FRANCONIA >> The Souderton wrestling team had high hopes to open up the 2018 portion of the season. However, Central Bucks East earned three forfeits in the final three matches to beat Souderton 38-32 Wednesday night.
Souderton celebrated senior night as it honored lone senior Harrison Andrade and also its 100-win club.
The match started with the 120-pound bout between CB East’s Cole Thiebeau and Souderton’s Alex Nyce.
It didn’t take long for the Patriots to gain an early lead as Thiebeau earned an 8-4 decision to give his team three points.
At 126 pounds, Souderton came right back as Sam Beckett cruised to a 16-6 major decision victory over J.W. Scollins, giving Souderton a 4-3 lead after two bouts.
Souderton increased its lead at 132 pounds when Tyler Williams only needed less than four minutes to pin Dylan Rafferty.
Central Bucks East quickly responded at 138 pounds when Connor Loveless earned a 15-0 tech fall with just two seconds left in the third period over Ray Johnson to reduce the Souderton lead to two.
Andrade got his chance at 145 pounds and he did not disappoint in his senior night match as he cruised to a 13-0 major decision victory, increasing the Indians’ lead to 14-8.
Souderton head coach Tristan Boyd was pleased with Andrade’s performance in his senior night match.
“Andrade’s work ethic out of the mat and his dedication has been seen throughout his four years as a wrestler,” said Boyd. “We’re very proud of Harrison as a wrestler and as a person that he has become over the last four years. We’re excited to see how he progresses for the rest of the season.”
The victory is also Andrade’s 98th career victory as he looks to join the 100-win club later this season.
Souderton’s Tyler Williams goes for a pin on Central Bucks East’s Dylan Rafferty during their teams’ dual meet on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018. (Alex Wahl/For Digital First Media)
At 160 pounds, Indian Trevor Alderfer did everything he can to gain more points for Souderton and he delivered five team points, winning by an 18-3 technical fall in the second period with the help of four near falls including two three-point near falls.
Things only got worse for Central Bucks East as Souderton’s 170-pounder Cole Raousa earned a 15-3 major decision over Jake Macconnell.
The Patriots finally responded at 182 pounds as Danny Eckley used 2:47 to pin Souderton’s Spencer Haslam.
After Sounderton’s Bruno Stolfi earned a forfeit at 195 pounds, it was up to East’s Ben Eckley to seal the win at 220 pounds.
Eckley made his team explode as he only needed 15 seconds in the first period to pin Dan Villalba.
“It feels good to win,” said Eckley. “Especially when it helped the team out and clutch the team win. I’m very happy to get the team the win and they all fought hard. If we didn’t fight the way we did here, we would have lost so it feels good.”
Finally, Central Bucks East walked away with a 38-32 come from behind victory as Trent Petro, Sean O’Donnell and Jamie Lochetta all won by forfeit at 285, 106 and 113 pounds, respectively.
Central Bucks East head coach Dave Scarpill was thrilled with the way his team performed on the road to open the 2018 portion of the wrestling season.
“We actually had a chat with the boys yesterday because every loss that we took in our last tournament was by pin,” said Scarpill. “We had a tough practice on teaching them how not to get pinned, how to have a little pride, and we learned that in the dual meet season, you can’t get pinned.”
“I told them if we stay off our backs, we can win these matches,” added Scarpill. “The reason why we won this match is because we stayed off our back. Ben Eckley is a senior and he has worked hard for us, it would’ve been nice for him to wrestle Bruno Stolfi at 195 because they both have decent records, but in the dual meet season you have to get the wins and we knew we would have a better shot with Ben wrestling at 220 tonight.”
The Souderton now focuses on traveling to Parkland High School on Saturday for the Parkland Winter Duals tournament where the Indians take on five different schools including Mariana Bracetti Academy, Cumberland Valley, Exeter, Delaware Valley, And St. Anthony’s (N.Y.). Wrestling starts at 9 a.m.
Central Bucks East wrestles this Saturday at the Rage in the Cage Tournament at Garnet Valley High School. Wrestling begins 8 a.m.
