By CHUCK MARTINEZ

martinez@crescent-news.com

It hasn't taken long for the Defiance/Tinora mat rivalry to hit a full boil.

In just the third installment of the dual match between the city's 'big boy' and its north-side counterpart, there were blowout wins, close decisions and a heated showdown. But in the end it was the Bulldogs invading Tinora High School and going home with a 39-26 victory.

"They beat us last year and you always know that Tinora's going to bring a good team," said DHS head coach Josh Neilson. "They really gave us a handful tonight."

The victory gives the Bulldogs (1-1) their first dual match win of the season and gives the Division II squad the series lead, 3-2. For the Rams, a Division III team, they move to 1-1 in dual matches this season.

"There's not too much we could have done different," explained Tinora mentor Chad Rose. "We won the matches I thought we could. But I definitely think we improved (from the season opener) and I'm not upset with them and with the exception of one match I think we looked pretty good."

With each team being a few grapplers short of a full 14-person roster, it didn't take long for the gamesmanship to begin.

Defiance, which is normally short of a 215-pounder, sent junior Glenn Ward, a three-year starter, up one spot from his normal 189 to take on Tinora freshman Mark Moser.

Glenn came out fast, taking the frosh straight to the mat. But much like he did in the season opener, when he secured a win against Ayersville, Moser was unflappable as he turned the tables on Ward.

Down 5-3 with less than a minute remaining in the first period, Moser gratefully took the head and arm and turned it into a takedown and a quick three back points. Moments later, Moser put the Rams in front early, 6-0.

"(There were) a couple surprises," admitted Rose. "I told him (Mark) before the match: 'If I were Josh, I'd bump Ward up there to wrestle you.' They did and I though 'Oh man!' But what a match."

A void at 285 evened things up for Defiance and after a double void at 103, the Rams found themselves in the Bulldogs' wheelhouse.

Jacob Meyer lasted for nearly a minute before being unable to escape the grasp Defiance's sophomore state qualifier B.J. Miller. Miller, who is flawless this season at 6-0, turned Meyer in style and ended it with 1:09 showing on the clock to give Defiance its first lead, 12-6.

At 119, Tinora senior Shelyce Brown battled two-time district qualifier Jordan Gonzales into the second period before Gonzales (6-0) added another six to the DHS side of the scoreboard. And at 125, DHS' Cory Carnahan wasn't about to be outdone as he rounded out the DHS pinning trifecta with a :59 pin of his own to push the Bulldogs' lead to 18 points, 24-6.

But the Rams weren't about to roll over.

Last season, Joey Bodenbender earned the Rams a decision against Gonzales with a last-second turn. This year he faced another stiff test in Western Buckeye League champ Zach Hurst.

Bodenbender, however, didn't flinch. Instead, he dumped Hurst twice before getting three more points in the second period against the tough-to-turn DHS senior. As the third period rolled around, Bodenbender held a comfortable 7-0 lead and went on to earn an 11-2 major decision.

Josh Mangas took it a little closer to the wire at 135 before earning a 3-0 decision for the Rams. Teammate Jacob Hancock also won a close one, holding off a late-charging Clay Roehrig to win a 9-8 nail-biter at 140 to inch the Rams closer, 24-16.

With only three bouts left (the Bulldogs were forfeiting 189 and the Rams 171) it was do-or-die time and neither team backed down.

The Rams sent top gun Tom Blake on the mat while Terry Wagenhauser toed the line for DHS.

After falling behind early, Wagenhauser tied the score before the buzzer in the second period to knot the score at 4. In the third, Wagenhauser got the go-ahead switch before turning Blake with 40 ticks left to secure the 9-6 victory.

After an unsportsman-like call against Blake cost the Rams a shot at the team victory, teammate Tim Fuller picked up a pin for THS at 152 before Defiance senior Pat Millen closed the door.

Millen pounced on Alex Behrman and took a 7-0 lead before holding Behrman's shoulders flat to the mat for a one-minute pin that sealed the victory for the Bulldogs.

"I was fired up after that (match) at 145," admitted Millen. "I wanted to show them we could come out and beat them wrestling. We proved that we can do more than just hang and hopefully this win puts us on a roll (heading into Thursday)."

The Bulldogs return to action Friday when they host a five-team Western Buckeye League pool tournament while the Rams host their Backhaus Invitational on Saturday.

SUMMARY

Defiance 39, Tinora 26

103 - Double forfeit; 112 - B.J. Miller (D) pinned Jacob Meyer, :51; 119 - Jordan Gonzales (D) pinned Shelyce Brown, 2:55; 125 - Cory Carnahan (D) pinned Ryan Gibson, :59; 130 - Joe Bodenbender (T) major dec. Zach Hurst, 11-2; 135 - Josh Mangas (T) dec. Cody Manon, 3-0; 140 - Jake Hancock (T) dec. Clay Roehrig, 9-8; 145 - Terry Wagenhauser (D) dec. Tom Blake, 9-6; 152 - Tim Fuller (T) pinned Kyle Esckilsen, 1:15; 160 - Pat Millen (D) pinned Alex Behrman, 1:03; 171 - Desmond Yarnell (D) won by forfeit; 189 - Robert Blake (T) won by forfeit; 215 - Mark Moser (T) pinned Glenn Ward, 1:29; 285 - Nolan Bachellor (D) won by forfeit.