Salem bowlers come from behind to beat top-seeded Camden Catholic for first South Jersey Group I title in school history
GROUP I BOYS BOWLING
Saturday’s sectional finals
SOUTH
Salem 2, Camden Catholic 1
CENTRAL
Middlesex 2, Warren Tech 0
NORTH I
Kinnelon 2, Newton 1
NORTH II
Rutherford 2, North Arlington 0
GROUP I SEMIFINALS
Tuesday, at Lucky Strikes, North Brunswick
Salem (12-3) vs. Kinnelon (17.4), 9 a.m.
Middlesex (19-0) vs. Rutherford (18-5), 9 a.m.
Finals to follow
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
STRATFORD – All year long the Salem bowling team felt underestimated and overlooked. Even in the midst of an historic season, they were dismissed by the competition. The only people who truly believed were the guys in the blue shirts standing on the lanes, so there really was no panic when they lost the first game Saturday.
The Rams proved all the doubters wrong on their generational run Saturday, rallying from that close Game One loss to beat top-seeded Camden Catholic 2 games to 1 and win their first South Jersey Group I bowling title in school history.
The second-seeded Rams (12-3) lost the first game by three pins, 874-871, then stormed the lanes, winning 890-841 to tie the match and 988-866 in the clincher.
“We came back, we rallied together,” captain Troy Carey said. “We just used (the first game) as drive. Yes, it was a frustrating loss because we know it wasn’t our best, but we used it as drive, motivation, to make the next two personal.
“I said to all my seniors how do you want to be remembered at the end of the day. Do you want to be remembered as a team that made history or a team that had a ton of potential, just couldn’t get the job done?”
Armed with that bit of motivation, they went on to post the only upset among the four sectional finals staged at 30 Strikes as all the other No. 1 seeds won their matches.
“Last I think we had like a 5-8 season but people saw what we were capable of and they were coming to us saying you might have a pretty good season,” Rams coach Kenny Buck said. “They lived up to it.
“Having the talent isn’t enough. You have to put that work in, you have to have that dream, to have to do all the unmeasurables to actually be a champion and that’s what they did. I feel like it’s even more than just putting Salem on the map. They showed everyone we’re a force to reckon with.”
The Rams now go to Lucky Strikes in North Brunswick Tuesday – weather permitting – for the Group I Final Four. Middlesex (19-0), Kinnelon (17-4) and Rutherford (18-5) are the other finalists. The Final Four will be seeded based on the teams’ original PowerPoint number at the cutoff date, so the Rams would draw top-seeded Kinnelon in the semifinals.
In a game where there is no defense, success rides on how well a bowler is rolling it that particular day and AJ Carlson came up big for the Rams for the second playoff match in a row. The junior rolled games of 226, 184, 219, posting his career high game and high series. His average entering the match was 151.19.
Six of his seven playoff games have all been above his average – by a total of 239 pins.
Buck called the impact Carlson had on the victory “unmeasurable.”
“This is the best I’ve bowled,” Carlson said. “I did consistently well and I did everything I could to play for the team.
“I just tried to be a team player, play consistent, just stay out of my head. I knew I had the potential to do it because I’ve done it before, but this was my first game with a 200 average during an actual match where it actually counts. I just shot my shot.”
Captain Carey bounced back from an opening 189 that was 20 pins below his average to roll games of 225 and 231 in the two wins. Semaj Carey gave the Rams a third 200 game in the clincher, rolling a 227, 50 pins over his average.
“Just playing for my brothers; I’ve gotta be there for them just like they’re there for me,” Troy said of his comeback. “First game I didn’t bowl to my average, so I felt like I owed them Game 2 and 3. Just played for them.”
The Irish (10-4-2) came out quickly in the match and got strikes from seven of their first nine bowlers. Carlson gave the Rams a shot in the game with a closing run of seven straight strikes, including three in the tenth.
The Rams carried an 11-pin lead into the last frame of that first game, but they suffered two open frames in the tenth to open the door for the Irish to steal. Still, the loss didn’t deter them for the rest of the match. In fact, it may have inspired them.
“We realized once we lost it was by such a small among we could easily bring this thing back in the second and third,” Carlson said. “As long as we played to our averages and as consistently as we could, that would be a clear win.”
“That’s the one thing I really wanted my kids to learn, how to overcome obstacles when you’re confronted with them and were confronted with obstacles on the way to this path, maybe four years’ worth,” Buck said. “The theme for the last couple weeks has been you have to go in there and fight. Especially in the playoffs they really showed that they’re fighters. Have been all season.”
| SALEM | G1 | G2 | G3 | SERIES |
| Rudy Perez | 168 | 181 | 175 | 524 |
| AJ Carlson | 226 | 184 | 219 | 629 |
| JD Puni | 139 | 143 | 136 | 418 |
| Semaj Carey | 158 | 157 | 227 | 542 |
| Troy Carey | 189 | 225 | 231 | 645 |
| TOTAL | 871 | 890* | 988* | 2749 |
| CAMDEN CATHOLIC | G1 | G2 | G3 | SERIES |
| Chase Wolk | 199 | 146 | 161 | 506 |
| Brett Kehoe | 171 | 177 | 158 | 506 |
| Mike Salamon | 169 | 162 | 203 | 534 |
| Sean Burns | 171 | 161 | 175 | 507 |
| Rob Nawn | 164 | 195 | 169 | 528 |
| TOTAL | 874* | 841 | 866 | 2581 |
Riverview Sports News 