LOWER POTTSGROVE — They relished the opportunity to be back wrestling live competition.
Even an undermanned opponent, in a match where the lineup was pocked by forfeits and completed well within an hour’s time.
After a 19-day hiatus forced by a recurrence of skin issues, Pottsgrove was back in action Wednesday hosting Pope John Paul II. With a daunting schedule of seven Pioneer Athletic Conference pairings over the next two weeks, the Falcons got off to a good start with a 54-30 victory over the Golden Panthers.
“Overall, it was rough,’ Chris DeFrancesco said of his team’s inactivity since a Jan. 9 dual with neighboring rival Pottstown. “This was the second time it happened to us. We missed so many tournaments and matches, and we weren’t able to go out on the mats.’
So the Falcons (1-2 league, 4-3 overall) were limited to running and conditioning workouts on their own during the layoff. They celebrated their return to action, and their entry into the PAC-10 win column, by scoring five pins against a PJP unit that fought back to tie its hosts before the numbers game and a Chris Quintrell pin in the final bout dropped the visitors out of contention.
“It was tough with the snow. We hadn’t been on the mat much the last few days,’ Pottsgrove head coach Jeff Madden said afterward. “It was nice to get out there and test ourselves a bit.’
Five pins combined with four forfeits to produce the Falcons’ point total. The Panthers (0-6, 4-9) countered with four falls and one forfeit as they rallied from an initial 30-6 deficit to force a 30-30 tie through the 145-pound bout.
“I know how tough it is for the kids,’ Madden said. “Everyone wants to wrestle, but we did our best. And they (PJP) wrestled some nice matches.’
DeFrancesco, in the night’s first contested bout, dropped Luke Genetti in the third period at 220 before Nick Borzick followed with a second-period fall of Dan Murphy at 285. Nick Boyce answered for the Panthers at 106, getting the slap on Mike Kilgore at 106.
“I came back winded,’ DeFrancesco, whose pin of Genetti broke a 2-2 tie, said. “But after this win, we’re motivated to get on our horse.’
Pottsgrove’s Chase Banyai and Brady Carpenter followed with successive first-period pins of Carsten Schlag and Nate Aldinger at 113 and 120, respectively. PJP then mounted a four-weight run from 126 to 145, pins by Nick Yerger (126), Dave Mattiola (138) and William Heid (145) meshing with the Falcons’ forfeit of 132 to Dylan Mintzer to erase the home team’s lead.
The numbers game took over from there. Ryan Finn (152), Christian Pace (160) and Evan Weneck (170) were awarded forfeits — the last one giving Pottsgrove a match-clinching 48-30 lead — before Quintrell closed out the match against PJP’s Vinnie Togno.
“It felt great to come back,’ DeFrancesco said. “We kept the pace going.’
On a night when the school honored its senior grapplers, Madden was effusive in praising a trio of 12th-graders for their contribution to keeping the team on track during its extended period of match inactivity.
“Evan is having a great year, and his leadership has been big,’ Madden said. “Michael Roth has been a phenomenal part of our program. And Kevin Rodriguez … in my seven years here, I’ve never had a senior who’s come out and had an effect on the team he’s had.’
The team will have little time to savor Wednesday’s victory before resuming its late-season grind. It will host Methacton Friday at 4:30 p.m., then head to Bucks County Saturday for the C.B. East Invitational, rescheduled from the previous weekend due to inclement weather.
The Falcons face a four-matches-in-four-days run next week: At home against Upper Perkiomen (Feb. 3) and Perkiomen Valley (Feb. 5), on the road against Phoenixville (Feb. 4) and Owen J. Roberts (Feb. 6).
“We huddled after the match, talking about the whole lot to come,’ DeFrancesco said. “This will be good for us when we get to the post-season.
“The next two weeks, we’re going to go hard. We want to show we’re ready to go, and we’ll work hard to get ready to go.’
NOTES — In keeping with the team’s regimen, Madden had his charges running after Wednesday’s match. “I was saying this hit at the right time, that we needed to do more running,’ Madden said jokingly. “We increased it completely’ … The match was completed in just under 40 minutes. … The teams combined to score four pins in the first period. Banyai had the fastest at 19 seconds. … Pottsgrove’s Skyler McLeod received a win via forfeit at 195 to start the match.
Pottsgrove 54
Pope John Paul II 30
195-Skylar McLeod (Pg) won by forfeit (6-0)
220-Chris DeFrancesco (Pg) pinned Luke Genetti, 5:08 (12-0)
285-Nick Borzick (Pg) pinned Dan Murphy, 3:02 (18-0)
106-Nick Boyce (PJP) pinned Mike Kilgore, 1:41 (18-6)
113-Chase Banyai (Pg) pinned Carsten Schlag, :19 (24-6)
120-Brady Carpenter (Pg) pinned Nate Aldinger, 1:52 (30-6)
126-Nick Yerger (PJP) pinned Kylif Underwood, 3:59 (30-12)
132-Dylan Mintzer (PJP) won by forfeit (30-18)
138-Dave Mattiola (PJP) pinned Kevin Rodriguez, 3;33 (30-24)
145-William Heid (PJP) pinned Ryan Lynch, 2:30 (30-30)
152-Ryan Finn (Pg) won by forfeit (36-30)
160-Christian Pace (Pg) won by forfeit (42-30)
170-Evan Weneck (Pg) won by forfeit (48-30)
182-Chris Quintrell (Pg) pinned Vincent Togno, 1:50 (54-30)
