Get as many points as you can in the lower weights and build enough of a lead to survive the heavies. That is the blueprint to beat Susquenita on the mat.
If you can’t do that, you might as well fire up the bus and get it pointed in the opposite direction because you are going home with a loss.
That’s what happened to Milton Hershey Monday night. The Spartans were flat and trailed by a point heading into the last six matches, the meat of the Blackhawks’ order from 160 through heavyweight.
The Blackhawks captured five of those bouts, four by pin and one by major decision, to sprint away to a 50-27 route and remain undefeated in the Capital Division.
“I expect a lot from them, sometimes more than I probably should,” Blackhawks coach Rusty Wallace Sr. said of his upper weights.
“Their points are crucial. They know that, and they usually deliver. “I’m very pleased. We wrestled well, even Saturday [at the Central York Duals]. We came out tonight ready to go.”
This one was a team effort.
The Blackhawks (8-2, 3-0) had two forfeits in the lineup. Trying to make up 12 points made every takedown, every escape and falls critical, especially in the lower weights where Wallace’s team isn’t as strong.
It didn’t look that way to start the match. Allen Jacobs (106) and Corey Sheibley (113) opened up with pins — Sheibley pulled a nifty stack on David Wells — to spot the Blackhawks a 12-0 lead.
Mitch Clark got the Spartans on the board with a 10-5 decision over Matt Mitchell at 120. But even in victory, you could tell this was going to be a long night for the visitors.
The Spartans had a 17-day layoff before returning to school Jan. 6. They had four practices and looked sluggish and flat-footed, while the Blackhawks were in attack mode.
It showed in Jonathan Daum’s 1:29 pin over Oliver Delgado-Martin. The Blackhawks junior trailed 5-2 before locking in a cradle and adding six points to his team’s score.
“I got caught in a headlock,” Daum said. “I was a little scared at first. I wasn’t expecting that. Lucky enough, I was able to get out. I got a cradle and stuck him.”
Said Spartans head coach Jimmy Taylor, “We were very flat. The frustrating part is that I can’t fix it because we have three matches this week. But take nothing away from Rusty and Susquenita, they were well conditioned, had solid moves and they wanted it a little more than us.”
Nick Cain scored a 13-3 major over Charles Alvino at 132, and the Blackhawks were up 22-3. Charles Waple’s pin at 138 and a pair of forfeits got the Spartans to within 22-21 headed to 160.
“I felt comfortable after we cleared that hurdle [giving up two forfeits],” Wallace said. “I knew we would get pins. I just didn’t know how many.”
Enough.
The Blackhawks went on a rampage, winning five of the last six matches. Kyle Kenny downed Eric Shirley 9-1, and Josh Mann (170), Todd Mullen (182) and Jay Bennett followed with falls. Mullen had the quickest tally, planting Jermaine McQueen in 1:12 after a takedown.
“It’s always big getting pins when you have a bunch of forfeits,” Daum said. “We have to make up team points and get to the heavier weights. Now, it’s on to Northern and hopefully, things keep going well for us.”
One of the few bright spots for the Spartans came at 220. Christian Gallitz made short work of Chase Hare, pinning him in 13 seconds to make it 44-27. Brent Sterner capped the Blackhawks scoring with a pin of Sal Grove in 1:14.
“We will regroup,” Taylor said. “We have senior night tomorrow against Bishop McDevitt and will try to improve Thursday against Northern before gearing up for a big match with Hershey.
“We are gearing up for two things, we want to make districts and beat Hershey.”
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