Oak Mountain gets to semifinals in 1st state tournament appearance

In Danny DuBose’s five years as the Oak Mountain High School bowling coach, he had never been nervous.

That changed when one of DuBose’s bowlers, Joe Renfro, entered the 10th frame with a perfect game during the first day of the high school state tournament, which was Jan. 23-24 at Oak Mountain Lanes.

“You just don’t say anything to the kid,” DuBose said, recalling the moment. “But he came back and talked to me.”

Renfro notched his 10th consecutive strike before losing the perfect game on his second ball of the frame. But his score of 284 in that game was the individual high for the day and set the tone for a big second day.

“That energized everybody,” DuBose said.

The 16 teams that qualified for state bowled three traditional games the first day to set seeding for the single-elimination bracket format on the second day. Oak Mountain’s boys earned the No. 7 seed and made a run the second day. The Eagles beat No. 10 Mary G. Montgomery 1,504-1,446 in the first round, then knocked off No. 15 East Limestone — fresh off an upset of reigning state champ Vestavia Hills — 1,462- 1,366 in the quarterfinals. Oak Mountain’s run came to an end in the semifinals in a 1,422- 1,280 loss to Sparkman.

This season marked Oak Mountain’s first trip to the state tournament. The boys finished the year with a 13-5 record and set a new school record with a score of 1,578 in a regular season win over Hoover. Seniors Jake Booth, Jacob Heidrich, Renfro and Brandon Stiffler teamed with sophomore Cameron Khlief and freshman Mark Bearden throughout the season.

The girls were 10-4, with wins over Calera and Hoover (twice each) and a berth at the regional tournament. Sydney Heidrich, Meredith Shoemaker, JoJo Smith, Piper Watson and Grace Wergin contributed for the Lady Eagles.