ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Put 200 young athletes in a room and they are going to compete whether it's chess, frisbee throwing or bowling.
Bowling was the second New Mexico Bowl activity for the Nevada and New Mexico football teams, and Nevada came away with a 161-127 win Thursday night.
How big was it?
Well all the non-particpants crowded in to watch the 10-frame showdown in which each of the five players from both teams got to roll two frames apiece.
And, when freshman walk-on quarterback Ryan Howard collected a strike and spare in the 10th frame, you would have thought Nevada had won the WAC championship.
The Wolf Pack players started chanting "Wolf Pack, Wolf Pack."
New Mexico players chanted "Who," but were drowned out pretty easily by the excited Pack players.
Alex Rosenblum, Devon Walker, Andy McIntosh, Zach Whited and Howard comprised the Wolf Pack team, and all five got at least one mark apiece.
In the warm-up game to determine the final participants, Howard rolled a team-best 198. After a little coaxing, he admitted that his high game is more than 260.
"it's been a lot of fun hanging out with the seniors this week," Howard said. "It's the last time we're going to be with them. We do everything as a team. This is a pretty close-knit group."
And, it is certainly one that likes to have fun.
Insults were flying, as the Nevada players razzed each other during the course of the night. Strikes and spares weren't in abundance on most of the lanes, but the night was about having fun and both teams appeared to enjoy themselves.
McIntosh has been to all three Nevada bowl games, and he said this has been a great experience.
"It's the best so far," McIntosh said. "The activities seem to be a lot better organized, and we got better stuff (gifts). The food has been great. I'm a big barbecue fan, and the food tonight was excellent."
The evening got off to a great start when the teams were entertained by a hypnotist.
A couple of the Pack's younger players served as guinea pigs. Redshirt freshman linebacker Dontay Moch was talking "Martian" and freshman defensive back Jonathan Ott was talking to his show.
A CHILI WIN
The bowling victory gave Nevada a sweep in the pre-game activities. Nevada won the chili cook-off on Wednesday night.
Representing the Pack in the cook-off were Adam Bishop, Ezra Butler, Matt Hines, Charles Manu, Jerome Johnson and Mike McCoy.
Josh Catapano, the Pack's back-up center said the winning chili was plenty hot and spicy.
AILING COACH
Charlie Camp, the Pack's inside linebacker coach, was the only Nevada assistant that wasn't on hand for the activities.
Apparently Camp has the stomach virus that seems to be floating around these days.