Tyrone got off to a strong start Tuesday night at Huntingdon, then blitzed through the middle of the Bearcat lineup to secure a 34-31 victory. The Eagles own a lopsided 33-6-1 advantage in the long series with Huntingdon.
The match started at 215 pounds and the Golden Eagles came out hot.
Justin Clark moved up from 189 to face Brad Hollenbaugh in his varsity debut. Clark got the opening takedown, but Hollenbaugh reversed and the bout was tied 2-2 after the first period. Hollenbaugh took the lead with a reversal early in the second, but Clark reversed back and recorded the fall at 3:30.
Huntingdon’s Damien Gresko moved up to heavyweight to square off with Terry Tate in a pivotal early bout.
Following a scoreless first period, Tate’s escape was the only scoring in the second. Gresko reversed early in the third to take the lead, but Tate escaped midway through the stanza, then picked up a takedown with 34 seconds left and won a 4-3 decision to give the Eagles a 9-0 lead in the match.
At 103, Huntingdon started a comeback bid when Jim Ciccarelli headlocked Robert Waite. Ciccarelli couldn’t get the fall, but led 8-0 at the buzzer. Waite reversed in the second, but Ciccarelli picked up a takedown and penalty point in the third for an 11-2 major decision.
The Bearcats took their only lead of the night when Scott Bilich (112) won by default in 0:01 to injured Andrew Hiller.
Tyrone then won six of the next seven bouts to ice the victory.
At 119, Dane McCloskey had a takedown and two-point nearfall in the first period before pinning Eric Harlow in 2:28 to put the Eagles back on top by 15-10.
At 125, Thad Westley took Eric Fye down to his back and scored the fall at the 1:20 mark.
The Eagles’ Brett Harris (130) used three takedowns and eight nearfall points to race to an 18-5 major win over Eric Yingling, then Dave Miller (135) held off a strong finish by Huntingdon’s Chris Meyers to claim a 10-7 victory that gave the Eagles a 28-10 advantage.
Huntingdon stopped the bleeding briefly at 140 when Jon Riley used three takedowns to earn an 8-4 win over Adam Swayne, but Tyrone won the next two decision to put the match out of reach.
Brice Mertiff (145) headlocked the Bearcats’ Todd Fetzer for five points late in the second period, then had another five-point reversal at the end of the third to early a 13-7 victory. J.D. Shaw (152) the held off a third-period surge by the Bearcats’ Jeff Hollenbaugh for an 11-7 win to make it 34-13 with just through weights left.
Huntingdon won each of the last three bouts. Paul East (160) used a half nelson to turn Chris Tremmel in the second period and pressed for the pin at the 2:58 mark. Tremmel held a 2-0 lead at the time.
The Bearcats’ Brad Clark (171) and Tyrone’s Blake Cowfer battled through two scoreless periods before Clark took the lead with an escape and takedown early in the third. Clark then turned Cowfer for the fall at the 5:19 mark.
In the final weight of the night, Huntingdon’s Matt Cousins received a forfeit to set the final score.
Tyrone will be back in action Thursday evening, traveling to Hollidaysburg.
Tyrone 34, Huntingdon 31
215 — Justin Clark (T) pinned Brad Hollenbaugh, 3:30.
275 — Terry Tate (T) dec. Damien Gresko, 4-3.
103 — Jim Ciccarelli (H) major dec. Robert Waite, 11-2.
112 — Scott Bilich (H) by injury default over Andrew Hiller, 0:01.
119 — Dane McCloskey (T) pinned Eric Harlow, 2:28.
125 — Thad Westley (T) pinned Eric Fye, 1:20.
130 — Brett Harris (T) major dec. Eric Yingling, 18-5.
135 — Dave Miller (T) dec. Chris Meyers, 10-7.
140 — Jon Riley (H) dec. Adam Swayne, 8-4.
145 — Brice Mertiff (T) dec. Todd Fetzer, 13-7.
152 — J.D. Shaw (T) dec. Jeff Hollenbaugh, 11-7.
160 — Paul East (H) pinned Chris Tremmel, 2:58.
171 — Brad Clark (H) pinned Blake Cowfer, 5:19.
189 — Matt Cousins (H) won by forfeit.
