“SAVE THE GAME!”
The Bellwood-Antis unified bocce team hosted Tyrone Tuesday in a first-of-its kind Backyard Brawl game.
The team started out hot and stayed strong for the whole day, winning in two sets.
With scores of 10-2 for the first match, and 9-1 for the second, Bellwood claimed a title against Tyrone in Backyard Brawl matchup.
More important than a win over a rival, the game was another opportunity for both unified teams to get out and compete. Unified bocce is a PIAA sport sponsored by the Special Olympics. It features teams comprised of Special Olympic eligible athletes with unified partners.
This year is Tyrone’s first year sponsoring a unified bocce team, so more matchups are soon to follow in the years to come.
“Everyone seemed so excited to play Tyrone this year. We’ve been calling it our ‘Bocce Backyard Brawl!'” said B-A coach Shannon Elder. “We loved having the cheerleaders and so much support from the student section. The team has been practicing so hard. We’re glad they were able to pull off such a great win in front of their friends and families.”
Cooper Lovrich and Parker Lucas were the captains for yesterday’s match. Members of the team also include Noah Larson, Jacob Miller, Vincent Daughenbaugh, Maddy Pulcinello, , Lily Hardman, Julia Johnbson, and Logan Ridgway. Along with Mrs. Elder, B-A is coached by Mrs. April Cramer.
2020 B-A alum Faith Patton is now a coach for the Tyrone bocce team, assisting Zach Soellner.
You can access a full photo story of the match here.
