Wednesday marked the first match of the year for the boys bowling team, they faced off against Ottawa Hills High School at Eastbrook Lanes. The Rangers ran away early on and ended up winning, 24-6. FHC also did it without their most reliable bowler, senior Ray Beckering.

“Ray was our fifth bowler, so that’s kind of our anchor for the team so not having him was definitely kind of a big deal,” said head coach, Grant Vermeer.  “The other guys were able to take care of it, but we definitely have some work to do and I think we definitely missed Ray.”

Ray was out due to a sickness, but FHC made sure to not skip a beat in their season opener. Although the score did not convey it, FHC looked a little jittery from the get go and had a tough time finding a rhythm.

“We just have to get ready for competition,” said Vermeer when asked what his team could improve on for the next match. “I think we’ve been practicing for a few weeks and we don’t have scrimmages or anything like that, so just hopping in the first time, just some nerves and the realness of the game. And I think getting through the first match, some of the guys know what they need to work on now and what we need to work on in practice the next couple of days.”

However, it was not all negatives coming out of Wednesday’s match. FHC won all 4 sets, starting with the first two baker games where FHC earned themselves ten points. With no Ray a few new bowlers were forced to come up big for the Rangers. Freshman, Cope Hungerford maintained a steady game the whole way through and showed lots of promise for the future. Another new bowler was senior, Jason Mckelvey who had a lot of good shots to keep Ottawa Hills out of reach.

“When [Jason] came on the team, I told him as a senior it’d be tough for you to get a starting spot,” Vermeer said. “And he told me that ‘I’m going to work and get it.’ He did a great job.”

Someone else who helped carry a large workload was junior, Burton Jekel. Senior, Ryan Daugherty who is one of FHC’s top bowlers had high praise for Burton’s play following the match on Wednesday.

“Jekel played a solid game today,” Ryan said. “He came out of the two spot and showed up and really put on a show for us.”

All around, the win was never in doubt, FHC has a long season ahead and Vermeer will most definitely work this team hard in the coming weeks to get them in a better position for tougher competition. Ryan and the rest of the team will be eager to improve for their upcoming match at Caledonia next week on Tuesday at 3:30 pm.

“We just got to keep our minds right and focus on the next team and just get better everyday in practice,” Ryan said.