Kyler Suhoney

TYRONE — Was it the pre-match Buffalo chicken dip from the concession stand or Tyrone’s propensity to throw headlocks and hip tosses from anywhere on the mat that fueled the Golden Eagles against Penn Cambria on Tuesday night?

“I think what happened was we had Buffalo chicken dip, so we were a little bit spicy tonight,” Tyrone coach Quentin Wright joked. “So we went out there and wrestled kind of like that.”

The spicy Golden Eagles recorded five falls, including pins by Coltyn Frye at 139 and Kyler Suhoney at 215, both of whom were losing when big moves netted them falls. The Panthers had four falls, but Tyrone rolled to a 53-24 win.

“I know based on (Penn Cambria’s) past dual results, we had a chance to go out and compete with them,” Wright said. “Truly that score is a little bit deceiving because there were two or three matches where we were losing and we came back and got the pin. At the beginning of the season, we were winning and getting pinned.”

“The headlocks killed us. The big moves killed us,” Penn Cambria coach Todd Niebauer said. “They (Tyrone) are well coached. They’re never out of a match. That’s the Quentin Wright style. Quentin Wright loved the headlock, but he could leg-attack from anywhere too. They lulled us asleep a couple times and got us.”

Soon after the Tyrone elementary wrestlers were recognized and were very vocal before the match, the Golden Eagles (2-3) benefitted from three forfeit wins by Tanner Walk at 107, Jonah Wicker at 114 and Cohen Gwinn at 127.

The Panthers (3-6) actually won the first two bouts on the mat. Keaton Brooks picked up a pin in 2:13 at 121, while Dominic Berardinelli used a couple big moves to win by fall in 1:27 at 133.

At 139, Penn Cambria’s Cameron Coudriet scored the opening takedown of Frye in the first minute, but Frye escaped. Later in the period, Frye took Coudriet down to his back, and referee Randy Jarrett slapped the mat with eight tenths of a second left on the clock.

“Coltyn Frye works in practice every day,” Wright said. “He’s got quite a bit of spice in him, where sometimes he’s getting pinned and sometimes he’s flipping the guys over and pinning them. That’s just how he wrestles. I kind of hold my breath when he wrestles because it’s going one way or the other.

With the Eagles holding a 24-12 lead, Tyrone 145-pounder Rhys Rawlings got his fall in 50 seconds.

At 152, Tyrone’s Miles Weber followed with a fall in 1:38 for his first win on the mat to make the score 36-12.

Penn Cambria’s Nate Mack, who finished fourth at the Laurel Highlands Conference Tournament on Saturday, stopped Tyrone’s run at 160. Even Mack had to be wary of Isaiah Suhoney, who came out aggressively. Mack withstood Suhoney’s early aggression and won by fall in 1:13.

Tyrone’s Mason VanAllman, who was third at the LHAC, rang up a 15-0 technical fall in 1:59 over Michael Watt at 172.

LHAC champion Kyle Scott (18-0) scored three takedowns of Landon Simala before winning by fall in 35 seconds at 189. It was the second-ranked Scott’s 135th career win.

“Kyle Scott is a very respectful kid,” Niebauer said. “He’s gotten a brand new kid from my school twice, and he did his job. He did it the right way. And that’s the kind of things that are good for wrestling. He knows he’s way better than my new kid, and he handles himself with a lot of dignity.”

A win didn’t seem to be in the cards for Kyler Suhoney as Jesse Horning built a 10-3 lead on two takedowns, a reversal, an interlocking penalty and a third-period escape. Following the escape, Suhoney took Horning down to his back and pinned him in 4:33, thrilling the Tyrone bench and leaving the Panthers in shock.

“With Kyler Suhoney, we worked once or twice in practice on this is how you throw a guy,” Wright said. “He was able to get it in the match, and it made a big difference. I tell people you can pin somebody you can’t beat.”

Penn Cambria’s Revin Gouchnour finished the dual meet with a pin in 16 seconds at 285.

“Revin needed that one,” Niebauer said. “He’s been sick and needed a win. He works hard and it just hasn’t been happening for him. That was one he really, really needed.”

When asked what he thought about his team at this point, Wright slightly altered a favorite quote of legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.

“We’re not as bad as we think we are, and we’re not as good as we think we are,” Wright said. “Being from this area, I probably did get it from him.”

107–Walk, T, won by forfeit; 114–Wicker, T, won by forfeit; 121–Brooks, PC, pinned Veloz, 2:13; 127–Gwinn, T, won by forfeit; 133–Berardinelli, PC, pinned Parks, 1:27; 139–Frye, T, pinned Coudriet, 1:59; 145–Rawlings, T, pinned Shoemaker, :50

152–Weber, T, pinned Mardula, 1:38; 160–Mack, PC, pinned I. Suhoney, 1:13; 172–VanAllman, T, tech fall Watt, 15-0, 1:59; 189–Scott, T, pinned Simala, :35; 215–K. Suhoney, T, pinned Horning, 4:33; 285–Gouchnour, PC, pinned Eaken, :16.

Records: Penn Cambria (3-6), Tyrone (2-3)

Exhibition winners: Hoffman, T; Pluebell, T

Referee: Randy Jarrett.