Bentworth wrestlers rally past Jefferson-Morgan, 42-40
Darnell Graham
Jefferson-Morgan’s Gavin Teasdale takes control of Bentworth’s Bruce Hook and goes on to pin Hook during their 126-pound bout in a Section 2-AA (2A) wrestling match on Wednesday at Bentworth High School.
Jefferson-Morgan's Mason Palmer proceeds to slam Bentworth's Bryce Hook into the mat during the 113-pound bout of Wednesday's Section 2-AA (2A) match at Bentworth High School.
Darnell Graham
Bentworth’s Chris Dovshek pins Jefferson-Morgan’s Thomas Jordan during the 106-pound bout for their Section 2-AA (2A) matchup Wednesday at Bentworth High School.
BENTLEYVILLE — It came down to the final match.
Bentworth’s Dominick Daniels won by pin over Jefferson-Morgan’s Michael Ludrosky at 285 pounds to help lead the Bearcats (2-0, 2-1) to a 42-40 Section 2-AA (2A) victory over the Rockets (0-1, 0-1) on Wednesday at Bentworth High School.
The Bearcats were down 40-12 with five matches but rallied with three pins and two forfeits to get by the Rockets.
“I was pleased that our kids didn’t give up,” Bentworth coach Mike Shrader said. “This was a good win for us.”
Bentworth needed a major decision to tie or a technical fall or pin to win, and Daniels sent the local crowd home happy with the fall in 2:26.
High school competition used to start in dual meets at the lowest weight and work up to the heaviest, so many times matches would be determined by the heavyweights, but that has changed in recent years with many matches beginning at a predetermined draw, but Wednesday had an old school type of feel to it.
Daniels wasn’t fazed by the situation and his coach was proud of how he responded.
“I just told him to go out there and be patient,” Shrader said. “And that is exactly what he did for us.”
The Bearcats’ rally started at 170 when Tristen Labishak pinned David Morgan in 57 seconds to cut the deficit to 40-18.
After the Rockets forfeited back-to-back weights to Bentworth’s Jonathan Vargo (182) and Ryan Wise (195), Jefferson-Morgan held a 40-30 advantage.
The key match for the Bearcats came at 220 when Ashton Lopez pinned Louie Hunyady in 1:28. Hunyady scored the first points with a takedown but was reversed and pinned to pull Bentworth within four.
“That was a key match for us,” Shrader said. “Ryan Wise is one of our better wrestlers and we knew they would bump their guy up to go against Ashton, but he did his job and picked up a big win, even after getting taken down first.”
Chris Dovshek (106) got the home team on the board first when he pinned Thomas Jordan in 58 seconds at 106.
The Rockets’ Mason Palmer pulled his team within two at 6-4 with a 10-0 major decision over Bryce Hook at 113. Palmer scored a takedown in the first period and used a tilt for two near-fall points to lead 4-0 after one.
Palmer scored another takedown and two back points for an 8-0 lead after two, and led, 10-0, after a reversal in the third. Palmer worked for the pin, but Hook stayed off his back.
“It comes down to bonus points,” Jefferson-Morgan coach Mike Lesko said. “I am not saying that our guy wasn’t trying to get the pin, or we weren’t staying off our back, but we did talk about the pins we gave up in the locker room.
“We win this match if that doesn’t happen, but we have a young team and our guys will get better. We have five guys in our lineup that are first-year wrestlers. They have a young team, too.”
The Bearcats’ Manny Dovshek pinned the Rockets’ Brian Rockwell in 3:33 to give his team a 12-4 lead after 120. Dovshek qualified for the state tournament last season, and is looking to medal this season.
“Manny (Dovshek) is one of our better guys and he is really working to not only get back to states, but placing,” Shrader said. “I was pleased with how he wrestled.”
Iowa recruit and Jefferson-Morgan junior Gavin Teasdale (126) pinned the Bearcats’ Bruce Hook in 1:07 after picking up four takedowns and three near-fall points before the fall. Teasdale, who is the defending two-time PIAA Class AA Individual State Champion with a career record of 87-0 (5-0 this season), knew that his team needed the points, so he chose to go for the fall early.
“In a match like this, I know we need the team points, so I wanted to get the pin early,” Teasdale said as he signed autographs for several younger wrestlers. “I like to work on some things and I feel good so far this season, but I have to get ready for a tough tournament at Powerade.”
The Rockets compete at the prestigious tournament on Dec. 29 and 30. Lesko wasn’t surprised that Teasdale wrestled like he did, or that he signed autographs for younger wrestlers.
“That is the kind of kid he is,” Lesko said. “He is so humble and will take the time out for younger kids to make them feel good. He did what he had to tonight. It really wasn’t anything that he hasn’t done before.
“The Powerade will be a big one for him this year. He will wrestle at 120 and there is a really tough kid that he will probably run into.”
Hook may have lost to arguably the best wrestler in the country at his weight, which is something Shrader told him about before taking the mat.
“We told Bruce that this is something he can always remember that he stepped onto the mat with one of the best kids in the country,” Shrader said. ”It is something he can look on and reflect later on in life. When we are not wrestling against Jefferson-Morgan, we always pull for Gavin to do well.”
Teasdale’s pin cut the deficit to 12-10 and the Rockets took a 16-12 lead when Josh Agnew pinned Marquez Bentley in 1:25 at 132.
The Rockets’ Aaron Mylan pinned Carter Riskey in 1:11 at 138 for a 22-12 lead. J-M’s Damon Belford (145) and Nate Bilonick (152) won by forfeit for a 34-12 advantage.
Justin Maddich’s pin over Brody Earley in 3:39 at 160 provided the Rockets with a 40-12 lead.
J-M will wrestle in the aforementioned Powerade Christmas Tournament that begins on Dec. 29 at Canon-McMillan High School.
”We have some younger guys that will learn a lot wrestling at that tournament,” Lesko said. “We feel pretty good about we are at with having such a young team. We have a tough stretch coming up here in the next few weeks.”
Bentworth will use the holiday break to practice and it returns to the mat on Jan. 4 at McGuffey in a section match that starts at 7:30 p.m.
“We decided not to go to any Christmas tournaments this season because we don’t have the consistency in our lineup this year,” Shrader said. “We just don’t want to go to a tournament if the chance isn’t there to have success as a team. However, we will be ready when we get back to action.”