BOYERTOWN >> Interesting.
That was the adjective assigned to the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s new concept for determining a regular-season champion. In place of the individual sectional/league tournaments of years past, the champions of the PAC’s two divisions squared off Thursday to claim the conference’s plaque.
The inaugural title dual was claimed by Owen J. Roberts, the Liberty Division titlist. The Wildcats rolled Frontier Division front-runner Pottsgrove, 50-27, at Boyertown in a pairing that featured a slew of bouts with scores in bonus points.
“We knew it would be (interesting),” OJR head coach Steve DeRafelo said. “It’s different each year.
“I like duals. They’re exciting. They give a lot of kids the chance to be in the spotlight.”
Owen J. Roberts’ David Forrest pins Pottsgrove’s Charles Sithens at 126 pounds. (Barry Taglieber – MediaNews Group)
And while his team was done in part by Roberts’ trademark strength in the middle weights — that after getting off to a fast 18-point start — Pottsgrove mat boss Jeff Madden also used the “I” word to describe the proceedings.
“It was interesting. It was a chance for us to wrestle against a good team,” he said. “Any time you get a chance to do that, it’s a good position to test yourself not just against one of the best teams in the district, but one of the best teams in the state.”
And Antonio Petrucelli, wrestling and pinning at 138 for Owen J., concurred with the popular sentiment.
“It was interesting,” the ‘Cat junior said. “When we heard about it, we thought it was going to be a tournament-type thing. We thought, at the beginning of the season we were going to have the PAC (individual) tournament.”
The title match came of the blocks as a pin clinic, with 10 weights ended by hands slapping canvas. Two others ended in technical falls — both in Owen J’s favor — and yet another was a major decision.
The only other bout going the distance was the 195-pound finale, where Pottsgrove’s Zachary Van Horn outlasted Tommy Dempsey 3-2.
“He’s been working hard,” DeRafelo said of Dempsey, whose early lead of a second-period reversal was erased by Van Horn (25-3) scoring a third-period escape and subsequent takedown. “He moved up a weight class for this, but he battled tough.”
With the match starting at 220, the Falcons (15-8) bolted to an 18-point start. Avery Shivak (26-1) and Manny Allen pinned in the first minutes of their bouts — Allen’s 29-second drop the match’s fastest — before Tony Lindgren followed at 106 with a 2:42 fall.
Owen J. (20-5) then took charge by taking nine of the next 10 bouts. Jason Williams started the roll at 113 with a 64-second pin, followed by Eric Shanahan (120) and David Forrest (126) flattening their opponents.
“With the momentum in their favor, we needed to do something,” DeRafelo said. “Williams and Shanahan turned things around for us.”
Owen J. Roberts’ Connor Quinn moves on Pottsgrove Marcus Keen at 160 pounds. (Barry Taglieber – For MediaNews Group)
Zachary Englehardt kept the Roberts roll going with a 12-3 major decision of Josh Cerrito at 132. Petrucelli (33-6) followed with a 41-second drop at 138, and after Stephen Hennelly (18-6) scored a pin at 145, OJR resumed its pace with Daniel Mancini’s fall at 152.
“Stephen is good. He battled and got a nice pin,” Madden noted. “Beating one of the better kids in the area (Cole Meredith) … that’s nice for your resume’.”
The successive tech-falls by Quinn (15-1) at 160 and Austin Boaman at 170 proved the clincher for Roberts, giving it a 44-24 lead with just two weight classes left. Ricky McCutchen bolstered the Wildcat lead with a pin at 170.
“Your best kids get showcased in the (post-season) tournaments,” DeRafelo said. “Here you get to see your unsung heroes come up with wins. Guys who shouldn’t have won, win.”
“You come in to make a statement about yourself and the team,” Petrucelli added. “The PAC title should be about winning as a team.”
NOTES >> Petrucelli supports expansion of the dual concept to more teams. “For sure,” he said. “Spring-Ford, Boyertown and other teams should have the right to go for it.” … DeRafelo would also support an expanded “duals” format. “It increases the excitement,” he said. “We had three teams in the state duals. That says a lot.” … The teams now focus on the District 1-AAA Tournament being staged at Pottstown the weekend of Feb. 22-23. “We’re going to see how it works,” Madden said. “We didn’t see some of them all season.”
