Joe Doyle’s pin cements Council Rock South semifinal win over Spring-Ford

FORT WASHINGTON — Council Rock South didn’t need sophomore Joe Doyle to pin Spring-Ford 170-pounder Steve Rice in the last bout of its District Duals semifinal with the Rams but a win by fall would surely send the Hawks into the finals in style.

With his team on top by four points in the match, Doyle did not disappoint, putting Rice on his back with 13 seconds remaining in the second period, sending the Golden Hawks to today’s District 1 championship vs. top-seeded Boyertown, a 34-22 winner over No. 4 Pennridge.

“He’s big-play Joe Doyle,’ said CR South head coach Brad Silimperi. “We expect bonus points out of him but tonight, we said ‘ listen, even a loss is OK. Just don’t get majored or worse.’

“Not only does he go out there and get a win, he gets a fall to seal it.

“That was awesome.’

“I was trying to wrestle smart. It’s not about me winning the match as long as the team wins the match,’ said Doyle.

“But he shot a little wide and I got an under-hook so I decided to go for it

“When he shot in, I saw an opportunity and I pinned him.’

While senior Ben Kenis gave South its first lead with a 1-0 decision win over Rams 182-pounder Ryan Yanulevich in the opening bout, S-F senior Brendan Zimmie took the lead back when he majored Hawks 195-pounder Scott Mackin.

South answered with senior Thaison Nguyen coming through with a 12-6 decision win over Rams 220-pounder Pete Moran, a wrestler he pinned in the first match of the season at the Cumberland Valley Classic.

“I knew I had to be aggressive out there — coaches preach it so I tried to keep attacking,’ said Nguyen.

With heavyweight Igor Kobzarenko out of the lineup, South forfeited at 285 pounds, giving the Rams a 10-6 edge. It was the last time No. 3 Spring-Ford would hold the lead.

Top-ranked Riley Palmer then majored Rams lightweight Brandon Meredith in the 106-pound matchup to remain unbeaten on the season at 23-0 and tying the score at 10-all.

Hawks 113-pounder Ben Radner then completely dominated S-F junior Jimmy Frank, using just 4:52 on the clock to register a 16-0 tech-fall that gave the Hawks a 15-10 lead, one they would not relinquish.

While Rams 120-pounder Ryan Hayes majored South freshman Troy Nation, South’s stellar 126-pounder Zack Trampe extended the Hawks’ edge to 21-17 when he pinned S-F sophomore Oscar Granese 38 seconds into the second period.

Here’s where the match took a twist. Silimperi inserted senior Robbie Fasciocco into the lineup at 132 pounds then wrestled his next four wrestlers up a notch.

The moves were met with solid results with South junior Joe Little — wrestling up at 138 pounds, taking a 4-2 decision win over Matt Krieble — a top-5 wrestler in District 1 — and junior Luke Martoccio outpacing Jon Cooper, 3-1 to keep the Hawks on top, 27-20 with only two bouts to go.

Wrestling up at 145 pounds, sophomore Shane Flanagan kept the collateral damage down when he suffered a 3-0 loss to S-F senior Nick Beauchamp. The Rams 145-pounder is ranked No. 2 in District 1 with a record of 25-4 and Krieble is ranked fifth with a 21-3 mark.

“Joey Little’s win was huge; the Joeys did the job tonight,’ said Silimperi of Little’s decision win and Doyle’s pin.

“We had other guys — Ben Radner getting a tech, Riley (Palmer) getting a major. The other guys we bumped up did good, too — like Shane Flanagan giving up a regular decision to one of the best kids in the state (Beauchamp).

“Up and down our lineup, our kids fought for every single point and that’s what you have to do against good teams.’

When Spring-Ford senior Frankie Krauss nipped CR South junior Dylan Schwartz — who was wrestling up at 160 pounds — it brought the Rams back within four points, however, heading into the last bout of the night.

That left the match in the hands of Doyle, who pinned in his last two bouts including the Hawks’ convincing 60-9 quarterfinal win over CR North. Big play Joe got an early takedown but Rice — who is ranked fourth in the district — answered with a late first-period escape and takedown of his own to take a 3-2 edge by the end of the initial frame.

Of course, the 170-pound bout — and the D-1 semifinal — would be decided in South’s favor by the end of the next period.

“We know that Joey is a pin machine,’ said Nguyen. “We knew sooner or later, something like that was coming.’

“It was one of the greatest moments of my high school career,’ added Thaison.

“It was a good way to end the night — a great way to end the night, actually.’

The Hawks go from the frying pan into the fire, facing top-ranked Boyertown. The Bears are unbeaten at 15-0 on the season in dual meets. Boyertown features numerous wrestlers that are ranked among the top in the district including 106-pounder Jake Campbell (No. 3), Dave Campbell (No. 5/113 pounds), Luke Miller (No. 3/126), Garrett Mauger (No. 4/120), Gregg Harvey (No. 3/182) and Tom Killoran (No. 5/285).

CR South counters with Palmer, who is ranked No. 7 nationally and tops in District 1 at 106 pounds, Trampe who is ranked No. 1 in the district at 126 pounds, Schwartz (No. 1/152) and Kenis (No. 2/195).

Pa-Wrestling.com also gives honorable mention to Martoccio at 145 pounds and Nguyen at 220. The Bears also feature a few wrestlers in that category with J.T. Cooley at 132 pounds, Chris Berry at 138 and Hunter Voegels at 145.

***

RESULTS

District I-AAA Duals Semifinal

Council Rock South 33

Spring-Ford 23

182 — Ben Kenis (CRS) dec. Ryan Yanulevich, 1-0 (3-0)

195 — Brendan Zimmie (SF) maj. dec. Scott Mackin, 16-7 (3-4)

220 — Thaison Nguyen (CRS) dec. Peter Moran, 12-6 (6-4)

285 — Zachary Dorsey (SF) won by forfeit (6-10)

106 — Riley Palmer (CRS) maj. dec. Brandon Meredith, 13-4 (10-10)

113 — Ben Radner (CRS) won by tech. fall over Jimmy Frank, 16-0 (15-10)

120 — Ryan Hayes (SF) maj. dec. Troy Nation, 16-5 (15-14)

126 — Zack Trampe (CRS) pinned Oscar Granese, 2:38 (21-14)

132 — Hunter Mitch (SF) dec. Robbie Fasciocco, 6-4 (21-17)

138 — Joe Little (CRS) dec. Matt Krieble, 4-2 (24-17)

145 — Nick Beauchamp (SF) dec. Shane Flanagan, 3-0 (24-20)

152 — Lucas Martoccio (CRS) dec. Jon Cooper, 3-1 (27-20)

160 — Frankie Krauss (SF) dec. Dylan Schwartz, 3-2 (27-23)

170 — Joe Doyle (CRS) pinned Steve Rice, 3:47 (33-23)

***

District I-AAA Duals Quarterfinal

Council Rock South 60

Council Rock North 9

170 — Joe Doyle (CRS) pinned Timmy Everett, 1:39 (6-0)

182 — Ben Kenis (CRS) won by forfeit (12-0)

195 — Mike Rademacher (CRN) dec. Scott Mackin, 7-6 (12-3)

220 — Kyle Thorpe (CRN) pinned Brandon Kohn, 1:13 (12-9)

285 — Thaison Nguyen (CRS) won by forfeit (18-9)

106 — Riley Palmer (CRS) pinned Shane Thompson, 1:00 (24-9)

113 — Ben Radner (CRS) won by tech. fall over Tom Matarazzo, 16-0 5:02 (29-9)

120 — Troy Nation (CRS) pinned Zach Moyer, 2:31 (35-9)

126 — Zack Trampe (CRS) pinned Gianncarlo Flores, 1:46 (41-9)

132 — Joe Little (CRS) dec. Jake Potter, 8-3 (44-9)

138 — Shane Flanagan (CRS) maj. dec. Nick Nucero, 11-1 (48-9)

145 — Lucas Martoccio (CRS) pinned Billy Storm, 1:04 (54-9)

152 — Dylan Schwartz (CRS) dec. Luke Ely, 7-1 (57-9)

160 — Robert Cooper (CRS) dec. Colin Slartcheff, 4-2 (60-9)