BELLWOOD - Moshannon Valley's experienced upperweights will win a lot of bouts and score a lot of bonus points this season.
So when the pre-match weight selection came at 170, it made Mo Valley first-year coach Justin Fye very happy.
The Black Knights swept the first five weights with four pins and a forfeit win to amass a 30-0 lead. The short
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Photo for the Mirror by Michael Czap
Moshannon?Valley’s Kent Stewart (left) takes down Bellwood’s Matt Jenkins at 182 pounds.
handed Blue Devils did their best to come back in the lighter weights, but the strong start carried the Knights to a 48-30 win Tuesday night.
"There were a couple guys on Saturday [at the Blairsville Duals, where the Knights went 4-1] that didn't wrestle their best," Fye said, "and they knew that. Once we knew what weight we were starting at, we talked about setting the tone, and they definitely set the tone. They came out hard and wrestling for pins."
"They have a lot of experienced kids, and we have a lot of very inexperienced kids," B-A coach Ron Wilson said after his team's dual meet debut. "We just have to be patient and see what we can get them to by the end of the year."
The match lasted only a half an hour because all nine bouts that were wrestled ended in falls. There were four forfeits (three given up by B-A) and a no bout at 106 in the other five.
"That was pretty much the night - pin or be pinned," Wilson said.
After MV's Tyler Martin won by forfeit at 170 to begin the meet, sophomore 182-pounder Kent Stewart built an 11-3 lead on Matt Jenkins before Jenkins took him down to his back for five points. Stewart, however, escaped, took Jenkins down and pinned him in 2:50.
"Kent will give you 150 percent all day long," Fye said. "I told him 'I haven't seen you actually wrestle like yourself yet. Go out and do it.' He kind of got stuck in a bad position, but he was being aggressive. He had some great takedowns and he finished it off."
James Stodart pinned Keith Shawley in 1:07 at 195, and 220-pounder Jake Ludwig headlocked Kyler Maceno to his back and pinned him in 33 seconds. Jack Bunnell followed with a pin of Alec Bowers in 35 seconds at 285.
B-A 113-pounder Kyle Fink stopped Mo Valley's run by cradling Bill Bryan to his back and getting the pin in 1:36.
After Mo Valley's Andrew Ohler won by forfeit at 120, B-A's Jared Woomer, who took sixth at the Southwest Regional last year, built a 12-0 lead on Bryce Bloom before hitting a cement job. The end came in 2:37.
A forfeit win by Mo Valley's Dylan Fudalski at 132 was followed by the longest bout of the night at 138. B-A's Nick Torsell built an 8-1 lead on Michael Selvage before putting Selvage on his back and getting the fall in 5:03.
"He was aggressive," Wilson said. "He wrestled real nice this past weekend [at the Conemaugh Township Tournament]. He's going to make some big strides as the season goes on."
Fye moved Jhett Wilks up to 152 and forfeited to Trevor Helsley at 145. The result was B-A's Cameron Astore pinning Wilks in 1:16.
"Our 145-pounder hasn't been wrestling a long time," Fye said. "I didn't want to put him out against Helsley because he's pretty tough."
Mo Valley's Tanner Dipko moved up to 160 and pinned Corey Campbell in 42 seconds to close the meet.
"We knew they would have some good guys through the middle weights," Fye said. "I'll give it up to Coach Wilson. Their kids wrestled hard. They were out there trying to win just like we were trying to win.
"Our goal is to go 4-0 this week. The guys are wrestling hard. We have three good, hard days of practice to get ready for this weekend [at the Everett Duals). If they keep working hard, I think our team is only going to get better. I was very happy with how we did."
170-Martin, MV, won by forfeit; 182-Stewart, MV, pinned Jenkins, 2:50; 195-Stodart, MV, pinned Shawley, 1:07; 220-J. Ludwig, MV, pinned Maceno, :33; 285-Bunnell, MV, pinned Bowers, :35; 106-No bout; 113-Fink, BA, pinned Bryan, 1:36.
120-Ohler, MV, won by forfeit; 126-Woomer, BA, pinned Bloom, 2:37; 132-Fudalski, MV, won by forfeit; 138-Torsell, BA, pinned Selvage, 5:03; 145-Helsley, BA, won by forfeit; 152-Astore, BA, pinned Wilks, 1:16; 160-Dipko, MV, pinned Campbell, :42.
Records: Moshannon Valley (5-1); Bellwood-Antis (0-1).
