It’s called a “turkey” in bowling terms. Three consecutive strikes.
And that’s what Oviedo senior Shauna Rodgers had to have with her team trailing its Central Florida arch-rival, Circle Christian, in the final game and final frame of a pressure-packed match at the state tournament on Wednesday.
“I was shaking,” said Rodgers, who typically is cool, calm and confident as a seasoned bowler who already has state-championship stripes on her resume. “I had to believe in my abilities and come through for my team.”
Rodgers came through. She knocked down all 10 pins on three consecutive clutch rolls to give the Lions a 169-163 victory in the game and a 3-2 win vs. the Centurions in the best-of-five showdown.
Oviedo also beat Yulee and Rockledge in Baker System bracket matches on Wednesday and joins Coral Springs Charter of South Florida as the only two unbeaten teams going into Day 2 of the double-elimination Florida High School Athletic Association championships at Orlando’s Boardwalk Bowl Entertainment Center.
The Lions, shooting for their fourth state title in a span of six seasons, will face CSC at 3:15 p.m. Thursday. The winner will then wait to face the team that survives consolation-bracket play.
Circle Christian bounced back with a consolation-bracket win and is one of eight teams still in championship contention.
Rodgers had a stellar 833 morning series as Oviedo totaled 3,533 pins in its four morning qualifier games to enter bracket play as the third seed behind Jacksonville Mandarin and Rockledge. Circle Christian qualified sixth at 3,398.
Winter Park was 10th at 3,232, and Eustis (3,196), Boone (3,168) and Orange City University (3,067) also were among the top 16 teams that made bracket play.
Deltona Pine Ridge bowler LeAnne Davidson started off with the highest girls game of the day, a 277, and finished as the No. 1 qualifier for individual-bracket play with a 934 series.
Lake Mary’s Sierra Poole was No. 3 with an 888 series. Winter Park’s Jevannie Zepeda had a 265 game and an 873 total as the No. 4 qualifier.
The other area girls who made the 16-player individual championship cut out of a field of 192 players were Circle Christian senior Grace Bringham (840), Rodgers, Jordan Walker (827) of Apopka, Macy Barber (825) of Circle Christian, and Isabella Pohl (818) of East River, who was the state runner-up and Sentinel bowler of the year last season as a sophomore.
Championship matches are set 1 p.m. for individuals, and 6:05 p.m. for teams.
Apopka, OCU boys alive: Five-time state champion Apopka pulled out a 3-2 win against Miami Christopher Columbus to stay alive in the boys bowling tournament.
The Blue Darters finished strong in the fifth game to win 214-189.
“We have to make every shot count in that situation,” said Apopka senior Ben Bailey, who played on state-title teams as a freshman and sophomore in 2016 and 2017. “We didn’t really play amazing today. We have to pick it up [Thursday].”
The Blue Darters will meet Rockledge in an elimination match at 7:30 a.m. at Boardwalk.
Orange City University also stayed alive in dramatic fashion with a 3-2 victory over Park Vista. The Titans join Apopka as the two area teams among eight still alive.
Circle Christian was second in qualifying with four straight 1,000-plus games good for a 4,144-pin total. But the Centurions went 1-2 in bracket play with losses to Jupiter and Rockledge.
East River also qualified but lost to Circle Christian and Space Coast.
The Oviedo boys, the 2018 state champs, failed to make the cut with a 23rd-place showing in qualifying.
Orange City University’s Andrew Barnett started with a 278 game and was the No. 5 boys individual qualifier with a 928 series.
Other area players who advanced in the individual competition were Ned Presley (916) of Lake Brantley and Circle Christian’s Dylan Murray (886).
South Lake senior Ryan Ward, who was the 2018 state champ, is out of the running. His 868 series was 16 pins shy of making the cut.
Kory Driver of Daytona Beach Mainland had the No. 1 series, 970, including games of 280 and 279.
Volleyball state semifinals: Area No. 1 Lake Highland Prep (24-2), which has been at home for all five of its postseason victories, will play in its gym again vs. St. Brendan (25-4) of Miami in a Class 4A state semifinal match on Saturday. Game time is 2 p.m.
The Highlanders are seeking their tenth state final appearance and sixth state championship. St. Brendan is in its first semifinal since 1980. The Sabres won a state championship in 1976.
Class 7A Hagerty (24-6) will also play at home at 2 against Tampa Plant (24-7) in a rematch of a 2018 region final. Plant scored a 3-0 homecourt win vs. the Huskies a year ago en route to a state runner-up finish.
The two powers met again in week one of the regular season this year with Hagerty posting a hardfought 30-28, 25-18, 25-23 win at home.
Winter Springs (20-10) will travel to play St. Thomas Aquinas (23-7) of Fort Lauderdale in a 6A semifinal set for 3 p.m. The Raiders, ranked No. 3 in 6A, owe five of their seven losses to out-of-state teams and own a homecourt win vs. Hagerty.
Aquinas beat Winter Springs in a 2014 state championship match. A year later the Bears won their 2015 Class 8A state title.
Geneva School (13-10), which was the 2018 state champ in 2A, will travel to play Seven Rivers Christian (23-3) of Lecanto at 2.
The Florida High School Athletic Association state championship matches will be played next week at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers.
The championship matches on Friday, Nov. 15, will be Class 2A at noon, 1A at 2:30, and 6A at 5.
The Saturday, Nov. 16 finals will be 4A at 11 a.m., 5A at 1:30 p.m., 7A at 4, and 3A at 6:30.
Buddy Collings
