December 6th, 2008

            Submitted by Mike Holzhueter

            Jason Smith of Eden Prairie, MN, needed a solid 10th frame to defeat Todd Savoy in the Red Cedar Match Games championship match on Saturday.  He missed his mark on the lane, hit the head pin dead center, but somehow got all the pins to fall, and defeated Savoy 223-213 to win the 2008 Red Cedar Match Games.  The win was worth $950 for Smith, and it was his first RCMG title.

      Savoy, of Superior, averaged 214 en route to becoming the top seed after 8 games of match play.  He nearly missed the cut get into match play, throwing a 245 his last game in qualifying to make the 16 player field by 4 pins.  Savoy's efforts did earn him $560 for second place.

      LaCrosse's Nick Heilman was the top qualifier after the 7 game qualifying set, with a total of 1591.  The demanding oil pattern put out for the tournament saw scores drop from the 2007 RCMG, and bowlers were forced to play a deep inside line in order to get a desired ball reaction as the competition progressed.  Scores were still strong in the stepladder finals as these top bowlers in the Midwest adapted to the extreme conditions.