By: Greg Tartaglia – Record Sports Staff
North Arlington now owns the longest win streak in the NJIC Meadowlands Division.
The team enters the bowling season’s holiday break having defeated its last 10 league opponents. The most recent was Lyndhurst, which had won 105 straight Meadowlands matches before bowing to the Vikings 7-0 Tuesday at Bowlero Wallington.
Lyndhurst has won the past six division crowns, going unbeaten in each of those seasons. North Arlington was runner-up by two points last winter and finished third in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
“We’ve been chasing them a long time,” Vikings coach Dan Farinola said. “The streak started my first year of coaching [2010-11], so it’s been a long time coming. Two years ago, we won the state [sectional] title, we still lost to them twice.”
With all of its primary bowlers back from last year, North Arlington now has to be considered the favorite not only in the NJIC Meadowlands, but in its section as well. Its last league title came in the BCSL National Division in 2008-09.
That season, All-North Jersey standout Matt Priore was the anchor of the lineup. That distinction now belongs to junior Eric McKenna, who averages a shade under 200 and shot a team-best 580 series against Lyndhurst.
“It gives us confidence, especially for the next time we play them, as well as going into counties and states,” McKenna said, adding that the win also provided “motivation to work harder and get better.”
Junior Liam Henkel (182 average) bowls leadoff, while seniors Brandon Barth (181) and Kenny Bennett (176) start in the middle two spots for league play. When the lineup goes to five for tournaments, sophomore Trent Petito also contributes.
Four of the Vikings’ top five qualified for the playoff round at the North Jersey Singles Championships earlier this month, with McKenna reaching the quarterfinals and placing ninth.
The biggest area of concern – for both North Arlington and Lyndhurst, especially on Tuesday – may be the home lanes. There were two mechanical breakdowns in the first game, and the second caused a delay of over 20 minutes in the pivotal eighth frame of game one.
“The lane breakdowns definitely contributed to some of the lower scores that we had,” McKenna said.
Both coaches acknowledged the poor timing of the breakdowns, but also noted that they have occurred at Wallington more often than not.
“I told the kids, ‘Just stay focused, we can only control what we can control’,” Farinola said. “Don’t rush your shot, and continue to pick each other up. That’s all we could do.”
Yet at the end of the day, despite the externals, sportsmanship prevailed.
“Honestly, if we had to lose, I’m glad that it was to them, because they’ve been our toughest opponent for years,” Lyndhurst coach Brianna Balkin said of the Vikings. “They’ve always had us right on the ropes, and we’ve always managed to be able to pull it out, but not this time.”
“We had a higher [team] average than them last year, and they showed up on game day,” Farinola said of the Golden Bears. “And I think the experience of playing them last year, in that environment, really helped us.”
The last team to top Lyndhurst previously had been Becton on Jan. 24, 2011.
According to The Record archives, the 105 straight match wins in an all-time North Jersey record. The Immaculate Heart girls won more than 80 in a row in the late 2000s but never reached triple digits.
“I told them after we lost, no one’s ever supposed to win that many,” said Balkin, who succeeded Mike Rizzo as coach prior to the 2013-14 season.
