Bellefonte earns quick wrestling win over Jersey Shore
Bellefonte took its time Thursday night to honor the seniors associated with its wrestling program on Senior Night at the Bellefonte Area High School gym.
Once that ceremony was over, the Red Raiders needed only about twice as long to make sure those seniors went out with a win.
Bellefonte (12-6) won eight of 14 bouts — five by fall, one by forfeit, one by technical fall and one by decision — to dispatch Jersey Shore (12-2) 44-34 in a dual meet that took all of 50 minutes.
“That’s definitely something you talk about pre-match. These guys will wrestle the last time in this gym so it’s always nice to have a good memory coming out on top,” Bellefonte coach Mike Maney said. “It’s even nicer when you wrestle a really good team like Jersey Shore. It’s always nice to send the seniors out on a positive note.”
The Bulldogs counted three pins, two forfeits and a major decision among their six wins. They were hampered by the absence of their starting 126- and 132-pounders. And, coach Crock Herman admitted, they were outmaneuvered in lineup switches.
“It hurts a lot, especially when you’re wrestling a team like Bellefonte,” Herman said. “They’re really good at matching up. I made a bad matchup in the upper weights. But it hurts not having our starting 126- and 132-pounders. I should have made some adjustments up top, but I goofed up.
“It’s hard to wrestle a team like this. They’re really good at bumping their kids around and they wrestle hard every time.”
The pre-match draw set the starting weight at 160 and Jersey Shore took advantage. The Bulldogs got pins from Hunter O’Connor at 160 and Hayden Swartwood at 170 to open a 12-0 lead.
Bellefonte closed to within 12-9 by sweeping the next two bouts. Dillon Kephart needed just 1:06 to score a fall at 182 and Max Mondy used two third-period takedowns to pull out a 6-5 decision at 195.
Maney then forfeited to Bulldog 220-pounder Max Mason and moved Sean Irvin to heavyweight, where he scored a fall in 15 seconds. Jersey Shore led 18-15, but it was short-lived.
Raider 106-pounder Cole Stewart rolled up a 16-0 technical fall in 2:55 and Shafiq Blake scored a fall in 1:11 to give Bellefonte a 26-18 lead, one it wouldn’t relinquish.
The Bulldogs clawed to within 26-24 with a 34-second fall at 120. The Raiders widened it again, as Cam Coppolo accepted a forfeit at 126 and Aaron Witherite needed just 1:04 to score a fall at 132.
After Jersey Shore earned a 14-4 major decision at 138, Bellefonte’s Brock Port needed just 1:39 to rack up a fall at 145. With an insurmountable lead, Bellefonte forfeited at 152 to set the final and send seniors Blake, Witherite, Kephart and Tyler Lucas out in style.
“Max Mondy was down and he came back and won that match. That was a tossup match,” Maney said. “Sean Irvin bumped up to heavyweight and got a win. Cole Stewart and Shafiq Blake got us some bonus point wins. I was proud of the guys’ efforts, even the ones we lost.”
Bellefonte doesn’t have long to celebrate. The Raiders take on Mifflin County at 10 a.m. Saturday at Tyrone Area High School in the District 6 Class AAA Team Dual semifinals.
“We just want to go out and compete. They have a really good team. I believe they’re ranked in the state. They’re solid all the way up the lineup. They have nationally-ranked guys, state-ranked guys,” Maney said of the Huskies. “We just need to go out and believe we can compete with them. We went down there last year and were three or four points from winning. It’s going to take a total team effort. There’s no reason we can’t be in the match.”
This story was originally published February 4, 2016 at 10:38 PM with the headline "Bellefonte earns quick wrestling win over Jersey Shore."