For George Furka, there's no place like home.

The 54-year-old Karns City resident won the Butler County Men's Singles Bowling Tournament about 25 years ago at Bon-Aire Lanes — and hasn't lost his touch.

Furka repeated that title in December, scoring an 815 with handicap to win the 181-average-and-over division at Bruin Lanes.

Furka beat out runner-up Keith Bender by 13 pins.

"I don't bowl in a whole lot of tournaments anymore,"Furka said. "I bowled in the county singles this year because it was at my home house.

"You always feel more comfortable bowling in your own house. There's not as much adjusting to do. But, as in any tournament, you can't win without a little bit of luck."

Furka bowls in the Tri-County Men's League on Tuesday nights at Bruin Lanes and averages 203. He has been carrying an average between 197 and 205 for the last decade.

His bowling career began as a 12-year-old pinsetter in Petrolia, when that community had a duckpin facility.

"There used to be duckpin bowling centers all over the place,"Furka said. "Chicora, Petrolia, East Brady — they all had them.

"I started out bowling duckpins in the mid-1970s. When no one was bowling, we pinsetters took turns setting the pins up for each other. That's how a bunch of us learned how to bowl."

Furka has been a one-league bowler for years now. He previously bowled in the Petroleum Valley League on Monday nights as well.

"I didn't like the back-to-back nights, football was on TVMonday nights. I just decided to cut back,"he said.

Furka has bowled with Bob Shirey and John Kerschbaumer for years. Kerschbaumer finished third in the 181--and-over county singles tournament with a 778.

Furka credits Bruin Lanes owner Dan Persic and Barry Barger, who ran the pro shop, with getting his game to the standard it is today.

"Those guys knew how I threw the ball. They've seen me bowl so much," he said. "They changed the type of ball I was throwing and it really helped. I've learned a lot from those guys."

Furka's highest career series is 740. He has never rolled a 300 game, settling for a 290 years ago.

He picked up a spare in the first frame and followed with 11 consecutive strikes.

"Ileft the 7-pin in that first frame," he recalled. "It was a solid pocket hit, too."

Furka still bowls in a few competitions, mainly local and county events and no-tap tournaments. He bowled on a team that finished second in the state tournament about 25 years ago.

That squad consisted of Furka, John Craig, Dennis, Bill and Gary Christie.

Furka insists his years of standout tournament bowling are long behind him.

"Believe me, (winning) that tournament came as a big surprise,"Furka said of the 2005 county singles event. "There are so many better bowlers than myself in Butler County.

"I just like being able to stay competitive on the lanes. That makes me as happy as anything."

Butler County Bowling Association Hall of Famer Mike Coyle won the 180-under division of the county singles tournament with an 856, 78 pins better than runner-up Kevin Schell.