxey 223, Chandler Griffin 161, Wyatt Patterson 165, Timothy Smith/Brandon Paul 133, Braydon Satterfield 175, Storm Sparks 142.
LEBANON (1,158) – Jake Sword 218, Jarred Bradshaw 188, Peyton Bell 180, Tucker Laszczewski 175, Tyler Moore 212, Tyler Burton 185.
Game two
HENDERSONVILLE (1,054) – Maxey 161, Griffin 201, Patterson/Smith 133, Paul 180, Satterfield 196, Sparks 183.
LEBANON (1,056) – Sword 151, Bradshaw 214, Bell 199, Laszczewski/Hunter Fugate 113, Moore 202, Burton 177.
Game three
HENDERSONVILLE (1,128) – Maxey 207, Patterson 198, Griffin 237, Paul 183, Satterfield 149, Sparks 154.
LEBANON (1,147) – Sword 161, Bradshaw 216, Bell 225, Fugate 179, Moore 166, Burton 200.
Total pinfall: 3,361-3,181, Lebanon.