Late Forfeits and Late Falls Push Golden Tide Past Johnsonburg

CURWENSVILLE — After a week of waiting since the last time they took to the mat, the Golden Tide of Curwensville finally got to get back to work to prepare for their next match.  However, preparing for this one had a different vibe.  After spending all of December and the first part of January on the road for four duals and two tournies, the Tide finally got the opportunity to perform on their home floor of Patton Hall.  Hoping to rebound from a tough loss seven days prior, Tide head coach Dean Swatsworth preached that it was the little things the team needed to work on for the next contest.

With the Johnsonburg Rams coming to town, the biggest advantage this week came from full practices to work on those minor details leading into Thursday’s match.

With six forfeits on the docket, and one match not taking place, every contested weight class had big importance.  Curwensville yielded four of those forfeits on the night, however, over the remaining seven matches, the Tide held the advantage.  Curwensville took six of those seven matches, five of them via fall, to secure a 42-30 victory over the visiting Rams.

After Curwensville took the opening forfeit at 120 from Blake Passarelli, it was down to business when Dylan Myers and Josh Sorg took the opening whistle at 126.  Thanks to a pair of reversals and a takedown, Myers earned the opening decision, 7-0, to pad the home lead.

At 132 Ethan Collins followed with a decision, a hotly contested 4-3 victory over Josh Calla.  The win was Collins’ first of the season, and it also earned a special honor.

This season at every home meet, Swatsworth was honoring one of his students with the Curwensville Champion Tee, which will be presented to one of the Tide wrestlers after each home match for their performance.  With his first win of the year, and how it was earned, Collins had the honor of being champion for the night.

The Rams began coming back following the defeat at 132 beginning with Devin Norlin taking the forfeit win at 138.

Cole Bressler and Johnsonburg’s Tyler Watts then tied up at 145, with Watts getting the early advantage a mere 20 seconds into the match.  Just about a minute later, he managed to get Bressler to the mat, and the momentum quickly shifted to the visitors when the referee called the pin at 1:36, evening the match at 12 points each.

Following a pair of forfeits to Johnsonburg’s Christian Krug and Jacob Zimmerman at 152 and 160, respectively, the best match of the night would ensue.

Curwensville’s Mason Lancaster took on Joseph Elinski at 170, and early on the bout slipped almost out of the grip of Elinski.  It wasn’t due to him nearly being pinned, but a cut on his hand caused the match to halt for a minute to clean up the mat, and also tape up his hand.

After the pause in the action, Lancaster managed to get key takedowns and started moving towards the pin with seconds waning in the opening round.  Elinski fought hard, having been up the entire first period, and managed to hold off on the fall when the buzzer sounded.  Still, Lancaster’s efforts gave him three points for the near fall, edging him 9-7 entering the second round.

Lancaster elected the down position to start the second round, and that seemed to be a critical mistake.  A few seconds in, Elinski was working on a roll through, and got position.  Try as he might, Lancaster lasted 42 more seconds before his shoulders went to the mat, giving the match to Elinski, and pushing the lead of the Rams to 30-12.

That was the final time Johnsonburg claimed a win.  In the next match, Kaleb Witherite needed just a minute and four seconds before pinning Matt Berger to close the gap, 30-18.

A pair of forfeits would follow.  First at 195 for Gordon Buckwitz, which was his first match with Curwensville since his family moved to Curwensville from the Clarion area and at 220 for Nick Stewart, evening the match at 30 a piece, with three matches remaining.

The heavyweight match between Steven McClure and Zach Hodgen was one-sided the entire time.  McClure got position early in the opening period, but couldn’t quite manage the fall.  McClure chose to be down to start the second round, and quickly escaped the grip of Hodgen.  Shortly thereafter, the Tide reclaimed the lead thanks to the pin at 2:45.

Neither squad had someone come out for the 106 weigh-in, meaning there was a potential for a tie after the final match between Zach Holland and Albert Jackson, and a tie-breaker rule could be needed to determine the winner.

There was no need for that, as Holland used several rolls and take downs before finally securing the fall at 3:07, giving the Tide their second victory on the 2016-2017 season.

Curwensville (2-3) is back in action next week with two home bouts, followed by yet another tournament.  On January 24, Curwensville plays host to the Brookville Raiders.  Brookville comes into the match ranked second in the state, undefeated on the season (6-0 entering Thursday’s match with Fort LeBoeuf), and having outscored their opponents 309-109 on the year.

BOUT BY BOUT RESULTS:

• 120:  Blake Passarelli (Curwensville) FORFEIT, 6-0
• 126:  Dylan Myers (Curwensville) over Josh Sorg (Johnsonburg)-Decision 7-0, 9-0
• 132:  Ethan Collins (Curwensville) over Josh Calla (Johnsonburg)-Decision 4-3, 12-0
• 138:  Devin Norlin (Johnsonburg) FORFEIT, 12-6
• 145:  Tyler Watts (Johnsonburg) over Cole Bressler (Curwensville)-Fall 1:36, 12-12
• 152:  Christian Krug (Johnsonburg) FORFEIT, 12-18
• 160:  Jacob Zimmerman (Johnsonburg) FORFEIT, 12-24
• 170:  Joseph Elinski (Johnsonburg) over Mason Lancaster (Curwensville)-Fall 2:42, 12-30
• 182:  Kaleb Witherite (Curwensville) over Matt Berger (Johnsonburg)-Fall 1:04, 18-30
• 195:  Gordon Buckwitz (Curwensville) FORFEIT, 24-30
• 220:  Nick Stewart (Curwensville) FORFEIT, 30-30
• 285:  Steven McClure (Curwensville) over Zach Hodgen (Johnsonburg)-Fall 2:45, 36-30
• 106:  NO MATCH, 36-30
• 113:  Zach Holland (Curwensville) over Albert Jackson (Johnsonburg)-Fall 3:07, 42-30

Golden Tide Scoreboard: