Column: Jacoby Ford makes Mesquite bowling history

And what else is jaw-dropping is he’s already cemented his place in Mesquite bowling history by being the first to throw a 300 game in back-to-back league outings, and one of his perfect games also helped power his way to an 800 series.

And a deeper dive looking at what he did which was so unprecedented shows he began his first game with 12 straight strikes for a 300 game in his Wednesday Men’s League, and followed his perfecto with games of 199 and 242 for a 741 series with 24 total strikes.

Amazingly, egg-xactly one day later in his Thursday City High Rollers League he showcased his bowling talent again beginning with games of 247, 262 and put an exclamation point on an already stellar outing with a 300 game paving the way for the signature achievement of his young career, a stratospheric 809 series with 30 strikes.

So it’s understandable that a person who came in the bowling center to order a hamburger at Burger  Queen and happened to see Ford send a bowling barreling down the lanes crushing the 1-3 pocket for a strike would think he’s a dang good bowler.

However, what that person didn’t see is what it took for him to become such a big scoring threat. We’re talking things like his determination to become good, lotsa practice on his physical game and also time spent on developing a high bowling IQ when it comes to things like making adjustments to lane conditions, how different cover stocks on a bowling ball will react on lane conditions and the like. He even traveled to the amazing Kegel Training Center in Florida for some top-notch coaching which has also played a role in seeing his progress in becoming such a standout bowler.

So, with three honor scores in his pocket already, a winning bet is you can definitely pencil in more going forward.

Meanwhile, I spent time looking at scores from all the leagues from last week (March 22nd – March 26) and noted some highlights below. And in the weeks left in the season, I will always have at least one or two posts like this one each week.

Additionally, once the season and roll offs are completely finished I will be doing an update on the bowling poster I did last spring and it will again be posted right here.

And switching gears here to some scores from the last week, March 22nd to the 26th of March, I couldn’t help but see that Brian Collins delivered a most impressive outing when he blew away his previous personal-best 689 series by barbecuing the lanes with an eye-popping 729 series with games of 266, 236, 227 in his Wednesday Mesquite Merchants Men’s League action and since he’s a humongous fan of the San Francisco Giants and Blitzburg Steelers his standout effort could mean both his teams will also have great seasons.

No surprise here, but Austin Finster delivered a high-octane 765 on games of 259, 257, 249, Milan Carr punched out a hard-hitting 739, and Michael Ramirez is having another outstanding season including his latest first-rate outing, a 730 with a 268.

And John Martin a heckuva good bowler from Ohio racked up a 727, Jared Bundy continued his 200-plus average with a 701, and Logan Hendrick and his two-handed delivery helped power his way to a 664 set with a 258 high game.

Orlyn Meyer who hails from the “Land of 10,000 Taxes” uncorked a 662 effort in his Early Risers League, while Marc Bundy, fueled by a 277 tallied a 655, and Mike Saldivar also delivered some good scoring action with a 650 set.

Mike Dunlop (631-242) has a great golf game and his bowling game is also doing darn good, Steve Serrano (641-235) is cranking out 600s on a pretty darn consistent basis and he was stoked after throwing a 289 game earlier this season, and Dean Sheppard (640-223, 215,202) surely wanted a higher series but had to like his consisstency.

In other action, former high school track star Andy Robinson definitely authored another impressive feat when he chucked his first 600 of the season, a 620 on games of 225, 201, 194 and raised his Kings & Queens League average to 165 from 161.

Robin Drury (618-228) bagged his umpteenth 600, Dave Castro (611-215) a sprinter and running back in high school also tallied a 600, and fueled by a 246 game Paul Buntin’s two-handed delivery continues paying dividends with another 600, a 606.

In women’s action, Bev Cormani set the scoring pace with a 617 on games of 217, 206, 194 and a standout 699 series earlier this season fell a pin shy of her second 700 series, Autumn Telford and her top-notch bowling mechanics fired a 604, and MaryAnn Davis 9572-200) had a good week in her Early Risers League.

And Ashlee Yokoyama-Kesl tallied a 539, Jamie Turlington (539-193) delivered a competitive outing, while Jane Burgoyne delivered a solid 528 and she’s only bowler I know of who has a daughter (Amanda Burgoyne) who is in the University of Nebraska Sports Hall of Fame, and Sharon Stoneman mowed down 507 pins in her Ladies 4 Fun League.