Schaffer leads dominant Brother Martin to school’s third state bowling title in four years

BATON ROUGE – After losing in upset fashion in the semifinals to eventual state champion Vandebilt Catholic a year ago following two consecutive state titles, unbeaten top-seed Brother Martin was motivated to return to the top of the podium at the LHSAA state bowling championships at All-Star Lanes Thursday.

The Crusaders achieved their goal with a vengeance, whipping fellow Brothers of the Sacred Heart school Catholic of Baton Rouge 21-6 in the state title match.

Brother Martin head coach Bruce Himbert admitted that the disappointment of 2017 was a huge factor in the victory.

“Yes, it was,” Himbert said. “Last year, everybody had the bad taste. We sat there and we talked about it. I think the one it may have been the hardest on was Hunter Dunn. He came out today with a mission. He made a comment, ‘we’re not going to go home without this title.’ The kids all saw to that.”

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The Crusaders fired a 3,957 series, just three pins off of their school record of 3,960, set against Salmen in the New Orleans region state playoffs.

As usual, junior Cody Schaffer, who led the state with an average of over 225.6, led the way with a fabulous performance.

Schaffer averaged 249 for six games as the Crusaders prevailed against very good competition in the semifinals and finals.

“I bowled the best I’ve bowled ever, probably,” Schaffer said. “We just got going quick. I’ve always bowled well in this house. I honestly like it better than our home bowling alley.”

In the championship match, the Crusaders won every game by a 6-2 margin and took all of the bonus points by winning total pins.

In game one, Schaffer and senior Jonathan Fernandez shot 247 games, Dunn had a 225 and Drew Gardner had a 204 game.

In game two, Brother Martin (17-0) had a huge 1,355 team game, averaging 226 per bowler. Hunter Dunn had the first nine strikes before settling for a 274 game, Fernandez had a 236, Schaffer shot 225, Will Oertling show 222 and Brennan Brouillette had a 215 game.

The Crusaders finished off the victory with a 1,338 game in the third game as Schaffer had the first 10 strikes in a 287 game. Gardner fired a 258, Brouillette had a 223, Oertling shot 217 and Fernandez had a 203 game.

Schaffer finished with a huge 759 series. Fernandez finished with a 686, Dunn had a 649, Gardner had a 645, Oertling shot 619 and Brouillette had a 599 series.

DJ Mills was high for Catholic (17-1) with a 683 series on games of 246-234-203. Easton Hollis finished with a 663 series on games of 192-214-257. Adam Crosby had a 646 series on games of 185-231-230. Brian Dinh was very good as well with a 645 with games of 235-206-204. It was a huge effort in a losing cause by the Bears.

In the semifinals, Brother Martin fought off a very stiff challenge from H.L. Bourgeois, winning 19.5-8.5.

The Crusaders (16-0) took game one 7-5.0.5 as the Crusaders fired five 200 games or better. Cody Schaffer, the top average bowler in the Louisiana, shot a 236 and tied Austin Cortez of the Braves, the second highest average bowler in the state.

H.L. Bourgeois (15-2) rallied in game two to win 6-2 as Mason Giror had a huge 279 game, Donovan Bourg had a 246 and Cortez had a 245 game.

The Braves started game three with 14 consecutive strikes from their top three bowlers but the Crusaders fought back to win the game 6-2 and won total pins for the match by 23 pins, winning 3,820 to 3,797. Schaeffer ensured the victory with a double in the tenth frame to shoot 232 which enable Brother Martin to win the game 1,265-1,259 in a thriller.

“I believe Catholic shot their best set against us all year,” Himbert said. “I know H.L. Bourgeois did so. Both teams gave us their best shot the whole year and we just got lucky and came out on top.

Schaffer led Brother Martin with a 735 series while Will Oertling had a 676 series on games of 210-226-240. Jonathan Fernandez had a 651 series on games of 212-223-216 and Brennan Brouillette had a 612 series with games of 213-207-192.

Donovan Bourg was best for H.L. Bourgeois with a 678 series on games of 205-246-227 while Cortez had a 677 with games of 236-245-196. Giror finished with a 636 series and Austin Labat finished with a 629 series on games of 202-192-235. Ty Westerman had a 610 series which included a 244 game.

“I have some pretty close friends on that team since seventh grade,” Schaffer said. “It was tough bowling them because they’re such close friends of mine. That was the best match I’ve ever been a part of. It was amazing.

In the other semifinal, Catholic of Baton Rouge advanced to the final for a second consecutive year, rallying to edge Central Lafourche 14-13 in a great match which went down to the last shot.

The Trojans (14-4) jumped on top, winning game one 7-1 as freshman Andrew Lebron fired a 257 game and Mason Leonard shot 241. Central Lafourche increased its lead to 12-4 by winning game two 5-3 as Rhett Malbrough had a 258 game and Leonard shot 211 and the Trojans led by 75 pins going to the final game.

The Bears (17-0) staged their dramatic rally in game three, winning 7-1 and winning the game by 86 pins and took overall total pins 3,485-3,474, taking an 11-pin victory to advance.

Easton Hollis was best for Catholic with a 649 series on games of 220-171-258 while Brian Dinh had a 616 series, including games of 226 and 225. John Fruge had 608 series, including a 216 game.

Levron finished with a 676 series on games of 257-193-226 while Leonard shot 672 on games of 241-211-220. Malbrough had a 634 series.

“I’ve got to thank them all,” Himbert said. “It was a team effort all year long. Will Oertling threw the ball well and had little to show for it. Drew Gardner, the whole season, has been special as a freshman. Brennan was excellent. Jonathan was great in his final showing for us. Cody is special.”

Fernandez is the only senior on the squad, with all other teammates returning, along with two or three others who contributed to the unbeaten season. That spells bad news for all future opponents as well.

With three state titles since arriving at Brother Martin as an eighth grader, Schaffer has a clear goal ahead of him.

“I plan on getting four,” Schaffer said.

While Schaffer cannot win a fifth for one each finger, he has that covered as well.

“I’ve got the senior ring coming for that.”