Bald Eagle Area wrestling pulls away late from Philipsburg-Osceola before holiday break
The final score of the Bald Eagle Area and Philipsburg-Osceola dual doesn’t really show just how tight the match really was Wednesday night inside the Mounties’ gym.
The Eagles blew open a one-point dual by winning the last four bouts with bonus points in three of those to take care of their Mountain League foe, 40-20.
“It was a mixed bag again, similar to Bellefonte. We saw some good things, and saw some things we need to work on,” BEA coach Ron Guenot said. “We won at places we were favored to win. We lost in places that we weren’t favored in. We talk about the importance of when winning big dual meets, you beat somebody you’re not supposed to. I really didn’t see that today. We lost a couple of the toss-up matches. We need to turn that around.”
P-O coach Justin Fye added: “We knew it was going to be a tough matchup. They have a lot of experience in certain weights. We have some young guys still getting their feet on the varsity level. I felt like our guys gave good effort tonight. Up until the last (four) matches, it was a really close dual meet. I felt like our effort was better than it has been the last couple of dual meets. Bald Eagle puts a lot of pressure on you and goes hard the whole time. I was happy to see some of our guys wrestle out of positions. We tried to score bonus points in certain points, but weren’t able to do it. I’m not too upset about it because the effort was there.”
One of those toss-up matches that Guenot mentioned was at 152 pounds, which had the Eagles’ Jeffre Pifer taking on P-O’s Marcus Gable. Pifer topped Gable last season, so BEA had to feel at least a little at ease in the matchup.
The pair came out in the first period, and the adrenaline was running early.
Pifer gave up a penalty point for an illegal headlock. Moments later, Gable gave up a point for grabbing Pifer’s headgear. The score remained 1-1 after the first period.
Pifer started from the bottom in the second period, but was unable to score as Gable put on a full period ride. In the third period, Pifer cut Gable loose with 1:14 remaining. The pair got into a scramble situation that saw Gable come out on top for a takedown.
The Mounties’ wrestler tilted the Eagles’ wrestler for two near-fall points to finish off a 6-1 win. It got P-O to within 21-20 with four bouts left.
“It felt really good coming off of last year. Last year, I lost that one, and getting the win against a kid of that caliber, it just felt good,” Gable said of the win. “I know he is more of a funkier guy. He rolled around a lot. I took precaution and stuff like that. I just got my two points where they were.”
Fye added: “That was a big win for Marcus. He stayed in good positions, stayed aggressive on his feet and was moving on bottom. He put together a really good match there. Hopefully, he can build on this because he’s going to have some tough kids coming up.”
With the dual on the hinge of going in favor of the Mounties, BEA went to work.
Cameron Dubbs took on Dylan Koptchak at 160 pounds. Dubbs, who was off to an 0-3 start to the season after qualifying for regionals last year, took Koptchak down relatively quickly.
Dubbs cranked Koptchak to his back and collected a fall in 51 seconds.
“We knew that if Dubbs gets bonus points, and with Caleb (Close) coming up, we felt pretty confident,” Guenot said. “Cameron is a tough kid. He’s been around. He’s a junior now, and that’s what we expected from him there.”
Close did follow Dubbs, and he picked up a fall of his own over Jake Bainey. The PIAA medalist recorded four quick takedowns of Bainey before pinning the P-O wrestler in 1:40.
Close’s win locked up the dual for the Eagles, as it was then 33-20 with two bouts left.
BEA’s Shawn Knepp and Nate Fry closed out the dual with wins. Knepp picked up a 9-4 victory at 189 pounds as Fry racked up an 11-1 major decision at 215.
The dual had begun at 285 pounds with the Eagles’ Eric Clark pinning Dom Davis in 3:42. However, the Mounties took the next two.
Ace Foster squeezed out a 4-3 win at 107 over Liam Purcell. Foster was consistent the whole time even though he gave up a late takedown to make his bout interesting.
“Ace Foster had a great match at 107. He was being aggressive. He was confident on his feet,” Fye said.
Caleb Hummel received a forfeit at 114 to give P-O a 9-6 lead.
BEA responded by Lucas Fye and Coen Bainey slapping down back-to-back falls. Bainey’s was the quickest in 1:29, but he tallied six takedowns in a span of about 30 seconds before collecting the win. Fye had a quick takedown, gave up a reversal, and then added a reversal of his own for a fall in 1:43.
The Eagles led 18-9, but the Mounties closed the gap.
Ben Gustkey used a three-point third period to pick up a 3-2 win at 133 pounds, which was another one of those toss-up weights Guenot talked about. Gustkey’s teammate Nate Fleck followed by recording an 18-3 technical fall in 5:22.
Fleck raced out to an 8-0 first period lead thanks to a takedown and two sets of near-fall points.
“Nate Fleck went out and went after it. There were a couple of things we’ve been working on, and he’s been showing it out on the mat,” Fye said. “He keeps getting better. It gave us a confidence boast there.”
Fleck’s win helped P-O to get within 18-17.
The Eagles’ Mason Reese had a 5-1 win before Pifer and Gable came to the mat.
“It was another rival match with a nice crowd. It’s good for wrestling to get everybody together like this,” Guenot said of the excitement. “The traditions at Philipsburg and Bald Eagle goes back years and years. The rivalry is still taking place to this day, which is exciting to see.”
Bald Eagle Area 40, Philipsburg-Osceola 20
Wednesday at Philipsburg
285: Eric Clark, BEA, pinned Dom Davis, 3:42
107: Ace Foster, P-O, dec. Liam Purcell, 4-3
114: Caleb Hummel, P-O, won by forfeit
121: Lucas Fye, BEA, pinned Sam McDonald, 1:43
127: Coen Bainey, BEA, pinned Isaiah Smeal, 1:29
133: Ben Gustkey, P-O, dec. Connor Maney, 3-2
139: Nate Fleck, P-O, tech. fall Alex Surovec, 18-3 (5:22)
145: Mason Reese, BEA, dec. Ian Phillips, 5-1
152: Marcus Gable, P-O, dec. Jeffre Pifer, 6-1
160: Cameron Dubbs, BEA, pinned Dylan Koptchak, :51
172: Caleb Close, BEA, pinned Jake Bainey, 1:40
189: Shawn Knepp, BEA, dec. Matt Rowles, 9-4
215: Nate Fry, BEA, major dec. Andrew Hensal, 11-1
JH final: BEA 41-30
Takedowns: BEA 20, P-O 10
Records: Bald Eagle Area (2-0), Philipsburg-Osceola (4-3)
Next match: Bald Eagle Area at MyHouse Trojan Wars, Chambersburg HS, Dec. 29, 9 a.m.; Philipsburg-Osceola at Tyrone, Jan. 3, 7 p.m.
