There is a dynasty in the making at Colonie Central High School.
The boys bowling team won its second state title in the last three years when it defeated 10 Sectional champions from across New York March 2 in Syracuse.
Section XI champion East Islip gave Colonie a run for its money, but the Garnet Raiders held on for a 60-pin victory with a total of 6,511.
“I wish everybody who is involved in bowling could have seen it because it was the best match I’ve ever been involved in,” said Colonie coach Bill Carl.
Carl said he knew East Islip would be one of the favorites to claim the state title. What he didn’t know was Colonie and East Islip would be paired for the six-game tournament, which he said was a good thing.
“The boys had to keep on top of everything because they were bowling against the best team,” said Carl. “The pairing also benefited East Islip because they had to bowl their best.”
Colonie entered the fifth out of six games with a 100-pin lead on East Islip, but the Redmen surged into a 20-point lead midway through the game. A late rally by the Garnet Raiders helped them regain a 97-pin advantage entering the sixth game, and East Islip never recovered.
“The second half of that game was the turning point,” said Carl. “East Islip didn’t throw as many strikes as it did in the first six frames, and we threw more strikes.”
Colonie’s mid-game rally showcased the Garnet Raiders’ ability to collect themselves when faced with adversity. It was something Carl said was a common theme throughout the 2012-13 season.
“They didn’t get rattled, and they didn’t lose focus,” said Carl. “They just got in there and did what they had to do.”
Junior Justin Carl led Colonie at the state tournament with a 231.5 average over six games. Junior Rick Rovelli rolled a 225 average, and senior Charles Moeske added a six-game average of 218.83.
“He was very instrumental in our success,” Carl said of Moeske, one of two seniors on the varsity team. “He was our only left-hander at the tournament, and he bowled extremely well.”
Rovelli and Justin Carl were the only holdovers from Colonie’s 2011 state championship team. Everyone else had been called up for the 2011-12 season by Danny Ahl, who is now coaching at the University at Albany.
“The rest of these guys were exposed to the Sectional level last year, and even though they didn’t win the title they were still exposed to that level,” said Carl.
There will be several holdovers from this year’s state championship team when the Garnet Raiders hit the lanes next season. Moeske and Nick Peckowitz were the only seniors on this year’s team, and Carl said he has several younger bowlers he’s looking to move up from the junior varsity team.
“We get a lot of good bowlers through the Sunset (Lane) Juniors,” said Carl. “Redwood Lanes closed last year, but when Redwood had a junior program those bowlers did really good for us, too.”
Carl said the key for Colonie to earn its third state title in four years next year will be cohesiveness.
“What I’d like to see is these kids come together like this year’s team did,” said Carl. “These guys hung out together a lot.”
