Owings Mills senior Bryan Richardson, considered the spark plug that makes the Eagles soar, started Thursday night's match against Baltimore County rival Catonsville with authority, pinning his opponent with 43 seconds left in the first period of his 130-pound match.
That pin was the first of six for No. 7 Owings Mills - which was wrestling with two injured starters and several competitors stepping up to different weight classes - and set the stage for the Eagles' 45-21 victory. Owings Mills improved to 16-0 on the season, while Catonsville slipped to 8-2.
"We had a lot of injuries and a lot of things working against us," said Richardson, who is 22-1 this season. "But we faced the adversity and pulled through. We didn't think we'd lose, but we know Catonsville has a good team and we knew it would be tough."
Catonsville coach Eric Warm said he knew going into the match that the Eagles had the upper hand, injured or not.
"They're powerful all the way through their lineup, and I have a couple of holes," said Warm, who even had freshman Chris Lutz wrestling his first varsity match. "We had a couple swing matches at 145, 152, 160 and 189 [pounds] that didn't go our way. Against a team like Owings Mills, every little slip, every little mistake, every move you don't finish, they'll make you pay for it.
"But while our team lost, we had individuals who won, and I think this match will inspire all of my guys to work harder. Even the guys who won wanted to wrestle better."
One of Catonsville's winners, senior Tyler Weedon, wrestled up a weight class at heavyweight, earning a hard-fought, 3-1 decision, and couldn't help but admire the competition.
"We all wanted to win," Weedon said. "But they're really tough, and they work really hard."
From his side of the mat, Owings Mills coach Guy Pritzker was impressed by what he saw from his own team.
"As a whole, my team wrestled unbelievable tonight," said Pritzker, whose team lost a point in the final score when the coaches were called for unsportsmanlike conduct during the 152-pound match between Eagle Taran Carr and Comet David Kelsey, with Owings Mills holding a 10-6 team lead.
Pritzker was particularly pleased with Larry Johnson (160), who defeated Casey Lynott, the second-ranked wrestler at his weight in the county, 5-4.