The match between the Norsk Cowboys and the J&M Bar River Rats came down to the wire in this third week of play. Coming off a bye and with a 20-point lead going into the seventh frame, the River Rats were staring at their first win of the season. All they had to do was keep the Cowboys corralled for two more frames. With Honker (Dan) Palmer and Mark Raders’ perfect score going into the seventh, the outcome looked good for the River Rats. But, Dean Disch and Marvin Thompson had other ideas. They outscored Honker and Mark by 4 points as the Cowboys pilfered a total of 18 points in the seventh for a perfect frame. This left the Cowboys just 2 points down going into the eighth frame. Dan and Mark recovered in the eighth frame beating Dave Wilborn and Roger Olstad, finishing the night with 116 points, this week’s high score. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough for the River Rats to hang on and relish the cheese as the remaining Rats loss their final game, leaving the Cowboys undefeated with a 6-point win.

The Hay Shakers also started the night out with a 2 and 0 record. Without a single Mountie nabbing more than 96 points, and with three of the four Kleeman’s couples pitching more than 100 points into the hay mow, the Hay Shakers easily shook a 65-point win out of the Mounties to remain in a first place tie with the Cowboys. Rick Skindrud, Jeff Judd, Al Zimmerman and Don Williams all scored 112 points for the Hay Shakers.

Giff Hoesly and Ed Wettach (S’Wisco Taphaus) ate a hole in Greg Burreson and Larry Losenegger’s (Pranksters) perfect score. Giff and Ed gave Greg and Larry their only loss of the night when they nearly skunked them, allowing them just 1 point in the seventh frame. However, with Chris Hook and Dave Losenegger’s 112 points, the Norsk Pranksters were able win this one by 47 points.

With a change from a train to a bike as their mode of transportation, the Harley Blue Express cruised into a 52-stroke advantage over the Pipe Benders for their first win of the season. Charlie Steinhauer and Opie Taylor put 111 points in the sidecar for the Express, while Jerome Krantz and Mark Losenegger pumped 110 points out of the well for the Pipe Benders.

Standings: Kleeman’s 3-0; Norsk Cowboys 3-0; Norsk Pranksters 2-1; Riley 1-1; Harley Blue Express 1-2; Jones’ Plumbing 1-2; S’Wisco Taphaus 1-2; It’s Time 0-2; J&M Bar 0-2.

Schedule for October 25: Norsk Cowboys @ Harley Blue (7:30); Jones’ Plumbing @ Riley Shufflers (7:00); Kleeman’s @ Norsk Pranksters (8:00); S’wisco Taphaus – BYE; J&M Bar @ It’s Time (8:00).