Road work

NEW PARIS - At around 11:30 Tuesday morning, Bedford coach Brian Creps and Huntingdon coach Jon Mykut received phone calls informing them their match time had been moved from 6 p.m. to 3 p.m. because of impending winter weather.

About four hours later, Bedford 103-pounder Nate Roadman answered the call to be a hero in the PIAA Team Duals first-round match at Chestnut Ridge's Richard W. Fisher Gymnasium.

With his team trailing by 12 and his bout with Ethan Everetts tied, 2-2, Roadman, a freshman, reversed Everetts to his back and pinned him in 2:40.

It brought his teammates out of their chairs in celebration in the unusually quiet gym and kickstarted the District 5 champion Bisons to a 34-28 white-knuckle win over the District 6 runner-up Bearcats.

"It's pretty nice," Roadman said. "My first match, I had to win to win the match against Claysburg. I wasn't even thinking. I was just moving."

"That started to turn the momentum back to us," said Creps after the program's 697th win. "We had to weather the storm up above and not get too far behind. Down below, we had to take it too them, and that's what we did."

"Our guys wrestled hard, battled the whole time," Mykut said. "They have nothing to be ashamed of. Give Bedford credit. They're a good team. They just had a little more than we had today."

The match was not only moved up three hours, both teams were coming off late nights in their respective district duals. Bedford (15-0) didn't finish until 10:30 Monday night, and Huntingdon (18-3) didn't get home until after 11.

"I think it affected both teams," Creps said. "In some matches, we saw some sluggish boys. It's a shame that it had to be done this way, but you have to get the matches in."

Bedford's Tanner Ripple opened the meet with a 4-2 win over Addison Yingling at 140. At 145, Huntingdon's Josh Bafia trailed Doug Weyandt, 6-2, in the first period, but he rallied to take a 7-6 lead. Weyandt received a stalling point with 4 seconds left, but Bafia got a takedown before the buzzer to win, 9-7.

Pins by Huntingdon's Nick Marter at 152 and Alex Miller at 171 were sandwiched around a fall by Bedford's Brian Gibbons (160). 'Cat 189-pounder Jake Reid made a third-period escape stand in a 1-0 win over Mat Browell.

Jake Krupa, ranked third by the Mirror, earned the first big Bedford win when he beat second-ranked Corey Stuller, 4-2, at 215.

After the third of six scoreless first periods, Krupa put Stuller on his back with a half nelson for two points, and he received a penalty point for unsportsmanlike conduct. Krupa escaped in the fourth before Stuller got two late stalling points.

"Krupa was sick all day," Creps said. "I didn't even know if he was going to be able to wrestle. He spent all day in the nurse's room, so it was nice for him to go out and get a win."

Huntingdon 285-pounder Nick Shope, down 1-0 to Kaleb Crawley, reversed Crawley to his back and pinned him in 4:44, making the score 24-12. Roadman, ranked fifth by the Mirror, then gave the the Bisons a shot in the arm.

"That was one that probably could have gone either way," Mykut said. "Then we got caught and pinned, and that's going to happen in a wrestling match."

Kie Brown put the momentum back on the 'Cats side with a late takedown of Caleb Grimes and two nearfall points for a 12-2 major decision.

Creps then had a choice at 119, and he chose to have Steve Geisler go at 119 and move Cory Thomas up to 125. Geisler broke a 1-1 tie with Jacob Barnish in the third by taking Barnish down to his back for four points and a 5-1 win.

Thomas, the school's career pins leader, took care of business by cradling Vova Boyd for the fall in 1:38. With Huntingdon holding a 28-27 lead, Bedford 130-pounder Zach Maust took Dylan Gutshall down with 24 seconds left to win, 3-1.

"Zach was very patient," Creps said. "At the end, whenever Gutshall started to get tired, Zach got a good shot off and was able to take him down. That was a great win by Zach."

Trey Easter, one of the heroes in the senior night win over Northern Bedford, jumped out to a 7-1 lead over Nathan Mykut en route to an 18-5 major decision in the final bout.

The Bisons will now prepare for their third straight trip to Hershey and a 9 a.m. second-round match Friday at the Giant Center against District 11 champion Pen Argyl.

"We've come together as a team," Creps said, "and our boys have gotten better and better every week. The guys that haven't been down there before, it's a good experience. You're going back to the big time, and that's what they dream of. When you come through Bedford, this is what they talk about."

140-Ripple, B, dec. Yingling, 4-2; 145-Bafia, H, dec. Weyandt, 9-7; 152-Marter, H, pinned Evans, 1:38; 160-Gibbons, B, pinned Na. Shope, 2:53; 171-Miller, H, pinned Yingling, 1:09; 189-Reid, H, dec. Browell, 1-0; 215-Krupa, B, dec. Stuller, 4-2.

285-Ni. Shope, H, pinned Crawley, 4:44; 103-Roadman, B, pinned Everetts, 2:40; 112-Brown, H, maj. dec. Grimes, 12-2; 119-Geisler, B, dec. Barnish, 5-1; 125-Thomas, B, pinned Boyd, 1:38; 130-Maust, B, dec. Gutshall, 3-1; 135-Easter, B, maj. dec. Mykut, 18-5.

Records: Huntingdon (18-3); Bedford (15-0).