COLUMBIA, S.C. – I love those movies where, right before the climax, the music busts out in a dramatic fashion. Kind of like the “da-da, da-da” in the movie “Jaws,” right before that toothy sucker chomped on someone.
If you were watching today’s Evan Williams Bourbon Carolina Clash and had any inkling of the over-arching Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year race, you may have heard dramatic “da-da, da-da” music. And it wasn’t coming from the fat lady singing the final chorus.
It started playing about the time Edwin Evers weighed 18 pounds, 8 ounces, jumping from 45th place in the event to ninth place. Pretty special move in any bass derby.
It was even more special, when you consider that not only did it rocket him into the mix in the Carolina Clash, it put him right back in the middle of the AOY race. Superman may be able to leap tall buildings, but Evers soared over a mountain of stumbling blocks that plagued Alton Jones and Steve Kennedy this week.
Evers now sits in fourth overall in the AOY race, some 57 points behind leader Terry Scroggins. And if he were to win this event, he would jump into second, pushing Kevin VanDam and Alton Jones (currently tied in second) to a tie for third place. Can you hear the music? Feel the sharks circling?
Steve Kennedy, who led the race after Day One, is now fifth in the AOY race that just seems to get tighter and more compelling with every cast.
Of those five leaders, less than 100 points separate them, which is the difference between first place and 38th place in any event. Less than 200 points separate the top 15.
Even the top eight, which is all-important to making the Toyota Tundra All-Star Week, is full of drama. Currently battling for that coveted eighth place position is Casey Ashley (eighth in the AOY, first in the Carolina Clash) and Davy Hite (ninth in the AOY and seventh in the Clash).
Just 10 points separate them. Up and down the standings the whole race is creating a plethora of story lines that are hard to keep up with.
The most pressing is what Evers can do in the final day of the Carolina Clash to either tighten the points or loosen them up a bit. As pointed out earlier, a win would push him to second in the AOY and then create a top four that are separated by less than 20 points.
Every move up the standings gives him another four or five points. Every move down costs him three or four.
There could be a lot of music tomorrow. Evers seems to be circling and is the only one left in this event who can do some damage.