It’s a good time to be a bowler at Clarence High School.
Both the boys and girls teams are undefeated in ECIC North Large division action and the Red Devils have high hopes moving forward.
“We’re having a lot of fun this year. Of course winning is a lot of fun,” Clarence girls coach Joseph Pohlman said after his team moved to 9-0 with a win over Sweet Home on Wednesday at Manor Lanes in Amherst. “It’s a great group and I have so many girls on the team, that helps tremendously. All of them are doing great.
“Now the pressure’s on to make sure we stay undefeated.”
The Lady Red Devils have been led by the consistency of their captains – senior Melissa Simpson and sophomore Alyssa Johnson. Both have been in the 170-average range all season long for Clarence. Eighth-grader Sarah D’Angelo “has been phenomenal,” her coach said, and Madison Martin has also been consistently in the 150s for the Red Devils.
The Section VI girls championships are on Feb. 15 at Airport Lanes in Cheektowaga. And as always the Red Devils expect to be in the mix.
“A couple of girls can certainly individually hold their own,” Pohlman said.”As far as the team goes, if everything comes together we can make a run at sectionals and states. We hope so, that’s certainly what the seniors would like.”
The boys team also moved to 9-0 in league play with a win over Sweet Home on Tuesday. Those are the two teams that shared last year’s division title.
The Red Devils have been this season led by their Big 3: seniors Tyler White and Nick Yamboa and sophomore Ben Chamberland.
“I’m really happy,” Clarence boys coach Ken Duke said. “I have three guys averaging over 200 and the rest of the guys are bowling great too.”
A veteran roster has led the way for Clarence. Seniors Sam Petty, John Milbrandt, Joe Loewer and Hunter Sullivan have also delivered for the Red Devils.
I have six seniors and I’ve had all of them, except for one, since they were freshmen,” Duke said. “That’s nice to have.”
Junior co-captain Elliott Pohlman and third-year sophomore Jared Johnson are also big contributors for Clarence.
The boys sectional tournament is Feb. 16, also at Airport Lanes. Duke expects his Red Devils to compete with Hamburg, West Seneca West and Frontier at the top.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do,” Duke said.
