Post Messenger Recorder -

The Pipe Benders had an easy go of it last week and were able to pull out their second win of the season without playing a single card in competition. With their captain out of town and down three players, the Trolls were forced to forfeit the match with the Pipe Benders. By doing so, the Trolls are still looking for their first win of the season.

In an attempt to keep pace with the league leaders, the Pranksters took an early lead against the Shufflers. They led by as many as 25 and were never behind through the first seven rounds of the match. However, by the end of the eighth and final round, the Pranksters found themselves losing by 2. Pranksters Larry Losenegger and Tom Schulenberg held up their end with 110 points. But, it was the 117 points (this week’s high score) recorded by Shufflers Stan Hook and Steve Vogt that helped put the final nail in the Pranksters’ coffin.

The Cowboys, one of the two undefeated teams going into last week, took an early 13-point lead in their match against the Hay Shakers. But on this night, they found themselves struggling to stay in their saddles. Whereas, the Hay Shakers were able to stack 41 more points on their wagons than the Cowboys could stuff in their saddle bags. Don William and Rick Skindrud, losing only their sixth game to Randy Schmid and Harold Schlimgen, stacked up 116 bales on their wagon for the Hay Shakers.

The Express rolled into Victory Station easily with 51 points more than the River Rats. Two Express couples, John Scheidegger and Opie Taylor, along with Steve Hoffmaster and Karen Miller, hit 114 psi to steam ahead of the other Express players. John and Opie lost only their third game to Gordie Miller and Jack Gehin to keep them from a perfect score. The River Rats, with the exception of Gordie and Jack, had a difficult time finding solid footing on the river bank.

There must be something about rodents this time of year as the Ott Haus Cheese Eaters also struggled last Thursday night. But none as much as Kohl Wenger and Brett Hoesly. Kohl and Brett could only secure 3 points in one of their games, and just 2 in a later game. That’s a total of 5 points out of a possible 30. Both of these near skunks came at the hands of Uff-Da players John Baumgartener and Dan Meinholtz. This pushed Kohl and Brett into the basement with this week’s low score of just 72. Team Uff-Da won every round to trap the Cheese Eaters in an 81-point loss.

Standings: Uff-Da 5-0; Cowboys 4-1; Hay Shakers 4-1; Express 3-2; Pranksters 3-2; Pipe Benders 2-3; Shufflers 2-3; Cheese Eaters 1-4; River Rats 1-4; Trolls 0-5.

Schedule for November 10: River Rats @ Hay Shakers (7:30); Cowboys @ Pranksters (7:30); Cheese Eaters @ Pipe Benders (7:00); Shufflers @ Express (7:00); Trolls @ Uff-Da (7:00).