Bowlway can't hold lead as Elgin Lanes reclaims X-Town title

After week one's high and lows, it almost appeared the second week of X-Town competition was going to generate the same results. But fortunately for Elgin Lanes that did not happen as they claimed their second Elgin X-Town Classic title in three years.

Bowlway left Elgin Lanes leading by a small margin, but that was quickly wiped out, and left both teams scrambling to gain the advantage, which Elgin Lanes safely secured in the last game between the two teams, taking a 120-pin lead to victory.

It's safe to say that the last two years of competition have generated some of the most exciting matches ever played in the history of the Elgin X-Town Classic.

While the early years of the tournament were primarily about resurrecting the idea of scratch match-play bowling, the tournament has now grown into something much more mature, where both teams have shaken off most of the nerves that come with performing in front of a live audience, and they just want to win. There is respect between both teams, but also a serious competitiveness.

The bowling has gotten better as well and that has attracted larger crowds of people to both bowling centers.

Coming into the second week, Bowlway was leading ahead 5-2 in points and a narrow 86-pin lead. To win the tournament, Bowlway had to win two games or win one game and end the series with the higher pin total - both of which are difficult tasks under these kind of conditions.

During game one at Bowlway Lanes, the Elgin squad once again wasted little time getting started. They quickly began stringing strikes and pulled away from Bowlway in a convincing display. Led by Keith Davis (256), Steve Mundt (245), and Brian Kummet (226), Elgin Lanes won big 1,118-1,028 over Bowlway, led by Sean Hargadon (227), Dan Martin (226) and JJ Meyer (218). At this point, Elgin Lanes was still trailing 5-4 in points, but were ahead by 4 in total pin count.

Game two saw the lanes begin to change, and once again, Bowlway took advantage by filling frames with strikes and critical spares, while Elgin Lanes had some crucial misses down the stretch.

Led by Dan Martin (234), Daryl Ruck Jr. (221) and Sean Hargadon (203), Bowlway held on to a narrow victory 985-974 over Elgin Lanes, led by Keith Davis (206) and Steve Mundt (200). This helped Bowlway extend its lead to 7-4 in points and reclaim a small 7-pin lead.

With everything hinging on the last game, Bowlway would essentially need to win to retain the title. While both teams played cat and mouse for the first seven frames, gaining and giving up the lead, Elgin Lanes began to string strikes and start pulling away.

Led once again by the bottom three of their lineup: Drew Perly (229), Brian Kummet (235) and Keith Davis (237) sealed the game with a commanding 1,054-927 victory over Bowlway.

This win brought Elgin within 7-7 in points, leaving the total pin tiebreaker to determine the final outcome.

Fortunately, Elgin Lanes finished the day ahead and the whole tournament with a 120-pin lead, earning them their second Mayor's Cup in three years.