Lyndhurst boys bowling coach Mark Offitto knew his team was a massive underdog going into Saturday’s NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2 final against a Montville team ranked No. 15 in the state.
But rather than be intimidated by the specter of facing three-time defending Group 3 sectional champion Offitto simply implored his group to just focus on their own game.
“My message to the team was that in bowling there’s no defense. So if their team’s going off, there’s not really much you can do,” Offitto said. “So the message was control the controllable, don’t even look up at the score, just bowl our best best and when the game gets close at the end, we’ll see where we’re at.”
By doing that, the Golden Bears delivered arguably the biggest upset in the state this season when it defeated Montville, 2-0, at Bowlero-North Brunswick.
It was Lyndhurst’s first sectional title since 2017 and one that few anticipated coming. A year ago, semifinal opponent Warren Hills as well as Montville were champions in North 1 and North 2, Group 3 sections, but were bumped down to bolster an already strong North 2, Group 2.
“I knew it was going to be tough, but I had full confidence because I know how good we can be,” said Offitto. “Our regular season wasn’t exactly what we wanted. But through talking to my seniors Mark (Rigano) and Patrick (O’Rourke), they really, really wanted this. We lost in the finals last year by two pins and they really wanted to make it back and then I said if we get there, you never know what will happen. (Bowlero) has a tendency to do weird things.”
Weird wouldn’t be the way to describe Lyndhurst’s performance, but the Golden Bears did get some incredibly clutch moments, particularly in the second game.
Freshman James Sinen delivered a breakthrough game, rolling a 252, obliterating his previous high game of 230.
“Everything’s been clicking for him,” said Offitto. “It started to click in the third game of the Warren Hills match. He was up over 200 and he has the capability (to dominate).”
At the end, it came down to Rigano, Lyndhurst’s anchor.
With the Bears clinging to a slim lead heading into the final frame, Rigano rolled a match-clinching spare, then followed it up with a strike to provide the exclamation point for a 934-920 win in the second game.
Lyndhurst took the first game, 862-834.
“Mark wasn’t fazed. He has the full confidence that he’s the best anchor in the state and he’ll go against anybody if the game’s on the line,” Offitto said. “He’s been the anchor since sophomore year. Any time the game’s on the line, he steps up. I never think he’s going to miss. Every time he throws a shot, I’m thinking it’s a strike.”
Rigano, who has rolled a 200 average for the season, had a 414 two-game series in the win. Sinen rolled a 428 two-game series followed by O’Rourke at 338, sophomore Henry Keefe at 324 and Jayden Peterson, a senior in his first year on the team, at 292.
In addition to Saturday’s starting five, juniors Payton Rivezzi (153.71 average) and Charles Benjamin (148.14 average) were key cogs throughout the season.
All seven bowlers were used in Lyndhurst’s 2-1 victory over Warren Hills in the semifinals this past Tuesday.
Lyndhurst will play North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 champion Demarest in the Group 2 semifinals on Tuesday morning at Bowlero. The winner will face the Snyder-Manchester Township champion for the overall Group 2 championship later that day.
Also, on Tuesday at Bowlero, North Arlington’s girls team will play in the NJSIAA North Jersey, Group 1 final against Dumont. The winner will face the Clayton-New Egypt winner for the overall Group 1 title later that day.
North Arlington earned its spot in the final after defeating Lakeland, 2-0, in the semifinals on Wednesday.
Two other Observer-area boys bowling teams saw their seasons end in the sectional finals on Saturday. North Arlington’s bid for a second-straight North 2, Group 1 title was denied with a 2-0 loss to Belvidere, who is ranked 10th in the state. In North 2, Group 3 Nutley’s undefeated season came to a close with a 2-0 loss to Delbarton.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)