Clarion Wrestling Wins Against Punxy (01/25/2018)
(By CSZ Sports Writer Kenn Staub) Clarion wrestlers won six of nine contested bouts to down the visiting Punxsutawney Chucks 42-15 on Tuesday. Jan. 18. This match was Clarion’s first home dual of the 2017-2018 season and the victory ran their record to 8-4.
Going into the match Bobcat head coach Brian Luton’s goal was “to improve the results from the first match and avenge individual losses.” The Bobcats and Chucks previously met at the Redbank Valley Duals on Dec. 30, with Clarion coming away with a 39-24 victory. “I think we showed a fair amount of improvement in this rematch,” said Luton.
Login Dehner with the pin.
Wrestling began at 113-pounds with Clarion’s Login Dehner staking the Bobcat’s to a 6-0 lead when he used a cradle to pin Jacob Good in the first period (1:37). Clarion added another six points when Colton Zacherl accepted a Punxsutawney forfeit at 132-pounds.
The Chucks got their first points of the evening when 138-pounder Jacob Skarbek took a decision over Cutter Boggess. Skarbek used a takedown to go up 2-0 in the first period, extended his lead to 6-2 after the second, and tacked on his third and fourth takedowns of the bout during the third to win 10-4. Though he wasn’t able to get the win against Skarbek Coach Luton feels Boggess “has been showing improvement match-to-match and I’m encouraged by his attitude.”
With the team score 12-3 in Clarion’s favor, the Bobcats reeled off five consecutive victories to take an insurmountable 39-3 lead.
Clarion’s run began at 145-pounds when Frank Weber stuck Zach May at 1:37, five seconds quicker than he did when the pair met at the end of December.
Ryley McMaster with a leg ride.
In a battle of wrestlers partial to leg rides, Bobcat 152-pounder Ryley McMasters prevailed 8-4 over Caleb Bender. McMasters took Bender down twice in the first, inserting legs on both occasions but proving unable to expose the Chuck grappler’s back. Leading 4-1 to start the second, McMasters chose to begin in the down position. At the referee’s whistle, Bender inserted legs and used a spladle to tilt McMasters, making the score 4-3. McMasters eventually reversed Bender to pull ahead 6-3 by period’s end. Bender, aware of McMasters tendency to ride legs, chose to start the third period in the neutral position, with both wrestlers on their feet. Undeterred, McMasters took Bender down and then rode legs throughout much of the remainder of the bout.
Nick Porciello looking for an opening against his opponent.
Nick Porciello at 160-pounds was up next for the Bobcats, meeting Stone Smith. The Chucks’ wrestler carried a 7-0 lead into the third period when Porciello reversed the course of the bout. With slightly over a minute remaining, Porciello scored his only takedown of the bout and quickly set up a pinning combination, sticking Smith at the 4:58 mark to the loud delight of the Clarion supporters in attendance. Coach Luton noted that “you can never count Nick out of a match, he wrestles hard for the entire six minutes. Tonight was a perfect example of that.”
Cam Boggess does some spaghetti wrestling.
Almost before Porciello’s come-from-behind victory could be processed, Bobcat 170-pounder Camden Boggess put on a show of his own against Garrett Eddy. Boggess and Eddy both attempted throws and, in a situation which could have gone either way, the Punxsutawney wrestler came out on top to score a takedown. Once on the mat, however, Eddy started riding Boggess a bit too high, which the Clarion grappler took advantage of by scoring a reverse and then two near fall points to take a 4-2 lead. Boggess started the second period on the bottom of the referee’s position, using a switch and exposing his opponent’s back to pull ahead 8-2. Following the reversal Eddy came storming back, escaping from Boggess and then him down. With the Clarion wrestler in jeopardy, Eddy again put himself in a position where he was riding Boggess high. This time Boggess slipped from Eddy’s grasp and stacked the Chuck wrestler on his shoulders to earn the pin (3:11). Boggess’s win avenged a 12-8 loss he suffered at the hands of Eddy earlier in the season at the Redbank Valley Duals. Coach Luton said the plan this evening was to stay away from Eddy’s stronger positions, which Boggess capitalized on “big time” to get the pin.
Seth Nellis received a forfeit for Clarion at 182-pounds, after which Punxsutawney was finally able to get back on the board when 190-pounder Tristen Bair pinned Colt Stimmell in the second period (2:28), making the team score 39-9.
Bobcat Thomas Wurster notched a dominate 6-0 victory over Jacob Shuckers at 220-pounds, while the Chucks’ Alexander Neal pinned Matt Coleman late in the first period (1:57) of the 285-pound bout to set the final score at 42-15.
Coach Luton was, for “the most part,” pleased with the Bobcats’ performance. “The guys are starting to get into the swing of things and you can see their confidence increasing match-to-match. We are in shape and it allows us to be aggressive for six minutes,” said Luton. He further added, “I think we have turned the corner and these guys are hungry to prove they belong heading into the rest of the season and postseason.”
Clarion will return to action on Friday, Jan. 26 at the weekend’s Fred Bell Tournament in Grove City before finishing out the season with three consecutive home meets.