Powroznik throws KO punch on Toledo Bend

MANY, La. — With a one-two, the rookie won.

Jacob Powroznik delivered that punch Sunday in the form of two good-sized bass in the last hours of competition of the four-day Evan Williams Bourbon Bassmaster Elite at Toledo Bend.

“I’m speechless. That doesn’t happen very often,” said Powroznik as he accepted his first Bassmaster Elite Series trophy after competing in only four events in his first year on the top-level tour — and on a fishery on which he had never before competed.

From Port Haywood, Va., Powroznik claimed the first-place prize of $100,000 and an instant-in for the 2015 Bassmaster Classic, his first world championship qualification.

“To get into the Classic feels like someone just gave me a million dollars,” said Powroznik after he stepped off the stage and got his voice back. “You don’t get many opportunities to win one of these events. It’s so hard to do. To do it my first year is a blessing.”

After leading on Friday, Powroznik was stumped in Saturday’s round by a disappearing shad spawn bite that had helped him considerably in the early morning hours of competition. Then he was smoked out of a promising spawning bass area by a controlled burn of Texas shoreline forest. Going into the Sunday finals, Powroznik had dropped more than 2 1/2 pounds behind the leader, two-time Bassmaster Toledo Bend champ Dean Rojas.

But Powroznik recovered nicely. In the final round, he decided to concentrate solely on bass on spawning beds. His strategy worked to the tune of 19-11, and a 79-12 tournament total.

Thanks to his two key keepers, he won by a margin of 2 pounds, 6 ounces over Chad Morgenthaler of Coulterville, Ill., who made a last-hour lunge at the trophy by producing 21-14, Sunday’s heaviest bag of bass. Rising from 10th place, Morgenthaler ended in the runner-up spot with a total of 77-6.

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