Eighth-ranked South Carroll finished strongly against Northern of Calvert yesterday. The host Cavaliers scored victories in three of the final four bouts -- all by pins.
The problem, however, was what happened during the rest of the match.
Northern won seven of the first nine bouts -- five by pins -- to take a big early lead, and the Patriots rolled to a 41-28 victory over South Carroll in a Class 3A-4A dual-meet state semifinal yesterday.
Northern (16-2), the defending 3A-4A individual tournament champion, followed this victory with a 46-21 decision over Quince Orchard, in the state championship match.
Quince Orchard made the final round by defeating No. 4 Broadneck. The two teams finished in a 28-28 tie, but Quince Orchard won by first criteria (matches won).
South Carroll (14-3) has relied on the strength of its upper weights all season, and the Cavaliers hoped the big guys would come through again.
But the Cavaliers needed to stay close through the lower weights, and they were unable to do that. Northern quickly took command, scoring the five pins and clinching the victory with four bouts left.
"Northern, they beat us today," said South Carroll coach Pete Olson, whose team set a school record for victories. "They won when they had to win."
Paul Bevard (103) pinned South Carroll's Scott Whacter, and teammate Eric Miller followed with a pin of Kevin Danko for a quick 12-0 lead.
Chris Heard (119) scored a 15-3 victory over James Campbell for South Carroll before Paul Hayden came up with a big win for Northern. Dan Alberter (125) held a 2-1 lead in the final moments, but Hayden reversed him with one second left for a 3-2 victory and a 15-4 lead.
Dan Peiffer (130) of South Carroll pinned Barry Bevard, but the Cavaliers followed that with another tough loss. Kevin Sakalas' escape with three seconds left sent the bout into overtime, but Mike Simmons (135) of Northern came up with a takedown and three back points for a 13-8 victory.
Following that were pins from Joey Ridgeway (140), Sean Henley (145) and Jimmy Stone (152). The Stone pin of Andy Mann sealed the victory.
"We knew we had to keep it close in the lower weights," said Peiffer. "We knew we could get three or four pins at the end."
And the Cavaliers did get three pins at the end -- from Charlie Conaway (160), Mike Chenoweth (171) and heavyweight Dan McKennie -- but it was too late.
"I told them we wanted it won before we got past 152," said Northern coach Blaine Adams. "I knew we had to dominate from the first match through 152."
A bit of bad luck also hurt South Carroll. The Cavaliers lost the opening coin toss, and that let Northern force Olson's hand a bit in who he put on the mat in some key bouts.
Still, Olson had a smile on his face after the match.
"I'm proud of my guys," said Olson. "Hey, we were two matches away from being state champion. I'm not disappointed."