Feb 4, 2005 By Rob Burchianti 4 min read

CHARLEROI – Connellsville and Waynesburg Central waged war on the wrestling mat until the final seconds of the final bout before a winner could be declared in their WPIAL Class AAA team semifinal playoff match at Charleroi High School Thursday night. The Raiders’ Bill Morehead recorded a takedown of Justin Haines with 15 seconds left in their 275-pound match, but couldn’t quite hang on to get the pin he needed, settling for a 3-2 decision that wasn’t enough to overcome the Falcons’ five-point lead as Connellsville hung on for a 27-25 victory.

“I thought we had an opportunity at the end of doing it, but their kid did a good job of rolling out of it,” Raiders coach John Yates said of the final match.

Connellsville coach Tom Dolde Jr. admitted he was holding his breath at the end.

“Most definitely,” Dolde said. “But the kid’s only a ninth-grader, and I thought this is great for him to be in a position like that to gain experience. He’ll learn from that.”

The Falcons (22-3) will play either Kiski Area or Canon-McMillan in the Class AAA championship match at Gateway High School Saturday at 7 p.m., and they also have qualified for the PIAA playoffs.

“We just earned a trip to Hershey, so I feel real good about that,” Dolde said.

He was almost sick, however, when a move late in the match almost cost him a victory.

The Falcons held a 24-13 lead heading into the final four matches, and Dolde held Jason Doppelheuer out of the 171 bout, where Waynesburg’s Corbin Semple wound up pinning Steve Blackburn with 45 seconds left in the second period, and placed him in the 189 match against Steve Ellis.

Doppelheuer, who was giving up about 20 pounds to Ellis, was upset 6-2, allowing the Raiders to pull within 24-22.

“Jason beat him two times last year when we moved him up,” Dolde explained. “So that same move was successful for us twice.”

Yates thought the move played into his team’s hands.

“We were hoping they would bump him up there and they did,” Yates said. “That put us in a good spot.”

Jose Brewer came to the Falcons’ rescue, though, we he won a 2-1 decision over Zack Patton in double overtime at 215 to give his team the breathing room it needed.

Both wrestlers got escapes and remained tied 1-1 after the first one-minute overtime. In the ensuing 30-second rideout, Patton chose the up position, but Brewer escaped in just seven seconds to pick up the winning point and extend Connellsville’s lead to 27-22.

“We knew that was one of the key matches for us for sure,” Yates said. “We thought we could win the last four.”

Morehead then needed a pin to win it for his team, but Haines prevented that.

Waynesburg won four of the first five matches to grab a 13-6 lead.

The Raiders’ Brian Knapp won a 9-1 major decision over Tyler Nicholson in the opening match at 103. Waynesburg then notched consecutive 4-0 decisions by Chris Niedermeier, over Cody Pujia at 112, and Nick Garber, over Jake Knepper at 119, to make it 10-0.

Steve Bell recorded the Falcons’ first takedown of the night early in his 125 match against Brian Leggett and built a 14-6 lead before winning by fall with one second remaining in the second period.

Dustin Henderson came right back for Waynesburg with a tough 5-3 decision over Eric McGinnis at 130. Henderson led 5-0 after two periods but had to survive a takedown and a stalling point to hand on for the win.

Connellsville won the next five matches to grab a 24-13 advantage.

Ashtin Primus started the Falcons’ surge with a 6-0 decision over Ethan Headlee at 135, Zach Snyder decisioned Scott Throckmorton 10-4 at 140 and Josh Martin pinned Cody Whipkey with 42 seconds left in the second period at 145 to give Connellsville the lead for good, 18-13.

“Two kids that came through for us were Steve Bell and Josh Martin,” Dolde said. “Those pins are bonus points and that was the difference in the match.”

The Falcons’ Buddy Sines won a 3-0 decision over Clint Podish at 152 and Adam Knepper completed Connellsville’s run with a 5-2 decision over Jon Teagarden at 160.

Yates commended his team for its effort against Connellsville and for its season, which ended at 21-5.

“They’ve just improved every time they stepped on the mat,” Yates said.

“It’s going to be a tough one against either team on Saturday,” Dolde said in looking ahead. “We’ll have to pick it up big time.”