Philipsburg – The 4th Annual Takedown Cancer Match was held on Thursday night, and it was another raging success. Philipsburg and Clearfield wrestling fans enjoyed door prizes, baked goods and bought wrestling t-shirts to contribute $10,077.00 to the Emily Whitehead Foundation.
While Emily defeated cancer in 2012 with a revolutionary cancer treatment, her foundation has helped to fund ongoing cancer research that has helped save many other lives, including Ayden Gora, a young boy and cancer survivor who started the match with a traditional coin toss.
In what appeared on paper to be a close match turned out to heavily sway in Philipsburg’s favor in the 79th meeting between the Clearfield Bison and Philipsburg-Osceola Area Mounties on Thursday night, as P-O won 10 out of the 14 bouts of the night to win 53-19.
Philipsburg was able to start the match with a 26-0 lead after they received a forfeit at 106, received falls at 113 and 120, decisioned the Bison at 126 and scored a tech fall at 132. It wasn’t until Bison senior Jude Pallo (2-1) wrestled at 138 pounds that Clearfield was finally able to get on the scoreboard.
Clearfield freshmen Nolan Barr (4-3) and Karson Kline (7-3) were both pinned by their Philipsburg opponents by surprise. Barr was able to quickly take down Philipsburg’s Nick Coudriet, but he was reversed to his back and pinned in the first period with a far-side cradle Then Kline was caught stuck on his back after trying to turn Philipsburg’s Austin Foster with a standing two on one tilt. It didn’t appear Kline was aware that he was on his back and he was defensively pinned quickly in the third period.
Then freshman Luke Freeland (5-5) made his debut at 126 pounds against the Mounties’ Gabe Dunkelberger. Dunkelberger bested Freeland on his feet, utilizing a first period and third period takedown to win the match 7-4. This made the score 21-0, Philipsburg-Osceola.
Chase Chapman scored again for the Mounties when he tech falled Clearfield’s Peyton Smay (2-6) at the beginning of the third period for a 18-2 victory in 4:03.
Pallo’s victory seemed to finally change the momentum away from the Mounties and toward the Bison, as he bested Philipsburg’s Alex Dunkelberger 10-2. Following that performance, senior Caleb Freeland went out and did his job as he secured a first period fall over the Mounties’ Braedon Butler. Freeland improved his record to 9-1, and the match score moved to 26-10 in Philipsburg-Osceola’s favor.
Following this, there was an intermission as the total amount raised for the night was revealed and fans had an opportunity to go buy more baked goods and use the restrooms.
When the match resumed at 152, Philipsburg received a forfeit and then Bison Cole Smay (1-5) wrestled the Mounties’ Hunter Weitoish at 160. After having a tied match at 3-3 in the first period, Weitoish was able to command the match in the second period, and he secured another fall over the Bison senior for Philipsburg in the third period, making the match score 38-10.
Moving up to 170, freshman Mark McGonigal (8-3) then battled the Mounties’ Matt Shimmel, where he was able to gut out a 1-0 victory by holding Shimmel down in the third period.
Brett Zattoni (0-7) nearly won his first match this season at 182 pounds, wrestling in a heated match against Kaleb Stamm from Philipsburg-Osceola. The junior Zattoni and Stamm traded takedowns in the first period, but in the third period Stamm was able to get a second takedown to get the win.
In the next match, Philipsburg’s Parker Moore didn’t expect to be headlocked in the first 15 seconds of his match, but that’s what sophomore Nick Domico (6-4) had in mind from the start. Domico used a headlock and squoze on it for more than a minute, rotating his body towards Moore’s head and then elevating it, rinsing and repeating those steps, until Moore no longer had the stamina to keep up the good fight. Domico’s pin made the team score 41-19 in Philipsburg’s favor.
After surrendering a forfeit at 220, senior Avry Gisewhite (5-5) was then pinned in the third period by Philipsburg’s Tyler Anderson. This made the final score of the night 53-19, Philipsburg-Osceola.
The Bison will leap back into action Friday night when they travel to Meadville for their annual Tool City Tournament. Clearfield has now dropped to 1-4 on the season, and individual records are 56-56 overall.
