WATERLOO — Playoff sports can hinge on a hot streak, a stroke of individual brilliance or a bad matchup. Try as the Bobcats might, a title repeat was not in the cards for Marshalltown boys’ bowling.

The Bobcats finished second in the 2022 Class 3A team bowling state championships on Wednesday at Cadillac XBC, falling in the finals to Waukee in the first year of a new bracket-play format.

DJ said the Bobcats ran into a “buzzsaw” against Waukee.

“I’m extremely proud,” DJ said. “Qualified first after the first 15 games, walked through your first two brackets 6-0, Waukee was just a buzzsaw. They’re a great team, they made very little mistakes.

“I’m not upset at all about it. I told the kids, ‘This moment doesn’t define us.'”

The day began with 15 Baker games to determine seeding for the bracket-play round. In those 15 games, Marshalltown’s final score was 3,155 — the best of any team, locking them into the No. 1 seed by 74 pins over Davenport North and setting up a matchup with Davenport Central in the first round. Marshalltown recorded nine games in the 200s with a high of 267 coming in the 14th of 15 Baker games.

Teams played five-game Baker series, with the first to win three advancing to the next round.

Davenport Central was dispatched, but the first two games were tight. Marshalltown won 191-190 in game one and 214-207 in game two. A 244-196 thrashing in game three bounced the Blue Devils and put the Bobcats up against Bettendorf.

DJ said the Bobcats adapted nicely to the new format after some early hiccups in the qualifying games.

“I think they took to it quite well,” DJ said.

Bettendorf was also swept aside comprehensively in three games by scores of 223-203, 225-191 and 213-173. Marshalltown was in the final with a chance to clinch a repeat against the 7-seed Waukee, who had beaten 2-seed Davenport North and 3-seed Sioux City East to reach the finals.

In three games, Waukee continued its hot streak and dethroned the reigning champs with scores of 211-182, 236-209 and 233-199.

It was a disappointing end to the Bobcats’ title defense but it was also a third straight top-two finish for the group of seniors including Dru Wilder, Dylan Cooper, Demetri Ferneau, Xander Pickett and alternate Alex Thompson. Two starters return next year in Damon Borton and Aaron Ratte, who will have to step into large roles and fill big shoes.

Cooper said he is proud of everything this group has accomplished together.

“I’m very proud,” Cooper said. “All day we bowled strongly and we bowled with confidence.

“There’s some kids who don’t get to experience it and for us to come back consecutive years and experience it over my four years of bowling, it’s pretty great.”

In the past eight seasons, Marshalltown has finished first or second in the state meet on six occasions. Winning in the postseason has become a new tradition for Bobcat bowling, and DJ said that it does sometimes make things harder on the athletes who have heightened expectations.

However, he made sure to point out the seniors who made their mark on the MHS program should not beat themselves up over the championship defeat.

“They accomplished a lot this year, it was a great team,” DJ said. “They didn’t quit, they kept throwing the ball well, they just didn’t throw it as well as Waukee did.

“That’s a great group of kids. Those four seniors are special to me — one of them obviously very special to me — but they had a goal in mind and fell a little short, and that’s okay. Tomorrow morning the sun will come up, and we’ll be doing whatever we do after the bowling season is over.”

Class 3A Team Tournament

Pre-Bracket Standings — 1. Marshalltown 3,155, 2. Davenport North 3,081, 3. Sioux City East 3,046, 4. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 2,999, 5. Bettendorf 2,991, 6. Waterloo West 2,985, 7. Waukee 2,965, 8. Davenport Central 2,863.

Quarterfinals

Marshalltown def. Davenport Central, 3-0

Bettendorf def. Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 3-1

Sioux City East def. Waterloo West, 3-0

Waukee def. Davenport North, 3-2

Semifinals

Marshalltown def. Bettendorf, 3-0

Waukee def. Sioux City East, 3-0

Consolation Final

Bettendorf def. Sioux City East, 3-0

Championship

Waukee def. Marshalltown, 3-0