CURWENSVILLE – The Curwensville Area High School wrestling team and fans found out why Redbank Valley came into Patton Hall Thursday night sporting lopsided dual meet wins over Sharon and Brockway plus two tournament championships.
The Bulldogs were relentless, whether ahead or behind, in dealing the Golden Tide a 59-15 setback.
They collected seven falls and one technical fall to go with two decisions and a forfeit.
Curwensville (5-4) got falls from heavyweight Brad Stubbs and unbeaten 138-pounder Jake Keller and a shutout from 126-pounder Brandon Sass.
“We knew were we were gonna be up against a tough team,” Golden Tide coach Duane Wriglesworth said. “They were tough last year, and very young, so we knew they were going to be a quality opponent.”
Told the Bulldogs had compiled an 18-4 advantage in takedowns, Wriglesworth replied, “Was it that bad? I didn’t realize that. Even Jake got taken down.
“That is one thing Redbank has been known for. They’re not afraid of anybody. They will come right after you.
“We told the guys that, and we worked hard for that. We didn’t have good motion on our feet. Just when I thought we were looking very good on our feet, I saw some weaknesses tonight.”
Golden Tide wrestlers were taken right to their backs on several occasions, including the first two bouts when Mark Strothers headlocked Jake Kavelak for a 23-second fall at 195 and Cal Haines headlocked on-rushing Spencer Smeal for a pin in 3:08 at 220.
Stubbs got the home fans into the meet when he worked a headlock to deck Ben Carillo in just 19 seconds, but Redbank Valley opened a 27-6 lead as Kolbin Altobelli engineered three takedowns in beating Sam Bressler 8-1 at 106, Willie Gruver received the forfeit at 113 and Mitch Blose earned both the upset and comeback laurels by pinning Tyler Mays at 120.
The loss was only the second in 13 matches for Mays, who put the Bulldog soph with a 4-9 record on his back for three-point nearfalls in the first two periods. Blose reversed late in both periods to trail 8-4 going to the final period, when he hit a switch off a restart and hooked up a cradle to end the bout at the 5:09 mark.
Sass blanked Luke Gallo 4-0 with a reversal in the second period and a takedown with two seconds left after a desperation shot by the Bulldog freshman who was 10-5.
“Sass looked good,” Wriglesworth said. “He has been hot and cold all year. He got in deep and got some nice lifts.”
At 132, undefeated Bulldog Garret Hildebrand (15-0) was leading Devan Kerin 10-0 when he ran a bar to a half-nelson and press for a 43-second fall.
Then, Keller (13-0) recovered from an single-leg takedown by Ty Haines to escape and notch a takedown of his own before using a guillotine to end the bout in 1:14.
The two met twice last year, Keller posting a third period fall in the District 9 Class AA finals and a 10-4 decision the next week at the Northwest Region tourney.
“I was very happy with that, because I know how good Haines is,” Wriglesworth said. “Haines is one of their top guns. I saw us have trouble with Haines up at regionals last year, so I was worried when Jake got taken down.
“Jake is very good down on the mat, very good on top, but when you see your star undefeated wrestler get taken down, it’s some concern.”
It was all Redbank Valley after that.
Nick Schrecengost logged a team-high four takedowns before pinning Alex Holt in 5:06 at 145, Matt Hetrick hip-tossed Dakota Royer for a one-minute fall at 152, Cole Shirey (10-0) tilted Austin Pollick three times for nearfalls and registered a 15-0 technical fall in 3:17 at 160, Brandon Bailey (8-1) used a double-arm bar to pin Nate Wriglesworth 46 seconds into the second period at 170 and Aaron Hook made a takedown with one second left in the first period stand up for a 2-0 win over Chad Desmett at 182.
“Redbank is going to hammer everybody they wrestle, other than maybe Brookville or Ridgway,” Wriglesworth said. “They don’t quit. They’re well-coached. And they’re driven.”
Still, Wriglesworth expected a better showing from the Golden Tide.
“We seemed flat,” he said. “We had a strong talk with them, and we’re going to work on our deficiencies.”
Wriglesworth did see good signs from his heavyweights.
“Stubbs looked very good,” he said. “Spencer kind of got caught and went to his back, but he was in control of the match.
“These are a couple of guys who had only one year of wrestling experience in junior high. They’re still learning and getting better. And they’re juniors.”
Two more tough tests are on the Golden Tide’s slate next week, a road match against much-improved Moshannon Valley Tuesday and a home meet against perennial District 9 Class AA power Ridgway Thursday.
REDBANK VALLEY 59, CURWENSVILLE 15
195 – Mark Strothers, RV, pinned Jake Kavelak, :23. (6-0)
220 – Cal Haines, RV, pinned Spencer Smeal, 3:08. (12-0)
285 – Brad Stubbs, C, pinned Ben Carillo, :19. (12-6)
106 – Kolbin Altobelli, RV, dec. Sam Bressler, 8-1. (15-6)
113 – Willie Gruver, RV, won by forfeit. (21-6)
120 – Mitch Blose, RV, pinned Tyler Mays, 5:09. (27-6)
126 – Brandon Sass, C, dec. Luke Gallo, 4-0. (27-9)
132 – Garret Hildebrand, RV, pinned Devan Kerin, :43. (33-9)
138 – Jake Keller, C, pinned Ty Haines, 1:14. (33-15)
145 – Nick Schrecengost, RV, pinned Alex Holt, 5:06. (39-15)
152 – Matt Hetrick, RV, pinned Dakota Royer, 1:00. (45-15)
160 – Cole Shirey, RV, tech fall over Austin Pollick, 15-0 (5:06). (50-15)
170 – Brandon Bailey, RV, pinned Nate Wriglesworth, 2:46. (56-15)
182 – Aaron Hook, RV, dec. Chad Desmett, 2-0. (59-15)
Golden Tide Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 12/10 | @ Mountaineer Tourney | 57.5 pts. | 8th |
| 12/15 | @ Brockway | 54 – 18 | 1 – 0 |
| 12/22 | WEST BRANCH | 16 – 62 | 1 – 1 |
| 01/05 | PUNXSUTAWNEY | 31 – 38 | 1 – 2 |
| 01/07 | @ Coudersport Duals | ||
| vs. Lewisburg | 36 – 41 | 1 – 3 | |
| vs. Coudersport | 54 – 23 | 2 – 3 | |
| vs. Lackawanna Trail | 42 – 36 | 3 – 3 | |
| vs. Athens | 60 – 18 | 4 – 3 | |
| vs. Sheffield | 60 – 15 | 5 – 3 | |
| 01/12 | REDBANK VALLEY | 15 – 59 | 5 – 4 |
| 01/17 | @ Mo Valley | ||
| 01/19 | RIDGWAY |