Tue Feb 09 2010
By C. MARTINEZ-BRANDON
The five Defiance High School seniors made sure that their final time in the DHS Dawg Pound would be a memorable one.
With league-leading Elida visiting DHS for their Western Buckeye League regular-season finale, the hometown Bulldogs got wins from four of their five seniors along with five other victories to hand the Allen County Bulldogs a 45-28 loss.
The win moves the DHS Bulldogs to 6-3 in the WBL and after claiming the Chuck Forward Duals title last week improve to 22-5 overall. Tuesday's win also leaves the Bulldogs within striking distance of the league title with a strong showing next week at the league tournament. For Elida, the loss is the second league setback of the season while Wapakoneta and Lima Bath now lead the league with one WBL loss each.
"We are wrestling really well right now," agreed DHS mentor Josh Neilson when asked if he thought is team was peaking at the end of the season. "And we knew we'd be wrestling a good Elida team and that there were going to be several close matches. We lost some of those, but we wrestled really well to earn the win."
With only two bouts remaining, and the Bulldogs nursing a four-point (36-28) lead, senior 130-pounder Jordan Gonzales stepped on the mat.
Gonzales, who had missed the majority of the regular season with a leg injury, didn't waste any time taking his offense to his Elida opponent. Gonzales came out and got a quick takedown and by the midway point of the first period Gonzales had sealed the victory by adding another six points to the Bulldogs' totals.
"I was really happy to come out and get a win," admitted Gonzales. "It was my last match in front of everybody at home, so I was just going to go out there and try my hardest to win it for the team."
Junior Cody Manon then finished off the visiting Bulldogs by overpowering Zack Green for a 9-2 decision. But Gonzales wasn't the only senior to step up in their 'Dawg Pound' farewell.
Terry Wagenhauser got the Bulldogs on the board with an 8-4 decision, before Desmond Yarnell went down to 160-pounds and outlasted Ian Dukehart for a 5-3 decision that moved DHS out in front, 12-4.
An Elida pin at 171 and a DHS forfeit at 215 handed the lead to Elida, but again a senior came through for Defiance.
This time it was Glenn Ward protecting the Bulldogs' house.
In less than 10 seconds, Ward powered Nate Sackinger to the mat before hearing the mat slapped at the 1:30 mark of the first period to put the Bulldogs back in front, 18-16.
The Bulldog backing was the first of four straight pins for Defiance as heavyweight Nolan Bachellor, 103-pounder Zack McCarthy and 112-pounder B.J. Miller each added six points to the Bulldogs' side of the scoreboard, increasing their lead, 36-16. DHS junior Clay Roehrig also scissored his way to a pin in 152-pound action.
Elida wasn't about to go away quietly, picking up pins of their own at 119 and 125, setting the stage for Gonzales and one last show of senior strength.
"This victory definitely gives us a lot of confidence," ended Neilson. "It gives us the confidence that we can go in next week and win the WBL title."
SUMMARY
103 - Zack McCarthy (D) pinned Austin Murphy, 1:53; 112 - B.J. Miller (D) pinned Adam Troyer, 3:49; 119 - Shawn Brink (E) pinned Cory Rohrs, 3:21; 125 - Shane Troyer (E) pinned Cory Carnahan, 3:15; 130 - Jordan Gonzales (D) pinned Ron Leis, 1:08; 135 - Cody Manon (D) dec. Zack Green, 9-2; 140 - Nate Painter major dec. Adam Bates, 15-2; 145 - Terry Wagenhauser (D) dec. Andy Johnz, 8-4; 152 - Clay Roehrig (D) pinned Tyler Dunlap, :43; 160 - Desmond Yarnell (D) dec. Ian Dukehart, 5-3; 171 - Cody Green (E) pinned Dustin Dale, :18; 189 - Cody Wittkamp (E) won by forfeit; 215 - Glenn Ward (D) pinned Nate Sackinger, :30; 285 - Nolan Bachellor (D) pinned Nate Haase, 3:14
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