Bald Eagle Area wrestling shakes off slow start, tops Penns Valley in fun-filled match
Even though the final score might not reflect it, Wednesday night’s dual between Penns Valley and Bald Eagle Area was packed with solid bouts throughout.
Eagles coach Ron Guenot and Rams coach Joel Brinker had differing opinions on their teams’ performance in BEA’s 40-29 win.
“We were giving up the falls there in some of the places — closer matches or the third period,” Guenot said of his team’s win. “Just getting pinned in general. You can’t beat good teams giving up those falls. I’m upset about giving up those falls. It’s disappointing to me. It’s a long season, so we are just going to get better.”
Brinker said of his team’s loss: “It was a good match. I enjoyed it. The guys wrestled hard. I can live with losing as long as we are wrestling hard, like we were tonight. We took a step tonight. We pushed some through some boundaries.”
One thing the coaches agreed on was the match was fun. For Brinker’s squad, the fun began right away.
David Martin took the mat first for Penns Valley at 152 pounds against Tayten Yoder. The Rams’ wrestler scored the first points of the bout with a first period takedown.
He led 2-1 after one period. In the second period, Martin and Yoder traded reversals to get a one-point lead for Martin to open the third period. Martin then used a full period ride and escaped with a 4-3 win.
Micah Fetterolf kept the winning ways going for the Rams at 160. Fetterolf took Cameron Dubbs down and collected some nearfall points, before pinning the Eagles’ wrestler in 1:28. The crowd and Penns Valley bench erupted, and Brinker was stunned.
“Micah is that guy, I don’t know which one I’m getting at times,” Brinker said with a laugh. “I got the good one tonight. He’s never bad, but he surprised me tonight.”
At 172 pounds, it was one of the matchups that Guenot felt was a toss-up. Brinker said it was a match “we need to see more of — good guys going at each other, not bumping and moving weights.”
The Rams’ Cole Felker took on BEA freshman Caleb Close. Neither wrestler scored any points over the first two periods of the bout.
Each wrestler were trying to get going offensively, but neither could find that advantage. In the third period, Felker had choice to start the period, and decided to start on the bottom. Close, with guidance from Guenot and his staff, decided to give Felker the escape to start the period.
The pair again looked for an opening offensively, but nothing was there. Close gave a late flurry attempt, but Felker’s heavy hips kept the freshman from scoring. Felker won, 1-0, and Penns Valley was out to a 12-0 lead through three bouts.
“Cole’s match at (1)72, that’s two good guys going at it,” Brinker said. “Close is a very seasoned freshman. We knew we had our hands full, and it could go either way. Cole wrestled a smart match.”
BEA got things rolling with a forfeit win at 189 pounds to Austin Moyle. The Eagles had Noah Foltz and Matthew Knepp each bump up a weight, and it paid off.
Foltz didn’t take too long to dispatch Josh Spahr at 215 pounds. The Eagles’ wrestler took Spahr down quickly, threw in the boots, sunk a power-half nelson, scored some nearfall points, and earned the pin in 32 seconds.
Knepp had a constant pressure on Kolin Brungart at 285 from the opening whistle, even forcing a stall on Brungart in the first period. Knepp led 2-1 to start the third period, thanks to a reversal in the second period.
In the third period, Knepp had a solid ride going that forced another stall on Brungart. Knepp then flattened Brungart in 4:45 for the fall. The Eagles led 18-12 — a lead they didn’t lose.
“We know Penns Valley has some young, tough kids down low,” Guenot said. “It was a situation where we needed pins out of those guys up top. We needed to get our momentum back with Foltz and Knepp, and they did that.”
Jack Darlington took on Gavin Guenot at 106 pounds, which was another solid bout in the dual on paper.
Darlington, though, made it seem like a cake walk in a 16-1 technical fall win in 5:47. He nearly had a fall three times in the bout, but Gavin Guenot kept fighting. The Rams were within 18-17.
BEA got back in the win column with another forfeit — this time to Lucas Fye. Then, came another solid matchup at 120 pounds with the Eagles’ Coen Bainey taking on Penns Valley’s Colten Shunk.
Bainey went out in a flurry in the first period, but only managed to score one takedown late. In the second period, the PIAA placewinner hit a reversal three seconds into the period. He added two takedowns and three nearfall points to lead 11-2 after two periods.
In the third period, Shunk kept fighting and managed to collect a reversal late in Bainey’s 13-5 major decision win. BEA led 28-17.
“Jack has a good attitude and high goals for himself. It’s tough some times to get falls,” Brinker said. “He kept putting up points, so that’s what we’re encouraged to see. Bainey is a buzzsaw and hammer. He gets after it. Shunk, it helps him, that match isn’t going to hurt him, it’s a process.”
Over the last four bouts, the teams traded pins.
Carter Homan earned a pin for the Rams at 126 pounds in 3:49. Homan’s teammate Ty Watson closed the dual with a fall in 1:42 at 145.
Kevin Taylor (132 pounds) and Jeffre Pifer (138) used back-to-back falls to put the dual away for the Eagles. Taylor’s victory came in 1:04 over Nick Cain. Pifer took just 14 seconds to top Bella DuVall.
“It was a little stressful there. They won a couple of the close matches,” Guenot said, “and turned the tide on a match or two that we thought was maybe in our favor. It definitely made for an interesting, and good match. A mixed emotions on how things went. I think we wrestled well in some places, and other places not so well. We are happy to get out of here with a win, but we need to get better.”
Bald Eagle Area 40, Penns Valley 29
Wednesday at Spring Mills
152: David Martin, PV, dec. Tayten Yoder, 4-3
160: Micah Fetterolf, PV, pinned Cameron Dubbs, 1:28
172: Cole Felker, PV dec. Caleb Close, 1-0
189: Austin Moyle, BEA, won by forfeit
215: Noah Foltz, BEA, pinned Josh Spahr, :32
285: Matthew Knepp, BEA, pinned Kolin Brungart, 4:45
106: Jack Darlington, PV, tech. fall Gavin Guenot, 16-1 (5:47)
113: Lucas Fye, BEA, won by forfeit
120: Coen Bainey, BEA, major dec. Colten Shunk, 13-5
126: Carter Homan, PV, pinned Hunter Gardner, 3;49
132: Kevin Taylor, BEA, pinned Nick Cain, 1:04
138: Jeffre Pifer, BEA, pinned Bella DuVall, :14
145: Ty Watson, PV, pinned Preston Reed, 1:42
Takedowns: BEA 8, PV 6
Records: Bald Eagle Area 4-1, Penns Valley 7-3
Next match: Bald Eagle Area at Juniata Duals, Juniata High School, Saturday, 9 a.m.; Philipsburg-Osceola at Penns Valley, Tuesday, 7 p.m.
