MARTINSBURG — When Central’s lead over Hollidaysburg was whittled to 12 points going into the final two bouts, the scoring table and fans started figuring what the dual meet tiebreaker criteria was.

Hollidaysburg’s Rocco Cacciotti’s pin at 215 pounds drew the Golden Tigers to within six points and increased the possibility of a tie at the end of the dual meet.

But then Central’s Blair Miller ended that threat at 285 pounds. The junior pinned workout partner Scott Payne in 2:38 to secure the Scarlet Dragons’ 41-29 victory before a vocal home crowd.

“I knew it was going to be a tough match,” Miller said. “We were always practice partners (at Gorilla House Gym). You have to keep that mindset about who’s going to win. At the end of the day, I thought I was going to win.”

“That was a great win,” Central coach Dave Marko said. “So many kids stepped up. Even the kids that lost fought. I can’t say enough about the guys right now.”

The dual meet started off with a matchup of returning regional qualifiers in Hollidaysburg’s Connor Sidney and Central’s Ty Matthews at 107.

After a scoreless first period, the wrestlers found themselves in a long flurry that resulted in Sidney getting an escape with 57.7 seconds left in the second period. Sidney defended a Matthews shot at the end of the second and rode for almost the entire third period.

“Absolutely,” Marko said when asked if Matthews set the tone for the meet. “It was so close in the second period. I thought we not only had points but also back points in the second period. He scrapped. He scrambled well.”

In the final 10 seconds, Matthews worked hard to get a reversal and referee Tyler Morder awarded him the winning reversal right before the final buzzer. The 2-1 win fired up the Central bench and the fans.

“I’m sure there’s a very good chance those two will see each other this weekend (at the Panther Holiday Classic) or the LHAC,” Marko said. “It will be a fun one again.”

“I hope Connor is going to learn from this,” Hollidaysburg coach Christian Harr said. “He can find some positives from it. He wrestled all but the last 10 seconds to where he was controlling the match and getting in positions he wanted to wrestle in.”

After Hollidaysburg’s Landon Krupka won by forfeit at 114, Golden Tiger 121-pounder Brayden Sidney rang up an 18-2 technical fall in just 2:00, giving Hollidaysburg (1-2) an 11-3 lead.

Central’s Carsen Mowery won by forfeit at 127 before teammate Bailey Wilt moved up to 133 and picked up a pin in 2:16, giving the 3-1 Scarlet Dragons a lead they didn’t relinquish. Central reeled off wins from 127 to 160.

Central’s Joel Morris moved up to 139 and earned 19-4 technical fall in 5:42. Teammate Bryer Mickel bumped up to 145 and rolled to a 15-0 technical fall in 4:42.

“Joel Morris basically jumped up two weight classes,” Marko said. “Joel will be at 127 this weekend.”

After Dominic Moore won by forfeit at 152, Central’s Kaden Horn scored early and often against Tyler Rodgers at 160. Horn built a 10-2 lead after one period and 14-4 after two periods. Rodgers got two stalling points in the third to set the final at 14-6.

“Kaden ate today to be able to weigh enough to bump up,” Marko said. “We don’t want our senior captain taking a forfeit. By him securing the major was what enabled us to be in a situation where effectively the match was over.”

With Central holding a 35-11 lead, Hollidaysburg got back into the meet quickly. A pin in 32 seconds by Blake Kennedy at 172 and a forfeit win by freshman star Keegan Hewitt at 189 made the score 35-23.

Thoughts of tiebreaker criteria arose. Central would have won on criteria D, which is greater number of matches won. Still it made for some drama with Cacciotti’s pin in 1:35 and the 285-pounders taking the mat.

Miller got a first-period takedown of Payne, who went 23-15 as a freshman last season, and took a 3-0 lead into the second period. Miller then reversed Payne to his back and got the fall in 2:38.

“It felt great,” Miller said. “I was happy our team won. It was just a good overall team win.”

“We have a lot of confidence in Blair,” Marko said. “I think Blair has worked and positioned himself into a really big season.”

“You can’t ask for a better scenario,” Harr said. “Those two are buddies. Scotty made a mistake in the second period, got a little high (on his ride) and he got punished for it. The name of the game is staying in good position, and Blair wrestled a pretty good match.”

107–T. Matthews, C, dec. C. Sidney, 2-1; 114–Krupka, H, won by forfeit; 121–B. Sidney, H, tech fall N. Morris, 18-2, 2:00; 127–Mowery, C, won by forfeit; 133–Wilt, C, pinned C. Parks, 2:16; 139–J. Morris, C, tech fall Detrick, 19-4, 3:59; 145–Mickel, C, tech fall Oswald, 15-0, 4:42

152–Moore, C, won by forfeit; 160–Horn, C, maj. dec. Rodgers, 14-6; 172–Kennedy, H, pinned Hart, :32; 189–Hewitt, H, won by forfeit; 215–Cacciott, H, pinned Brown, 1:35; 285–Miller, C, pinned Payne, 2:38.

Records: Hollidaysburg (1-2), Central (3-1)

Referee: Tyler Morder