GRATERFORD >> They were teams in search of their first league win, and making the hunt with holes in their lineup.
In the end, though, Perkiomen Valley had the better of Wednesday’s match with Pottsgrove, coming away from the Pioneer Athletic Conference pairing with a 48-26 win.
Five pins — two of them scored in the first minute, four total in the first period — enabled the Vikings (1-4 league, 4-7 overall) to turn what had been a big (16-6) lead by the Falcons (0-4, 2-7) into a back-and-forth affair. And with four forfeited bouts pocking the card, PV accepted three of them — including the last two weights — to break into the league win column.
PV’s TJ Foley and Pottsgrove’s Michael Ragusa duel at 170. #BuxMontWrestling https://t.co/gp2KJwUyRY
— Jeff Stover (@MercuryXstover) January 20, 2016
“Absolutely,” Viking head coach Jared Dubbs said about the boost his team got from the win. “We’ve faced powerhouses early. We just said if everyone does their job, it will definitely be close. Not giving up bonus points … that’s how you win the match.”
To its credit, Pottsgrove did pick up some extra points: Chris Quintrell’s pin at 195, major decisions by Ryan Finn (160) and Kylif Underwood (126). But they couldn’t offset the forfeits in the overall scheme of things.
“We’re a small team missing a few guys to injuries and other issues,” head coach Jeff Madden said. “Some of those guys should be back sooner rather than later. But they (PV) wrestled well. It’s a credit to them.”
Pottsgrove owed its early point spurt to Finn’s 16-5 verdict over Quinn Verbeke, John Quintrell’s 6-2 decision over Kareem Elghawy, Chris Quintrell’s pin and Skylar McLeod’s narrow 2-1 decision of Paul Pierce at 220. But PV stayed in the hunt courtesy of pins by T.J. Foley (170), Matt Kenney (285) and Nate Balog (120), the latter staking the Vikes to their first lead of the night, 24-22.
Pottsgrove’s Ryan Finn works PV’s Quinn Verbeke in opener at 160. # buxmontwrestling https://t.co/aLY8EtunXt
— Jeff Stover (@MercuryXstover) January 20, 2016
Kylif Underwood got the Falcons back on top one bout later, rolling up a 14-5 major on Vinnie Goncalves. But it proved a brief overturn, PV going in front for good off the falls by Jake Latchum (132) and Drew Rowley (138) before Pottsgrove forfeited the last two weights to Ed Marcavage (145) and Kevin Lovett (152).
“Matt Kenney is a senior who’s starting to come into his own,” Dubbs said. “Quinn wrestling Finn … he’s wrestled Finn before, so he knew the situation. You put him in there, and he’ll do a pretty good job to get it done.”
Austin Rowley, accepting a forfeit at 113, upped his season record to 11-4. Latchum, one of five seniors on the PV roster, evened his record at 10-10 with his drop of Wyatt Sizemore.
“We have a dozen sophomores, and a dozen freshman,” Dubbs noted. “So we’re looking to build on this season.”
For Pottsgrove, Finn improved his record to a gaudy 15-1 while Christopher Quintrell now stands at 12-5. John Quintrell, one of the handful of seniors on Pottsgrove’s underclassmen-heavy roster, also impressed in a bout that saw him score a total of four back points in the third period to break up a 2-2 tie with Elghawy.
“John Quintrell did a great job,” Madden noted. “He had a match that could have been a toss-up. Ryan’s match was nice to watch, and the pin by Chris was big for us.”
PV will look to ride the momentum of Wednesday’s win in the stretch run of the PAC-10 regular season. It has Phoenixville, Pope John Paul II, Pottstown and Upper Perkiomen left between now and Feb. 10, with a non-leaguer against Bishop McDevitt in the mix.
“In the end, it was a team effort,” Dubbs said.
NOTES >> Pottsgrove senior Chris DeFrancesco, in between chemotherapy sessions for the testicular-cancer diagnosis he received back during football season, was at the match cheering on his teammates. … Pottsgrove’s PAC schedule shows dates with Owen J. Roberts, Boyertown, Methacton, Phoenixville and Pope John Paul II. The Falcons also have an appearance at the Central Bucks East Invitational Jan. 30, and a non-league match with Norristown.
