Jan 28, 2011 By Herald Standard Staff 2 min read

BENTLEYVILLE – Junior Brian Rush’s 11-1 major decision of sophomore Mason Shumaker at heavyweight not only clinched the Section 2-AA team championship for Jefferson-Morgan on Thursday night, but it also avenged a 31-28 regular season loss for the Rockets at the hands of Bentworth. Rush’s four points sealed the deal in the 33-27 match that was held in Bentworth’s gymnasium.

The Rockets opened up their run to the section team title with back-to-back major decision wins at 103 and 112 pounds courtesy of freshmen John Demaske and Jason Miller, respectively. The Bearcats got back in the contest with a forfeit at 119, but Jefferson-Morgan got back on track with an 8-2 decision victory for freshman Ryan Zalar at 125. Leading 11-6, J-M got an important pin from sophomore Alexander Agnew at 130, who trailed 7-0 before turning Bentworth junior Tyler Goozdich at the 2:55 mark in the match.

The Bearcats chipped into the 17-6 Rocket lead by picking up a decision at 135 to trim the deficit to 17-9. However, Jefferson-Morgan regained control of the match with a pin in 3:23 courtesy of freshman Jason Perkins at 140 pounds to build its lead up to 23-9.

However, Bentworth showed its mettle by winning the next four bouts on the evening, including two by pin, to not only erase the 14-point deficit, but also take a 27-23 lead. J-M didn’t panic, however, and got an important 3-0 decision from junior 189-pounder Joe Phillips to trim the deficit down to just a single point (27-26).

Jefferson-Morgan regained the lead at 215 pounds when senior Tyler Perkins beat sophomore Jake Barker by 10-4 decision to put his team ahead 29-27. That set up Rush, who outweighed his opponent by 60 pounds, for the victory. On several occasions, Rush was able to turn Shumaker’s own momentum against him on shot attempts to turn them into takedowns for the J-M big man.

Both teams made it to the championship bout following impressive opening-match victories. Jefferson-Morgan beat Jeannette, 46-31, while Bentworth rolled past Southmoreland, 49-27. Jeannette won the third-place bout against Southmoreland by a 47-30 final.

NOTES: Yough took fifth place and qualified for WPIAL team championships by beating West Greene 45-30. The Pioneers forfeited four weights in the loss.