The Bobcat boys improved to 5-0 on the season with a 3,371-2,685 win over the Tigers, the third-straight night that the MHS boys set a new season-high point total.

Marshalltown’s girls kept their home win streak alive with a 2,339-2,266 win over Valley, and that was also a new season-best point total for the Bobcat girls.

MHS bowling head coach DJ Wilder said he couldn’t decide which team’s results he was happier with.

“I just can’t say enough about the boys varsity, those kids just really know the game very well, they continue to amaze,” Wilder said. “The girls had a struggle, a fight on their hands and I challenged them, and they were able to rise to that challenge and answer the call and succeed. I am very proud of them for that.”

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON - Marshalltown bowler Ray Wiegand, left, gives teammate Kamrin Chizek a high-five during the Baker games in the Bobcats’ home win over West Des Moines Valley on Thursday at Wayward Social.

As Wilder alluded to, it was no easy thing for the Marshalltown girls to get their third-straight win at Wayward Social on Thursday.

After the second Baker game and with just three games left, the Bobcats trailed the Tigers by 41 pins, and while their first two Baker games were better than their average the Valley girls continued to stay one step ahead.

That wasn’t the case in the third game, however, as Marshalltown put up a blistering 223 while the Tigers only managed a 158, taking the meet from a 41-pin Valley lead to a 24-pin Bobcat advantage.

MHS was able to extend that lead even more in the next two Baker games, leadin to their 73-pin victory.

“That 223, it was a clean game and impressive, I can’t say enough about how proud I am of them for that,” Wilder said. “I tried telling them at the end, ‘you guys don’t know how impressed I am with what you did tonight.’ Being down 32 going into Bakers and winning by 73, that’s a 100 pin swing in five games. That’s awesome.”

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

Emily Diggins threw the final frame for all of those Bakers, and she was tops in the individual sets with a season-high 339, including a team season-high 198 in her second game.

“I was very impressed with Emily’s ability to do what I am asking her to do,” Wilder said. “Early in the year her and I weren’t on the same page but I feel like we are getting to that point right now where she is starting to trust what I am saying to her and the moves I want her to make she is able to do. It showed tonight, she just does what I ask her to do and it’s successful and she comes back to me and says, ‘yup, we’re good.'”

Sydney Dannen was next in the individual sets with a 307, followed by Ashly Wiegand with a 305, Kylee Witt with a 283, Ashlyn Rutledge with a 232 and Jordan May with a 216.

The boys didn’t have nearly as much intrigue in their meet, as they once again smoked their competition on the way to a third-straight night with a season-high point total.

There was a new name at the top of the individual sets, however, as freshman Demitri Ferneau finished with a team-high 502, his first 500 set of his high school career.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

Ferneau has been solid in the early going this season, and Wilder said he shows no signs of slowing down.

“There’s not a moment too big for him, he just doesn’t seem to grasp the enormity and I am fine with that,” Wilder said. “He just bowls, and it’s a simple shot. He’s not trying to cover a lot of boards, he’s not trying to get the big hook, he’s trying to go down the lanes and in and as long as he is able to do that it’s fantastic. The kid is phenomenal and I see big things for him in the very near future as long as he can keep his head and keep going.”

Ray Wiegand was next in the individual series with a 467, followed by Kamrin Chizek with a 458, Carson Potter with a 424, Lucas Kramer with a 404 and Logan Proffitt with a 336.

“Kamrin, Carson, Lucas, Ray, those kids are just going to do what they do,” Wilder said of the depth of his boys team. “Basically all I do with those four is say, ‘hey, do you need anything from me? No, OK, I’m just going to stand here and watch and be amazed with the rest of the world.'”

The Bobcat boys continued their hot shooting into the Baker games by going 232, 192, 200, 246, 246 for a new Bakers season-high of 1,116.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

In the last stretch of three home games the Marshalltown bowling teams are a combined 6-0, with the boys dominating in every meet and the girls finding ways to get the job done. Wilder said coming into the home stretch he knew it was an opportunity to lay some good foundations for the rest of the season, and he feels both teams have done that remarkably.

“This is what they needed, they needed to have these three meets at home to understand what it is that we are trying to teach them and the confidence to know what I am teaching them is the right thing so when we go on the road on Monday, those things carry over,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if we are at Wayward Social or Mason City or Waukee or Urbandale or whatever, those techniques are going to carry over to wherever we are.”

The Bobcats will take their show on the road on Monday when they travel to take on Mason City at Mystic Lanes, starting at 3:45 p.m.