Joey Robel rolls first 300 game in Project X league play

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — Moviegoers are often willing to sit through seemingly endless credit scrolls at the conclusions of superhero/villain epics just for a chance to view the enticing trailers.

But for those who arrive to the show early at the Charles Theater, some of the local ad clips before the movie are just as amusing if not entertaining.

One in particular is from Quality Auto Service where owner Steve Robel tells his son Joey Robel to go easy on a new pair of rear truck tires only to have Joey respond by leaving a trail of rubber on the way out of the parking lot.

“Kids these days,” the elder Robel deadpans to the camera while shaking his head.

Steve Robel shook his head in much the same incredulous manner when he told of his son’s new bowling teammate for the current Project X youth-adult league at Comet Bowl.

“He always bowled with me, but this year he chose to bowl with his mother (Sara),” he related with a sigh.

One thing is for sure, Joey made his mom (and dad) proud when he bowled his first sanctioned 300 game in Project X action last week.

“I was lucky on my last ball,” said Joey, who had to endure the deafening silence that greets someone stepping onto the approach in the tenth frame with a perfect game on the line.

“I pulled it a little and missed my mark,” said the traditional (one-handed) right-hander who wields a Black Widow Mania for his first ball. “It was almost a straight ball and it came up high. But it was a strike. It felt good to get one that counted.”

Though it was his first sanctioned 300, Joey has strung 12 in a row in a game before. This past high school bowling season with the Charles City Comets, Joey bowled a perfect game in practice.

In fact, three other Comets bowled perfect games in practice this season — senior Zach Putney, junior Bryce Elsbury and sophomore Noah White.

Like 2023 state runner-up White, Joey is also a sophomore.

Though several Comet bowlers have come close to rolling perfect games in varsity and junior varsity play, getting that 10th pin to fall on the 12th ball has remained elusive as the school’s high-game record is stuck on 299.

Not to advocate betting on high school sports, but with three of the four perfect-in-practice Comets due to be back, you can almost wager a mortgage that a Charles City bowler is finally going to roll a 300 game in high school play in the next season or two.

Joey has already helped get his team in the school record books as he was part of the lineup the accumulated a total team pinfall of 3,410 during a dual-meet home win over New Hampton, which broke its team record while finishing 6 pins behind the Comets.

Joey also helped the Comet boys overcome a 210-pin deficit in catching Denver for the lone state berth at the Class 1A Team State-Qualifier at Comet Bowl.

The Project X youth-adult two-person-per-team league was started a little less than a decade ago by Steve and then Comet Bowl co-owner Peggy Sweet.

“It’s a 10-week league,” Steve says while explaining the dual meaning of “X”. “Its main focus is on the youth bowlers, but it’s also to help establish a sanctioned league average for the adult bowlers who may not bowl in an adult league but may want to bowl in father-son or family-oriented tournaments with their children. Otherwise, you’ll just get the average and handicap they assign to you.”

At one time during this past Comet season, Joey’s mom remarked “I get more nervous watching him bowl than I do watching him race.”

Joey, who races Outlaw Mini Mods, and Steve, who used to race Figure 8s, are not buying it.

“She gets scared whenever I get into wrecks or spin out,” Joey said. “They’re usually not as bad as they look.”