Rockets miss PIAA team event
Jefferson-Morgan's Gavin Teasdale turns Burrell's Trent Bechtold for the eventual pin in the 113 pound weight class in the semifinals on January 31.
Holly Tonini
Jefferson-Morgan’s Brendan Howard pulls Burrell’s Ethan Awes and would go on to win by technical fall in the semifinals at Canon-McMillan. Howard set the all-time wins mark at Jefferson-Morgan with 144 Saturday afternoon.
Jefferson-Morgan's Austin Goldsberry gets a come from behind win in the third period after being down seven points against Burrell's Dillan Jeffery.
CANONSBURG — The Jefferson-Morgan wrestling squad was knocked out of the PIAA team playoffs Saturday afternoon at Canon-McMillan High School, dropping a 37-30 contest to South Fayette in the consolation match.
The Rockets (10-7) nearly pulled off an upset of top-seeded Burrell in the semifinal round, but the Buccaneers prevailed 38-30 over J-M by winning the final two matches.
“Both matches were close today and we just couldn’t catch any lucky breaks,” J-M coach Mike Lesko said. “A couple of kids came out on the wrong side of the card and we lost all of those critical bonus points that you need to win. There’s no doubt that we could have won both of these matches, but we just couldn’t put it together today.”
Burrell went on to claim its ninth straight and 11th overall Class AA wrestling title by dispatching McGuffey in the finals, 38-24.
Despite the two close defeats, one Rocket grappler made school history by claiming the all-time wins crown at J-M.
Brendan Howard won two technical falls on the day and that gave him a record-breaking 144 wins in his career with the Orange & Black.
“I’m really proud of Brendan,” Lesko said. “Over the years he has really stuck with it and fought through all of the hard times. He is a hard worker and is dedicated to the team. He passed a lot of well-known names on that list and it’s a great accomplishment.”
After dropping the first bout at 113 in the consolation match, the Rockets grabbed a 9-3 lead with an 11-0 major decision by Zach Tedrow at 120 and a 20-5 technical fall by Howard at 126.
The Lions (20-2) rallied back, taking points in the next four matches and grabbing a 22-9 lead.
Sandwiched between a pin by South Fayette at 170, Trevor Kniha won a 1-0 decision at 160 and Billy Bowlen picked up a first period pin at 182.
After Anthony Patterson lost a close decision at 220, the Rockets ended the consolation contest with first period pins by Ian Wolfe (285) and Gavin Teasdale (106).
In the semifinals, J-M jumped out to a 20-4 lead through five matches over Burrell.
Mason Palmer won by forfeit at 106, followed by a second period pin by Teasdale at 113 and a 21-6 technical fall by Howard at 126.
Trailing 7-1 going into the third period, J-M’s Austin Goldsberry bounced back and won a 10-9 decision at 132 after a late takedown and some back points in the final seconds.
The Buccaneers countered the early spree with points in the next four matches to take a 23-20 lead with five matches to go.
After Kniha garnered a 10-1 major decision at 170, Burrell ended the match with wins in three of the final four matches. Bowlen recorded a first period pin at 195 for J-M’s only points in the final four bouts.
The Rockets have two full weeks to practice for the Individual Sectionals (2-AA) on Feb. 14 at McGuffey High School.
“It’s not over for us and we are focusing on the individual tournament,” Lesko said. “You can’t go after it super hard right away, you have to go back to the fundamentals and start from the ground up. We have some high expectations for some of our kids in the weeks to come.”