BUCKTOWN — It has been said that a win is a win.
Don’t tell that to Owen J. Roberts wrestling coach Steve DeRafelo though.
At this point in the season, he and his Wildcats are looking for much, much more at this point in the season.
Owen J. Roberts jumped out to an early 29-9 lead over Pioneer Athletic Conference foe Upper Perkiomen, but were forced to sweat it out down the stretch to hold on for a 34-28 victory on Wednesday night.
“I was disappointed [with some of the results down the stretch], because those are matches we need to be winning at this time of the year,’ DeRafelo said. “It’s what good teams do, and what good kids do. They win those tight bouts.
“We were able to get a couple of big wins, though, early on, and that helped. There were some really tightly contested bouts, and we got a couple where I wasn’t sure if we were going to, and they were some really nice wins for us. A couple of guys really stepped up for us and got big wins.’
Eric Miller gave the Indians a quick 6-0 lead at 138 pounds with a 56-second fall, but the Wildcats answered back and answered hard, winning six of the next seven bouts, including a third-period technical fall from Demetri D’Orsaneo (145), a first-period fall from Xavier Ferrizzi (195) and a huge fall from Bill Scherfel (220) to build a 29-9 lead.
Scherfel was in a dogfight with Upper Perkiomen counterpart Mike Modugno as the two battled to a scoreless first period. Scherfel, who started the period from the bottom position, then rolled through Modugno’s attempt to roll him to his back and seconds later recorded the fall.
“That was a really nice win for us tonight at 220,’ DeRafelo said. “I thought Scherfel did a really nice job for us, and gave us some big points.’
The tide seemed to turn, though, quickly for Owen J. Roberts, which watched as the Indians got overtime victories from Mahlon Schaffer (285) and Jared Kuhns (106), as well as an 11-3 major decision from Dustin Steffenino (113), to make it a 10-point match at 29-19.
But Wildcat senior Derek Gulotta (120) sealed the victory for his team by picking up a first-period technical fall that put the match out of reach, 34-19, with only two bouts to go, both of which resulted in Upper Perkiomen victories.
“I am a little disappointed [with our performance tonight] because I think we could have won this match,’ Indians head coach Sam Walters said. “We had a couple of close matches that we had to win. If one of those guys wins and we don’t give up the pin at 220, we win this match. All in all, though, most of the kids are wrestling well. Everyone just has to execute when you put them out there.
“We liked the lineup we put out there. It just is what it is.’
For the Wildcats, Micky Kohn (160) and Nick Duliakas (170) each picked up decisions on the night, while Levi Homan scored a fall at 132 and Noah Folk (126) and Mike Felix (182) each registered decisions.
NOTES — Prior to the match, D’Orsaneo was honored with a plaque for earning his 100th victory earlier in the season, and along with eight other senior teammates, was honored at the Wildcats’ Senior Night festivities.
Owen J. Roberts 34
Upper Perkiomen 28
138-Eric Miller (UP) pinned Robert Dlugasszewski, :56 (0-6)
145-Demetri D’Orsaneo (OJR) won by technical fall over Jacob Folk, 15-0 (5-6)
152-Dominick Petrucelli (OJR) won by forfeit (11-6)
160-Micky Kohn (OJR) dec. Michael Lockhoff, 9-4 (14-6)
170-Nick Duliakas (OJR) dec. Trevor Weeks, 6-2 (17-6)
182-Mike Felix (UP) dec. Connor Mitchell, 4-2 (17-9)
195-Xavier Ferrizzi (OJR) pinned Owen Leister, :42 (23-9)
220-Bill Scherfel (OJR) pinned Mike Modugno, 2:51 (29-9)
285-Mahlon Schaffer (UP) dec. Dan Hultz, 3-2 OT (29-12)
106-Jared Kuhns (UP) dec. Luke Resnick, 9-7 OT (29-15)
113-Dustin Steffenino (UP) dec. Ryan Resnick, 11-3 (29-19)
120-Derek Gulotta (OJR) won by technical fall over Jarek Svanson, 16-0 (34-19)
126-Noah Folk (UP) dec. Stone Bissland, 6-4 OT (34-22)
132-Levi Homan (UP) pinned John Ruckle, 2:51 (24-28)
