Hillcrest High School assistant football coach Dustin Hatton took on a new role this year as the Patriots bowling coach in their inaugural year.
Hatton has marveled at his teams’ early success, which resulted in a trip to the state tournament on Thursday at Oak Mountain Lanes in Pelham, despite a late start.
“This year has shown that we have really good kids that like to compete,” Hatton said. “It’s a reflection of the school and athletic programs, and shows that they want to compete in team sports.”
“We weren't able to start practice until the first week of December because we made it to the semifinals in football,” Hatton said. “We could have started practice in October if we weren't in the playoffs.”
Monica Rodgers will be coaching The Capitol School girl’s team for the second consecutive year in the state tournament.
"It’s really great to be going back again this year, so that really helps their confidence level,” Rodgers said.
Both teams had a strong showing at the AHSAA North regional at Leland Lanes last week. After an undefeated regular season, Hillcrest finished eighth, defeating ninth-seeded Hewitt-Trussville in the first round and falling to Grissom in the quarterfinals. The Patriots were led by freshman Hawkins Davis, who placed fifth overall, while sophomore Carson Poe finished 15th.
“It’s pretty incredible it’s our first year and it was our goal to make it to state,” Davis said. “It’s a really good group of guys and we are very excited for this opportunity.”
The Capitol School defeated Northridge in the first round of the regional and fell to Etowah in the quarterfinals. Defending individual state champion Macy Fields, whose mother, Lydia Fields, is an assistant coach for The Capitol School, finished seventh overall.
“Leland Lanes has been a Godsend to bowlers and to the Alabama High School Athletic Association,” Rodgers said. “They’ve been the ones to step up and sponsor the regionals teams from Tuscaloosa that get to go to state and they’ve just rallied around us. We love Leland Lanes.”
The state tournament begins Thursday with three traditional 10-pin games that determine the seeding for Friday’s 16-team bracket. Friday will include one traditional game, followed by three baker games, which are single elimination. Baker games include lineups of five that roll two out of 10 frames, limiting starter lineups and forcing coaches to decide which substitutions to utilize.
“I think the (youth league) tournament experience some of our guys have from playing at Leland and Bama Lanes has helped them with any kind of nerves in spots like this,” Hatton said. “I think we will be prepared for state.”