Rush earns 100th win as Pennridge rolls past Souderton

EAST ROCKHILL >> The right hand of the referee pounded down hard against the mat, signifying a pin with 1 minute and 26 seconds left in the third period.

The stands were flooded with fans holding up signs bearing the No. 100, and now those signs were waved in jubilation as the moment had come for Pennridge senior Kordell Rush.

The 126-pounder had pinned down the 100th win of his high school career.

“It feels great. I knew I was getting close to a hundred, and (my teammates) were telling me about it, and to get it tonight felt good,” said Rush, who won by fall over Souderton’s Brandon Bach. “I wasn’t really sure who I would have — I knew they might bump up Bach, and I figured it would be a good match and I was happy to get the pin.”

Rush’s milestone was part of a big night for the Rams, who would go on to win 67-5 in a Suburban One League Continental Conference match at Pennridge Wednesday night.

Tyler Williams won by tech fall at 106 to start the night for Big Red, but after that it was all Pennridge, including Rush’s win at 126, which put the Rams up 14-5 early.

“It was nice to (get the 100th) at home,” Rush said after the match, in front of a spirited crowd at Pennridge. “This is definitely one of the things I wanted to accomplish in high school. Now it’s done, and I can keep working for states.

“The team stepped up, came out and wrestled hard and really took it to ‘em. I’m real happy with how the match went.”

The Rams had six pins on the night, including Evan Widing (132), David Nahas (145), David Blanchard (152), Stephen Blanchard (170), Stephen Dadio (220) and Rush.

“To get (100 wins) with a pin in front of your home fans — it doesn’t get much better than that. That was pretty cool,” Rams coach R.P. Norley said. “Kordell’s been healthy, which has been the biggest struggle for him. When he’s healthy, he’s an animal.

“He works hard in the room, he’s very coachable, he listens to the coaches, and he’s always trying to make adjustments and improve his game. And you can see it in a match when he gets a pin over someone like Brandon Bach. He’s doing the right things.”