Sat Nov 07 2009
By CHUCK MARTINEZ
The Defiance High School matmen finished off the regular season with a lopsided 42-25 victory over Western Buckeye League foe Kenton.
The victory gives the Bulldogs a 9-6 overall record and a 5-4 mark in league bouts for the season.
"It's always nice to win your last WBL match before heading into the league tournament," said DHS mentor Josh Neilson. "We still had some mistakes that hurt us and we'll have to work on that, but overall we didn't wrestle too bad, this was a solid victory."
Midway through Thursday's action, the Bulldogs were just thinking of surviving, not blowing out the Wildcats.
Heading into the 140-pound bout, the visitors held a two-point edge, 20-19 with the Bulldogs unsure of what they were going to get from their middleweights.
At 135, the boys in blue-and-white had sophomore Cody Manon wrestling up a weightclass from his usual 130, while classmate Clay Roehrig was returning to the lineup at 145 after being sidelined for more than a week with the flu.
Also returning to the lineup after an extended absence was 171-pounder Desmond Yarnell, who had been absent from the roster since wrestling at the Chuck Forward Duals nearly two weeks ago. All the question marks brought the Bulldogs and their fans to the edge of their seats in the hopes of not losing to the Wildcats for the first time in decades.
The middleweights didn't disappoint, however, as Manon gave the Bulldogs the lead with a 9-6 decision. Manon came out fast against Jordan Shepherd and added a pair of switches in the second period and a takedown in the third to secure the win.
"Cody Manon really helped out and came out with a big win," Neilson pointed out. "He wrestled clear to the end, that was a close match. After that we came out and got the pins."
At 145, Roehrig didn't miss a beat.
After a takedown at the 1:33 mark, Roehrig slid in the arm bar and quickly got the turn-and-tap on Jose Rose. The 1:03 pin extended the Bulldogs' lead by another six points, 26-19.
Another pin by Terry Wagenhauser at 152 gave the Bulldogs a 32-19 lead that proved too tough a task for the Wildcats to overcome as the Bulldogs secured the win in the season finale.
But if the Bulldogs did need him for the 'W' Yarnell was there.
Yarnell returned to the lineup and provided a 9-0 major decision.
"We weren't quite sure how they were going to do," explained Neilson. "Clay picked right up where he left off. He went out there attacking and got the pin. He's improved so much this year, he's really going to be tough the next couple of years."
The Wildcats started out hot with back-to-back backings to jump out to a 12-0 lead. But as they've done all season, the Bulldogs little big guns turned up the heat.
Super soph B.J. Miller, who is ranked 12th in the annual Brakeman Report, jumped up to 119 and toyed with Shawn Castle for a period before cutting out the games in the second period and ending it with a stick at the :50 mark. The victory keeps Miller undefeated at 32-0.
Not to be outdone, junior Jordan Gonzales turned Josh Sheldon time and time again before tech falling the Wildcat 17-1 before the buzzer ended the second period.
While DHS said good-bye to another season, it also said farewell forever to its two seniors. Unfortunately for Zach Hurst and Pat Millen, they couldn't leave with a bang as Millen left with a win via void, while Hurst lost a major decision.
Now, the Bulldogs have a week-long break before heading to Van Wert for the WBL Tournament on Feb. 9.
"I think the time off is going to help," said a weary Neilson, whose wife gave birth to their first child earlier in the week.
SUMMARY
103 - Chris Arnold (K) pinned Zach Jimenez, 3:00; 112 - Adam Bates (D) pinned Cory Minter, :41; 119 - B.J. Miller (D) pinned Shawn Castle, 3:10; 125 - Jordan Gonzales (D) tech fall Josh Sheldon, 17-1; 130 - Tyler Taylor (K) major dec. Zach Hurst, 20-8; 135 - T.J. Walls (K) dec. Cory Carnahan, 7-2; 140 - Cody Manon (D) dec. Jordan Shepherd, 9-6; 145 - Clay Roehrig (D) pinned Josh Rose, 1:03; 152 - Terry Wagenhauser (D) pinned Dustin Gray, 2:42; 160 - Pat Millen (D) won by forfeit; 171 - Double forfeit; 189 - Desmond Yarnell (D) major dec. Demetri Shepherd, 9-0; 215 - Sam Albert (K) pinned Glenn Ward, 3:10; 285 - Lucas King (K) pinned Nolan Bachelor, :26.
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