CBS films Rowlett vs Berkner Match

The match was special for the students of Rowlett and Berkner High Schools as they were selected to have KTVT CBS Channel 11 come out and film and interview the players, teachers and parents on the aspects of having billiards in school. The Berkner Rams were hosting the match on their three nine foot tables installed in Mr. Sam Jolly's (Berkner teacher sponsor) classroom. As the teams arrived there was an excitement in the air of being on TV. To some there was a definite nervousness as the camera man moved about the room taking shots from different angles. When it got to the end of the match some would remember this as one of the best matches they had seen.

What more could you ask for. It was like a rematch of a Heavy Weight World Title Boxing match with the .....Berkner Rams in the green shirts and the Rowlett Eagles in the maroon shirts. These two teams faced off against each other in the 2006 BCA High School Championship to see who would be #1. The Eagles were victorious last year as they edged out the Rams. These two schools have been battling each other with a great rivalry since 2001. They were two of three schools to be selected as a BCA pilot program. The Rams were coming into the match undefeated with a 4-0 record. The Eagles were struggling but managed to stay in 2nd place with a 2-2 record. In the second week of the season the Rowlett Eagles lost to the South Garland Colonels in a heart breaking match that went to the last ball to the last game 28-27.

William Howard and Kip Paris start off the match.

With nervousness and excitement the 1st round of the match started. With a feeling of being a professional player with the camera literally inches from their faces, Rams William Howard and Eagles Kip Paris were the first two to face off, along with Rams James Jolly vs Eagles Logan Elkins, and Rams Spencer Moore vs Eagles Chad Swoveland on the three nine footers.

The Rams started off with wins in the 1st round by William Howard and James Jolly but went dry as the Eagles Chad Swoveland, Troy Tynan and Keith White put the 1st round win in the Rowlett Eagles favor 3-2.

William Howard seemed to be motivated after having been interviewed by the CBS crew and started the 2nd round with two wins going on a three game win streak. The past two weeks William had gone an incredible 20-2 run. The Rams team reported back to scorekeeper Christina White, also a Berkner Rams sponsor, with five more wins to take the 2nd round 7-3.

The 3rd and 4th round the teams were exchanging games and tieing up the rounds 5-5 and 5-5. The Program Director, Earl Munson, sensing something special here remarked "This is going to come down to the last game of the match". Logan Elkins with the Eagles swept all four of his games in both rounds with fellow Eagle Chad Swoveland helping with 3 of 4 wins. Berkner Rams Blake Lewis snapped in the 9-Ball in his 4th round game. Spencer Moore with the Rams won both of his games in the two rounds.

Going into the 5th round the teams were tied in round wins both 3-1. Kip Paris from Rowlett showed his BCA Junior National experience as he and fellow Eagle and last year veteran Eagle player Chad Swoveland won both of their 5th round games. James Jolly with the Rams won his game and was on a 4-1 pace for the match. Wins by Rowlett's Logan Elkins and Juan Banda sealed the round for the Eagles with them taking the round 6-4.

Due to the length of the match it was decided to let the two team regroup and take a 5 minute time out. The Rams coach Sam Jolly gave his team a pep talk to try  to maintain their slight lead in game wins. The Eagles were advised they would need to win the 6th round 6-4 to win the match. The Berkner Rams only needed to tie or win the round to extend their win streak in games to 5-0.

The 6th round started very bad for the Eagles as Berkner Rams players Spencer Moore, Raul Reyes and Almos Kotwal each won their games. The Rams only needed two more wins. Desperate the Rowlett Eagles encouraged each other to focus. It was strange to see, like watching a boxing match where a player gets pummelled and goes down bloodied and disoriented. But then you see this look in his eyes as he shakes his head clear and you KNOW this guys is going to get UP and keep fighting no matter what.......

 ........the Eagles were like that downed boxer and they got up. And then the Eagles took their turns delivering blows reeling the Rams back with Keith White, Logan Elkins, Chad Swoveland and Juan Banda winning their much needed games to TIE UP THE MATCH 26-26! 

What a match! Which ever team wins the next 2 of  3 games wins the match. Sara Krawec from the Eagles was matched up against Berkners William Howard and the leagues #1 player who started out strong but struggled mid match. You could see the concentration in Sara's face as she tried to slow down the aggressive play of William. Williams experience and great shooting eventually put the win in Berkners side. The Rams only needed one more game to win the match.

James Jolly from Berkner was called out to face Kip Paris from Rowlett. Kip was the Eagles last chance. He had to win both of his games to give the match victory to the Eagles. Kip won the lag and preceded to break. Both players took turns pocketing the balls  to get down to the gold ,"The Nine Ball". James having the first shot on the 9-ball missed a tough shot and gave Kip the chance for Kip to tie up the game. With a confident stroke Kip pocketed the nine to take the match to the last game tied up 27-27.

"Whew" is all of us watching the match could say. What more could you ask for. Camera, Lights, and lots of 9-Ball Action down to the last game. The pressure of the match was definitly on these two last players shoulders. The last game was called out Kip Paris from Rowlett vs Blake Lewis from Berkner. The players lagged with Blake winning the right to break. The match could be over fast as Blake had earlier snapped in the 9-ball in the 4th round. But the odds of that happening were against him as the pro's have a 1 in 35 chance of the 9-ball going in on the break. Kip Paris had an advantage in the game due to his high pressure experience in last years 2006 BCA Junior National at the University of Arizona.

The match almost looked like it might be over on a 3-foul rule as Blake had snookered Kip twice causing him to unsuccessfully kick at the object ball resulting in a foul. As the cue ball was still rolling Kip picked up the cue ball to hand it to Blake and Blake called him on his third foul. A player may not touch the cueball if it is still moving or it results in a foul. If Kip had not already fouled on the same shot it would have been a foul but only one foul is called per inning. With two fouls on Kip he managed to successfully contact the object ball and a legal shot was made resetting the consecutive fouls back to 0. The tables turned on Blake as Kip managed to cause him to foul and Blake completely missed a tough cut shot to the corner and he was now facing two consecutive fouls with only one more needed for Kip to win.

With cue ball in hand Kip failed to run out the last two balls the eight and nine. Blake came to the table with the nineball close to the rail near the corner pocket with the eight ball close by but off the long rail by a ball width. A combination shot to the corner pocket would finish the game and match for Blake and the Rams. For some reason Blake grabbed the bridge. It looked like the shot could be made with out it with better accuracy. Blake uses a very unorthodox bridging technique which could cause some mechanical errors in the stroke. Kip stood by waiting to see if he had a chance to still win. Blake fired but missed the combo leaving the cue ball with a shot on the eight to the corner. You could see the relieve on Kip's face and hear the "AHHHH's" in the room as he  jumped up to the shot to close out the match.

Kip Paris- Wins the Match!

Kip made a great carom shot with the eight in to the nine and was set up perfectly with a straight in nine ball shot to the corner pocket. With a sigh he stroked and the nine ball fell in winning the game and match. The Eagles went crazy as they couldn't believe they came back to beat the undefeated Rams.

Thanks go to all the students who participated and represented themselves and their respective high schools in a very professional manner. Thank you! To all the parents who also attended. Thank you! And to all the teachers who give their time and dedication. A GREAT BIG THANK YOU!