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Dunkirk native Jennifer DePasquale, middle, celebrates her Buffalo Brawlers NACA Pro Series title on Saturday in Buffalo with her parents, Joe and Linda DePasquale.
In the week leading up to the Lake Erie Regional Final of the North American Cornhole Association Pro Series, Dunkirk native Jennifer DePasquale said her Buffalo Brawlers team’s perfect record would not mean anything if they did not win the title.
Two weeks later, the Brawlers have two titles to boast and $30,000 of prize money to split.
The Brawlers followed up their victory over the Dunkirk Chillerz in the Lake Erie Regional Final with a win over the Cherry Hill Bomb Squad in the overall North American Cornhole Association Championship on Saturday at the Aloft Buffalo Hotel, known as 500 Pearl.
DePasquale called the event her sport’s Super Bowl, and winning the title capped off a perfect first season in the NACA for the Buffalo Brawlers, one of the league’s founding teams.
The North American Cornhole Association (NACA) is comprised of 18 teams, split into three regions of six teams each. The Brawlers are part of the Lake Erie Region, which also includes the Hamburg Vipers, the Lockport Storm, the Springville Griffins, the Tonawanda Boltz, and a team based in DePasquale’s own hometown, the Dunkirk Chillerz.
Having a perfect 10-0 record in the regular season gave the Brawlers a bye to the Lake Erie Regional Final, where they defeated the Dunkirk Chillerz, 29-15, on June 23. That win advanced the Brawlers to the overall championship as the top seed. The other regional winners, the Cherry Hill Bomb Squad of the Tri-State Region and the Kettering Riders of the Southwest Ohio Region, battled for the right to face the Brawlers for the $20,000 grand prize.
For the 12th time in a row, the Brawlers took care of business, and earned another big check as a result. The team’s overall earnings in two weekends of work in the postseason amounts to $30,000.
DePasquale said, “It’s just nice to have something positive around this area.”
DePasquale is a former multi-sport standout athlete at Dunkirk High School, who then played both softball and basketball collegiately at Alfred State. DePasquale concluded her softball career at Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania, where she also played rugby. She then was a coach at Gowanda High School and Fredonia State University.
She discovered her passion for the sport of cornhole during the pandemic, and after years of honing her craft, she became part of the Brawlers two years ago when the professional league launched under a different name and leadership. The Brawlers then left the league after one year and joined the newly formed NACA.
“It’s cool to say I’m a professional athlete,” DePasquale said. “Not many people can say that. I did a lot of practicing, and spent time away from family and work to make this team.”
DePasquale is one of four members of the Brawlers, alongside Hunter Meyette, Mike “Junior” Rabenhorst, Jr., and Ken “Mamba” Marx. The four now have quite a healthy amount of prize money to split.
DePasquale hopes this year’s success will be the beginning of a long road to success for the sport as a whole.
“I really do see it being something very successful around here. Cornhole has grown so much, even since I’ve started, within the last 3-5 years. There are so many good players around here,” DePasquale said. “… I just want to see this be successful and grow.”
DePasquale celebrated the championship with her parents, Joe and Linda, each of whom were diagnosed with cancer in recent years. DePasquale spoke to how her parents still managed to attend each of her matches, despite their own battles.
“My teammates and I have battled all season, but my parents battled way more than I could have ever imagined,” DePasquale said on social media after the match. “… They are the true winners to me.”