Rebels capture first bowling title
PELHAM -- The third time was the charm for the Rebels.
After finishing second each of the last two years, the Vestavia Hills High School boys bowling team broke through on Friday afternoon, capturing the program's first state title.
"The last three years have been kind of hard, because we'd make it to state and lose," said senior Cameron Monistere. "We've got a lot of seniors here, and they deserve it. I'm very proud."
Vestavia Hills bowled all day Thursday and Friday at Oak Mountain Lanes in Pelham, emerging victorious after knocking off East Limestone 1,538-1,503 in the championship round.
On Friday, the Rebels began play by knocking off No. 15 Southside-Gadsden 1,642-1,296 to advance to the second round. In the following round, they faced crosstown foe Hoover, the No. 7 seed. Vestavia Hills got past the Bucs in a tight match, winning 1,558-1,479. In the semifinals, Vestavia Hills did not bowl its best, but still managed to take down No. 3 Sparkman 1,361-1,298.
The first day of competition at the state tournament was used to determine bracket play on the second day. Out of 16 boys teams, Vestavia Hills captured the No. 2 seed with a total score of 2,797. Hewitt-Trussville earned the top seed with a 2,855.
The format for each of the matchups is a traditional game followed by three Baker games. In the traditional game, five bowlers from each team bowl a full 10 frames. In a Baker game, five bowlers combine to bowl a single 10-frame game.
In the final match, the Rebels held a 21-pin lead after the traditional game. That lead was cut to just three pins following the completion of the first Baker game. A big second Baker game gave East Limestone a slim, three-pin lead heading into the final game. That's when head coach Todd Evans pulled his team to the side.
"We talked about finishing all year," said Evans, who is also an assistant coach on the Vestavia Hills football team. "I had a sense they weren't going to be denied."
Instead of becoming the high school version of the Buffalo Bills, who advanced to four straight Super Bowls in the early 1990s but never won one, the Rebels came through with a huge final game. They posted a 210 to pull away and win the match by 35.
"We finally did it and made our mark," said Beau Reed, a four-year player for Vestavia.
Reed, Monistere, Jacob Pilleteri and Boris Lu have all played on the team all four years of their high school careers, and Evans said their past experiences in bowling and in life helped them seal the deal.
"That makes this so much sweeter," Monistere said. "It's our last year and it's awesome to finish it off with a win."
The girls also qualified for the state tournament and earned the No. 15 seed. On Friday, the girls were eliminated in the first round by No. 2 Thompson, the eventual runner-up to Southside-Gadsden, which won the state title for the third consecutive year.
But even after the girls were eliminated in the morning, the team stuck around, along with a dozens of Vestavia Hills students, parents, administrators and supporters. That faction of Rebels backers was boisterous throughout the day and made a difference, Evans said.
"I'm so proud of these guys, because our players and our community won this," he said. "Without that loud bunch, I don't know that we win."
Both teams made it to state by way of the South Regional tournament, held in Foley last week. Vestavia Hills' boys defeated Hoover to win the tournament. The Rebels knocked off McGill-Toolen, Baker and Stanhope Elmore before beating the Bucs in the final. The Vestavia girls defeated Pelham and Auburn to advance to the semifinals of the regional.
Seniors Reed, Monistere, Pilleteri and Lu wrapped up their careers as champions, while Mason Maners, Nick Watts, Reese Merritt and Walter Reed contributed as well. Evans mentioned Kevin Zheng and Rizwan Khan as key seniors that helped the Rebels in a multitude of ways. Evans also gave a dose of credit to Debra Broome, the girls coach.
"She's tremendous to work with and a class act," he said.
This year's state tournament was the fourth since bowling was sanctioned by the AHSAA, after it was discontinued as a championship sport from 1978-2015. Spain Park's boys won in 2016-17, with Buckhorn winning last year.
Correction 1/25 6:56 p.m.: An omission of Jacob Pilleteri as a senior player was corrected.