South River was just two seconds away from locking up a prep wrestling victory it badly needed. But the Seahawks couldn't finish the job.
Broadneck's Ron Mattox scored a takedown in the final two seconds of the third period of his 182-pound bout against Chase Rudisill, tying the score. Mattox then scored a takedown in overtime and won, 9-7, to give Broadneck a 27-21 lead.
Mattox's win propelled the Bruins to a 34-33 victory while handing the Seahawks their second one-point loss in as many weeks.
"A lot of wrestlers relax at the end of the match when they're winning and I knew that was my shot to tie it up and get into overtime," Mattox said.
Broadneck also bested Southern on Friday night, 40-24, to improve to 9-2 in the county and 18-4 overall.
"This was a great win for us and it was probably our jump-start for the year for some of our kids," Broadneck coach Adam DeCosmo said. "We're going to build off the positives of the way our kids earned it tonight. Mattox's win at 182 was the win of the night. We've been waiting for the real Ron Mattox to show up. We found him tonight."
Marshal Dickey's 12-10 victory over Tim Putnam at 138 was another key one for the Bruins. After Dickey took an 11-8 lead on a near-fall with 48 seconds left, Putnam scored a takedown with 25 seconds remaining. But Dickey scored an escape to earn the win.
"It was tough match. I saw the opportunity for the last two takedowns and I was going to need those points to win," Dickey said.
While Broadneck was elated to walk out of the gym with a pair of wins, South River was left to ponder what might have been.
The Seahawks are 9-2 in the county and 14-10 overall.
"Tonight is a snapshot of the battles we've been fighting all season," South River coach John Klessinger said. "We make a few mistakes, we get careless in a match we're winning, or we give up a pin that we shouldn't. This is where our inexperience shows. I thought we were turning the corner and our kids wrestle hard, so it's not an issue of effort. I can't give a kid the five years of experience he needs in two seasons, so we've got more work to do."
Last week, South River would have defeated Old Mill if a wrestler hadn't cursed at an official, earning a misconduct call. The deduction in point made the final score 34-all, and the first tiebreaker was the unsportsmanlike or misconduct calls, leaving the Seahawks with a 35-34 loss to the Patriots.
In Broadneck's win over Southern on Friday, the Bruins pulled away, starting with Shane Middleton's 10-6 win over Shane McKenzie at 170. The two combatants recently discovered they're second cousins, but this was the first varsity match against each other.
Mattox scored a pin against Southern's Alex Holt in the 182-pound match to put the Bruins up, 35-18. With the meet's outcome settled with just two matches remaining, the teams traded forfeits in the final two matches.
Southern had to win one of the two matches to secure a spot in next week's 2A/1A East Region dual tournament. Constant lineup juggling Friday didn't help, knocking the Bulldogs (7-4 county, 9-5 overall) from contention.
"We did the best we could, I suppose, but we didn't get it done and we're disappointed," Southern coach Jeff Schrumm said.
BROADNECK 40, SOUTHERN 24
106:
Simonovsky (BN) maj. dec. Carrier, 12-3;
113:
Lynch (BN) dec. Rounciville, 14-8;
120
: Sharpe (SO) dec. Baluyot, 7-5;
126:
Wand (BN) dec. Francis, 4-2;
132:
Joyce (BN) pinned Francis, 1:13;
138:
Jewell (SO) pinned Dickey, 1:38;
145:
Bassett (SO) dec. Regan, 8-4;
152:
Burch (SO) won by forfeit;
160:
Knappen (BN) dec. Mills, 7-4;
170:
Middleton (BN) dec. McKenzie, 10-6;
182:
Mattox (BN) pinned Holt, 3:27;
195:
Hawkins (BN) pinned Cosh, :29;
220:
Langer (SO) won by forfeit;
285:
Reecher (BN) won by forfeit.
BROADNECK 34, SOUTH RIVER 33
113:
Lynch (BN) pinned Baker, 1:14;
120:
Owens (SR) pinned Baluyot, 2:32;
126:
Wand (BN) pinned Mayhew, 2:23;
132:
Joyce (BN) pinned Lunsford, :23;
138:
Dickey (BN) dec. Putnam, 12-10;
145:
Puccinelli (SR) pinned Regan, :45;
152:
Peters (SR) won by forfeit;
160:
Hoover (SR) dec. Knappen, 4-2;
170:
Middleton (BN) dec. Raines (BN), 11-5;
182:
Mattox (BN) dec. Rudisill, 9-7 (OT);
195:
Hawkins (BN) dec. Vermillion, 12-7;
220:
Mueller (SR) won by forfeit;
285:
Reecher (BN) maj. dec. Russo, 10-0;
106:
Castro (SR) pinned Simonovsky, 4:57.
SOUTH RIVER 32, SOUTHERN 18
120:
Owens (SR) tech. fall. Sharpe, 18-3;
126:
Julian (SO) dec. Mayhew, 5-2;
132:
Lunsford (SR) pinned Francis, 4:22;
138:
Puccinelli (SR) dec. Jewell, 4-1;
145
: Bassett (SO) dec. Peters, 11-4;
152:
Mills (SO) dec. Leone, 6-2;
160:
McKenzie (SO) dec. Hoover, 2-1;
170:
Raines (SR) dec. Holt, 7-3;
182:
Rudisill (SR) dec. Cosh, 5-2;
195:
Vermillion (SR) wins by forfeit;
220:
Mueller (SR) dec. Langer, 3-2;
285:
Intile (SO) dec. Russo, 6-3 (OT);
106:
Mackowiak (SR) dec. Carrier, 10-5;
113:
Rounceville (SO) dec. Kinohi, 6-0.