Bellwood-Antis defeated Southern Huntingdon 42-18 on Jan. 20, 1972 for the Blue Devils first victory after dropping their first six duals of the season in just the third season of wrestling at B-A under head coach Darrell Claar, who started the program in 1969.
Dave Patton got B-A off to a good start at 95, with a quick takedown and fall, in just 0:33.
Henry Davinsizer (112) and Charlie Carruthers (120) scored back-to-back falls. Davinsizer grabbed a takedown and recorded the pin in 1:08, while Carruthers opened up a 7-0 lead before showing his opponent the lights in 3:07.
At 127, Mark Ivory gave up the first points on a takedown, but reversed his foe and added two predicament points to take the lead. A second-period reversal upped Mark’s advantage to 6-2 and with a point at the end the match for riding time, Ivory prevailed 7-2.
Shelly Marshall made it four straight B-A triumphs, picking up a penalty point and reversal in the second period at 133, and a point for riding time for a 4-0 shutout.
Rick Bilka notched a pair of takedowns, an escape and riding time for a 6-0 win at 145, and Bob Dressel, although leading just 2-0 after two periods, turned it on with a reversal and three nearfall points in the final two minutes, plus a point for riding time for a solid 8-0 victory.
Mike Estep at 180, and heavyweight Dan Shenck closed out the dual meet with pins. Estep tallied a first-period takedown and two second-period predicament points before decking his opponent in 2:30, and Shenck and his opponent rolled each other around for a total of five second-period reversals before Danny clamped his man for the fall in 1:32.
On Jan. 22, 1991, Bellwood-Antis dropped four of five weight classes in the middle of the lineup after being tied 15-15 with West Branch after the 135-pound match and the Warriors went on to a 39-33 win over B-A.
Ben Weber got the Blue Devils off and running with a fall in 2:53 at 103. Weber registered a takedown and three back points for a 5-0 first-period advantage and when his opponent chose the bottom position to begin the second period and Weber turned him for the pin.
West Branch cut the deficit in half when Tom Sutton rode a first-period takedown all the way to a 2-1 win over freshman Tony Montanaro at 112.
At 130, Vince Shank wrapped up his man early in the second period and worked for the fall in 2:32, to bring the Blue Devils to within three points in the team score. Devon Desch got a 4-0 start at 135, with a takedown and two nearfall points, than added a reversal and another takedown for an 8-2 win that knotted the score at 15-15.
West Branch turned on the bonus power then with two more forfeit wins and two pins to put the match out of reach.
The only B-A wrestler to break through between 140 and 189 was Jim Focht, who used a takedown and three sets of nearfalls, at 152, to lead 10-0 at the end of the first period and then added the pin at the 2:39 mark.
With the Warriors out in front 39-21, Gerald Whitaker pinned his foe at 189, in 2:46, while in a scoreless second-period draw and Chris Himes wasted no time at heavyweight in grabbing a takedown, back points and then the fall in just 0:38 to close the final margin to 39-33.
Bellwood-Antis thrashed Moshannon Valley 43-18 on Jan. 25, 1994. The Blue Devils had a long way to go for what was a home meet on the schedule. The extreme cold weather forced postponement from the week before and the dual was transferred to Moshannon Valley.
Although the weather was cold and all the wrestlers looked a bit rusty from the long enforced layoff, only a tough 1-0 decision at 130, kept the red-hot Blue Devils from winning all of the first 10 weight classes.
Sophomore Mike McCready (10-1) notched his team-leading seventh pin, getting his man in 0:59 to start the dual at 103. At 112, Marshall Sipes (9-5) made it three falls in as many duals by decking his opponent in 5:22. Sipes had to come-from-behind after trailing originally 2-0 in the early going.
Sophomore Lloyd Rogers (1-3) made his first varsity win a big one with four takedowns, an escape, a reversal and three nearfall points for a 14-2 major decision at 119. Nick Montanaro (11-3) scored a first period takedown and then traded reversals for a 4-2 win at 125. Black Knight 130-pounder Jim Keith’s second-period escape proved to be the only score against Ryan Hostler in a 1-0 Mo Valley win that stopped the Blue Devils temporarily.
At 135, B-A senior Tony Montanaro (12-0) notched eight takedowns and five back points on the way to a 22-5 tech fall. The takedown parade gave Montanaro a new school record, eclipsing the old mark of 38 held by Bob Schmittle. Montanaro would total 62 before the year was over.
Jason Highduch and Comanche Garcia followed with pins at 140 and 145 , to give B-A an unsurmountable lead. Highduch (12-1) led 8-0 when he pinned his man and in a battle which had the crowd buzzing, Garcia (11-1) led 5-1 when he quickly reversed and pinned his man in 2:30.
Shane Torsell improved his record to 9-3, but had to go into overtime before pulling out an 8-6 win at 152 and Joe Highduch (9-2) completed the scoring for B-A and winning coach Pat Detterbeck with a solid 11-3 major decision.
