Fall 2021 — Week Three
With dark skies and thunderstorms, Monday night’s league was a wash but it was great to see so many league members stopping by throughout the week to practice and sharpen their skills for the coming weeks. The races for Rookie of the Year and Pétanque League Sicko are up for grabs and there are some serious contenders!
It was a perfect Fall evening on Tuesday. Hoodies, sweaters, and scarves were on full display, as were the skills of our league faithful as they continued to duke it out in the second of our team challenges for the season. Over on courts three and four, the top two teams on the leaderboard faced off in an attempt to court that first place spot. The self-appointed Dream Team has been cruising along so far but the Raging Boules were hoping to catch them snoozing and send them down to the basement of the standings. It was splitsies in the first frame as the now-power-combo of Jess and Jeff stuck with it to squeeze Kasia for the win. But league leaders Anne and Zach were stymied on court four as veterans Adam and Derek held fast. The next three frames were a nightmare for the RBs as the dreamers took five out of six on the strength of brilliant performances from Adam (3-0), Mark (3-0), and Hichem (2-1). All three have made their way onto the individual leaderboard but former ROTY Adam’s got a little pep in his step and holds the top spot so far. The Raging Boules drop to third in the standings while the Dream Team, 6-2 for the evening, takes first place…
Over on the other side of the courts, the two bottom teams faced off with everything on the line, hoping to keep their head above water and keep hope alive for a playoff run this season. Great Boules of Fire was short-handed for the evening but their spirits were high as they challenged the quirky but talented squad from the far reaches of the galaxy. Spaceboules has all the tools to make it work but haven’t been able to catch a break so far…was this going to be their week to break through? The first frame was a split decision with two of the narrowest margins around. But the great ones shook some nerves and rattled some brains in the second as Aaron/Brendan and Rafik/Nina all dropped hammers. Things looked grim for the spaces in the third until former ROTY Ian teamed up with newcomer Max to upset coach Rafik and veteran Dave. Both teams held serve in the fourth, making this a narrow 5-3 win for the Jerry Lees and an overall competitive match between two veteran teams. Standouts included a triumphant 2-0 return to the league for Jim, a casual 2-0 evening for Ian who seems to be can’t-miss these days, and killer nights for the coaches of fire with Rafik going 3-1 in a grueling four-frame schedule and Aaron who went 3-0 and is inching up the leaderboard.
All four teams are evenly spaced in the standings with only two games separating them from their neighbors. The season is at the halfway point and there is still plenty of room to make a move….
TUESDAY WEEK TWO RESULTS
