BOWLING: Mike Rogers’ 749 series leads to lotsa overdue ink

By Willie Theis

Mike Rogers is a legit top-notch bowling talent who hasn’t captured as much ink in this column as the other acknowledged top bowlers in Mesquite.

Heck, it’s even worse! What? I’ts true! And that’s because he hasn’t even captured a headline! Yes, not even a headline. And that’s in spite of numerous outstanding scoring splurges since he began bowling in Mesquite in 2018.

We can only hope the person responsible for this egregious oversight gets together with his pastor soon seeking forgiveness for having committed this mortal sin.

Amazingly, in the interim, maybe it was divine intervention, but Dean Sheppard was sharing his thoughts with me about Rogers being a terrific bowler who can hang with the best. True, this might be a stretch, but the “big fella upstairs” may have overheard the conversation because after all these years, Rogers is finally capturing a headline after putting together another doozy of an outing.

And it happened two days ago in the Monday Scratch League (MSL) with games of 245, 226, and put a maraschino cherry on a stellar performance with 10 strikes in a 278 paving the way for a 749 series with 25 total strikes and only two open frames.

His MSL average before his 749 was 209 so it will no doubt move higher, and in this same league’s 2023-24 season, he finished with a season-high 747 series, 278 game, and his 213 average was only topped by Jeremy Telford (226), Scott Mattingly (221), John Hollaway (217), along with Mike Saldivar (215) and Jeremy Turlington (214).

And given his skill-set, it’s not surprising as a sub in the Tuesday Kings & Queens League (KQL) he thumped the lanes with another 700, a 716 on games of 267, 225 & 224.

His resume sports two 300s, a career-high 789, a career-high 223 average, and was also named to the Portland, Oregon All-City Bowling Team in the 1984-85 season.

Away from bowling, two of his hobbies include golf and running, and as an avid sports fan keeps close tabs on the three teams he’s a big fan of, the San Francisco Giants, 49ers, and Portland Trail Blazers. And his all-time favorite athlete is the Hall of Famer and super baseball great, Willie Mays.

Amazingly, at one time or another, Rogers has lived in Germany, Alaska, California, Turkey, Guam and a military base in Okinawa.

And when we take a quick gander at some of his various places of abode we see that he was born in Germany where his dad was stationed in the United States Air Force, and later when his father was transferred to a base in Alaska, he attended some of his early elementary school years in The Land of the Midnight Sun.

Now let’s fast forward to California where he spent his first three years in high school where he was a jock on the varsity baseball, basketball and volleyball teams. As a side note, his basketball team was ranked in the Top10 in California. However, he was soon on the move again and spent his senior year with his military family on a base in Okinawa.

Rogers served four years in the United States Army which involved a tour in Turkey, and after leaving the military was employed with the U.S. Postal Service for 24 years.

Oh, Just so you know in closing out the the scoop on Rogers, let’s just say there is absolutely no way it will take another six years for him to garner another headline. He’s a heckuva bowler and an even better human being.

In other pin action, Scott Mattingly lit up the scoring monitors two days ago in Monday night action with a stratospheric 776 set which included 27 total strikes and only one open frame. He began league play with a clean 236, followed with an open to begin his second game and then went off the sheet for a 278 and finished a monster outing with a 262 gem.

Meanwhile, John Martin’s second 700 series this season, a 742 came with 24 strikes in games of 258, 247 and 237 which raised his Mesquite Merchants Men’s League (MMML) average to 222, and Milan Carr’s 24 strikes and only one open frame fueled a terrific 734 set on games of 268, 243 and 223.

And Austin Finster smoked the lanes with his second 700 this season, a 718 on games of 256, 248 and 214,while Michael “Smurffzzz” Ramirez is putting together a monster season as his 696 set including an eight-bagger in a 268 fell four sticks shy of his fourth 700 this season.

Dylan Kesl’s 22 strikes paved the way for a strong 686 effort, while his dad, Britt, continued a really good season with a 630 series, and Dylan’s grandmother, Tillie Armijo gets ink for picking up the 3-7-8-10 split. By the way, young Kesl is doing a great job in the pro shop, and his Sunday Scratch League which features sport condition patterns is off to a strong start with the first two weeks in the books.

And Bob Wells (676-256) raised his MMML average to an impressive 221, Kelly Williamson led all Gamblers 4 Aces League play with a 674 set, and Bruce Hooley’s (667-244) impressive effort included 18 strikes and 12 spares and he also popped a 663 in the MSL two days ago.

Dave Harris’ first-rate 667 set included 21 strikes and a six-bagger in a 244, and Max Baarz is a huge hockey fan who’s 658 with 20 strikes is his best effort in this, his first season in Mesquite bowling.

John Gerger (653-230) had another really strong outing which included 16 strikes, 14 spares and only one open, while Jake Heaton’s (648-246) scores will continue moving higher, just like Doug Heiden’s stocks keep going higher along with a 177 average which shot up to 182 after his season-high 629

Alfred Oliveira V (625-224) threw 17 strikes with only one open in a solid outing, and Chris Scott’s 620 included 19 total strikes including a six-bagger in a 247, and Randy Brown’s 615 and 237 will prove to be a down payment on significantly higher scores in the weeks ahead.

Logan Hendrick’s (615-223) two-handed delivery means his scores can rocket higher in any outing, and Dean Sheppard had a darn good week with a trio of 600s, 611, 604 and 603.

In single game action, it was the Mike Foote show (652) as he went spare, followed by all strikes until his final ball in the 10th when he came a stick short of a 290, while finishing with a 289. And the only higher game this season is Larry Willis’ 300. By the way, Foote has thrown a 300 game in St. George league bowling.

And Mike Gentry (615) who was a beast back in the day on the softball diamond pounded out an impressive eight-bagger in a 267 in his first return to bowling since undergoing quintuple bypass surgery, while Jerod Bundy (635) smacked a 264; and Rob Cormani (633) an avid Utah Utes fan uncorked a seven-bagger in a 255.

And in the same league as Cormani, Dale Knight (659) fired a six-bagger in a 253. David Walker put together a six-bagger in a 236, Gary Smith (605) rolled a 223, and Richard Long of Alaska Railroad fame threw eight strikes in a 215.

Dennis Woolsey, a retired truck driver posted a 211, Duane Sullivan tallied a 210, Robert Sedgley merits ink for a 209, while Jimmy Webb had four strikes and seven spares in a clean 203, and Jan “Kooz” Kusy chalked up his first deuce, a 202, since December 2022 when he put his bowling game on hold until this season due to hip replacement surgery.

In women’s bowling, Sandy Sheppard topped the scoring food chain with a terrific 646 set on games of 233, 226, and 187 which raised her King & Queens League average to 206 from 204, and it looks like Kim Marshall (588-226) is on the cusp of her first 600 in the 2024-2025 season.

Meanwhile, Pam Jacobson painted a masterpiece in Gamblers 4 Aces League action with a career-high 581 series which included a season-high 224 and clean198 which featured seven spares and three strikes.

And Bev Cormani, the first woman to ever bowl a 700 series in Mesquite bowling peppered the lanes with 16 strikes and 14 spares in a 565 effort, Margaret Baron is reaping the rewards of practicing on her game several days a week as she rolled a season-high 540 series in the Ladies Trio League with games of 192, 174, 174, and Jamie Turlington’s (532-201) quality outing raised her MMML average to 162 from 158.

And look for Kerri Roberts to build on the momentum of a 518 with even higher scores, Karyl Moeller captured her first ink of the season with a 515, while Jane Burgoyne logged a 514, and it’s great seeing Molly Gomes (503-190) continue throwing 500 series scores.

In single game play, Diane Marget (584) registered a 226, Autumn Telford (555) pocketed a 212, Lanae Page (526) booked a 203, Charlene Heiden popped a 202 in her Tuesday Trio League, and Evelyn Hooley cruised to a 200 on the nose.

Al Oliveira IV 221; Angel Hernandez 217; Alfred Oliveira 217; Dylan Kesl 212; Alan Pearson 205; Ashlee Yokoyama 201.

Scott Mattingly 705-242; John Hollaway 687-268; Al Gans 675-245; Chase Evans 661-245; Jeremy Telford 651-267; Dave Pershing 647-247; Eric Goldfarb 637-246; Dave Pershing 636-231; Chance Evans 629-244; Jerry Holloway 628-220; Darren Simonds 621-257; Jim Lytle 621-224; James Hartley 621-212; Jim Lytle 621-224; Chris Scott 620-247; David Johnson 619-246; Orlyn Meyer 617-235; Alan Jacobson 616-214; Sal Diaz 613-245; Brent Schlesinger 610-213; Ernie Kala 610-245; Jeremy Turlington 606-224; Gary Smith 605-223; Harry Uncles 604-237; Felix Cruz 601-222; Harold Hendrick 600-215; Gil Niimi 599-219; Dave Houghton 597-212; Javier Delgadillo 227; Steve Serrano 227; Duane Sullivan 227; Jack Northover 225, 214; Ricky Trujillo 225; Mike Yoder 224; Bobby Dixon 223; David Deen 223; Dean Baum 223; Johnny Harper 222; Mike Dunlop 220; Russ Marshall 220; Dave Castro 215; Martin Carillo 215; Jeff Branche 214; Max Snyder 214; Robin Drury 213; Mike Rosenlof 212; Robert Melendez 212; Tim McNees 211; Jeff Harmes 210; Phil Oyler 209; Tim Usher 209; Bob Marget 209; Dale Davidson 207; Dennis Craft 207; Clarence Bales 206; Steve Helbig 204; Al Oliveira 204; Angel Hernandez 204; Angel Hernandez 204; Chris Westwood 204; Doug Love 204; Larry Moultrie 204; Ryan Baeza 204; Troy Palmer 203; Allen Cope 202; Alan Pearson 201; Max Burgess 201.

Reiko Schultz 539-198; Georgia “GG” Godfrey 534-200; Jane Burgoyne 511-191; Krista Kilparick 500.