WINFIELD — Sometimes staying off your back is more important in wrestling than keeping your opponent on his.
South Carroll found that to be true Tuesday in an important early-season dual meet with county rival Westminster, which started strong against the home team. But the Cavaliers, with coach Bryan Hamper wringing his hands on many of the matchups, avoided serious damage by not allowing too many bonus points, which paid off in the end.
SC reeled off seven wins in the final nine bouts, capped by a pin from state champion Jamar Williams in the finale, and edged the Owls 39-33 to hand Westminster its first county loss of the season.
"Not a lot of experience in our upper weights, but they stepped up in a huge way," said Hamper, his voice hoarse and head sweaty following an intense clash. "They kept decisions where it could have been pins, and bonus points was the difference in the match tonight."
Westminster led 21-0 after five matches, with pins from Austin Raines (182 pounds) and Chris Gartell (285). The Owls had momentum, but South Carroll felt fine thanks to defensive efforts from Patrick Kelly (170), Talmadge Eller (195), and Doug Summerlin (220).
They all lost their matches, but instead of giving up six team points for being pinned, Kelly, Eller and Summerlin each allowed three.
The deficit was manageable, Hamper said, and then things turned.
First-year wrestler Evan Hock (106) got a pin that fueled the Cavs, who outscored the Owls 39-12 in the final nine bouts. Shane Conners (152) notched a technical fall over Nic Boyle that tied the score at 33 before Williams pinned Matt Yingling in 1 minute, 17 seconds.
"When he went out there and pinned the guy, it gave the whole team a new shot of energy," said SC's Jake Mackenzie, who scored a 12-4 major decision at 145 pounds that trimmed Westminster's lead to 31-28.
South Carroll improved to 4-1 and assumed first place in the Carroll County Athletic League standings at 2-0.
Meanwhile, Westminster fell to 12-6, 3-1, and coach Mike Flemming said the Owls could have been more aggressive in certain weight classes to better their team score along the way.
"We talk about four fights in practice," Flemming said. "Sometimes we're fighting the crowd; sometimes we're fighting the officials; sometimes we're fighting our opponent; sometimes we're fighting ourselves. It was a message that was really good for the kids, and a night like tonight you can see that — seven [wins] to seven, split right down the middle.
"The difference is going to come down to bonus points."
Westminster hosts a holiday dual-meet tourney next week, and both the Owls and Cavs will be in action but won't be facing each other (Liberty and Manchester Valley are also in the 12-team field).
The matches aren't official in the county standings, but South Carroll had the edge heading into 2016 thanks to Tuesday's performance.
"I feel like at every weight, the guys really went out there and they got after it," Hamper said. "And that's what you're looking for in a county match. Westminster has beaten us the last two years; they're always a strong opponent, and guys came out and got after it today."
170: Garrett Vandervalk (W) dec. Patrick Kelly 11-5.
182: Austin Raines (W) pin Carlo Grasso 1:17.
195: Andrew Raines (W) dec. Talmadge Eller 10-5.
220: Jamie Rodriguez (W) dec. Doug Summerlin 7-1.
285: Chris Gartrell (W) pin Jason Money 0:49.
106: Evan Hock (SC) pin Colin Moore 2:00.
113: Joey Thomas (SC) by forfeit.
120: Cam Werner (SC) pin Mike Thomas 1:53.
126: Ryker Eckenbarger (W) pin Grayson Eller 0:50.
132: Tom Boldosser (SC) pin Andrew Swartz 1:16.
138: Brad Walsh (W) pin Joey Judson 4:34.
145: Jake Mackenzie (SC) m-dec. Riley Eckenbarger 12-4.
152: Shane Conners (SC) tech fall Nic Boyle 15-0.
160: Jamar Williams (SC) pin Matt Yingling 1:17.
pat.stoetzer@carrollcountytimes.com
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