Cooch's Fishing narrowly escaped once again on Monday night in the HansonRealEstate.com Scratch League. But with a pack of teams narrowing the gap weekly, Cooch's keglers are well aware that just squeaking it out is bound to catch up with them in the end. Meanwhile, Don Sylvia, captain and anchor for The Right Approach, became the first bowler to shoot his second 1,000 of the year.

After staking claim to an 11.5-point lead two weeks ago, Cooch's Fishing has done anything but run away from the pack. At the start of positional round action on Monday, Cooch's held a one-point edge on second-place Smile Family Portraits, and felt the pressure from five other suitors, all within 11 points of the top. "It's really tight at the top, but all we can control is our own game. If we continue to make good shots every night, we'll be there in the end with as good a chance as anyone." said Cooch's Fishing skipper Juergen Siemers, who led Kinder's Meats to the fall title back in early November.

And the shots rolled off their hands early on Monday, as Cooch's took 21 of 28 points from Smile Family Portraits during the first position round of the season. The big set helped to open a double-digit gap on all contenders - except for Dan Braudrick Services, which took 23 from last week's heroes, HansonRealEstate.com. Unfortunately for Cooch's Fishing, AutoBugPVL.com put the kibosh on any thoughts of extending the lead further by posting a 16-12 grind-out against the leaders. Said Siemers, "I think we relaxed a little after the good first set. But give Ralph (Garner) and his team credit; they made their shots when they had to and we didn't."

Meanwhile, the throng of would-be usurpers seized the opportunity and closed the gap once again on Cooch's Fishing. Smile Family Portraits rebounded with a 26-point thumping of East Bay Welding Supply to hold onto a share of second place. Joining it just a point behind the leaders was Kinder's Meats, which jumped three places in the standings with a league-best 40-point night. Norcal Suzuki, falling prey to Kinder's during the position round 11-17, rounded out the top four after a 24-4 victory over HansonRealEstate.com, which fell five spots back into eighth.

Although it had to pull off another Houdinian effort to do so, Cooch's Fishing enters the two-week holiday break with a single-point lead over both Smile Family Portraits and Kinder's Meats. The HansonRealEstate.com Scratch League would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season.