---- — Reynolds High mat coach Casey Taylor pointed out prior to the PIAA State Class AA Dual Meet Championships, that the Raiders weren’t the kind of team that can blow people out.

And while at the end it doesn’t matter if you win by 1 point or 80, some wins can be somewhat disappointing.

“I told the kids after the match that this is the last time we can wrestle under our potential and still win,” said Taylor after his squad squeezed out a 35-29 victory over Saucon Valley

Reynolds freshmen Gene Ringer (285) and Seth Hogue (106) came through with pin and major decision respectively in the final two matches to rally the Raiders from behind in the nail-biter.

“I’m really proud of them,” said Taylor of his two youngsters who came through in the clutch after Reynolds trailed 29-25. “We absolutely need them to come through against a very dangerous team.

“Gene has been consistant all year. Seth has had his ups and downs, but he is a very good technician. He finally wrestled a kid his size. He was a little nervous, but he controlled the match.

“But 195 and 220 set the table for us. Denton Zeronas and Logan Rickert went up against very powerful kids and lost only by decision and major decision. Not giving up big bonus points is key although some of our matches were uncharacteristic of us.

“Our guys wrestled nervous, timid or scared, what ever you call it. Saucon Valley has a style, they hit that gator roll. I blame myself for not preparing the kids better for it. I didn’t emphasize it because I felt our technique would win over that. In the end it did.

The match opened at 113 and Mike Bartolo staked the Raiders to a good start with a fall, fighting back from a 5-0 deficit. However, Saucon Valley roared back with pins at 120 by returning state qualifier Bryan Israel over Nick Nottingham and at 126 by Tyler Harka over Mason McCollum.

Reynolds 132-pounder Matt Leise notched a third-period fall, also trailing 5-0 early. But SV came back when Brody Bisson decisioned Cam Cianci, 11-5, at 138.

Raiders Levi Stoyer came up with a major decision at 145 and Raider superstar Austin Matthews a first-period pin to vault Reynolds in front, 22-15.

“Austin went up against kid that just beat the No. 2-ranked kid in state by 11 points,” said Taylor. “Austin went out and beat him up and pinned him. He wrestles like an animal for his team when they need him.”

However, again the District 11 runners-up came back to tie the match with a major decision by Jason Lynch over Mike Millero, 10-1, and a decision by Sam Dickey over Austin Moffett, 12-9, at 170.

Jamar Henry came through at 182 for Reynolds with a decision.

At 195, Raider Denton Zeronas dropped a 9-4 decision to a powerful Justin Blobe and the bout was tied again at 25.

Saucon Valley ace Ray O'Donnell, a returning state place-winner and ranked No. 5 in the nation, won by major decision, 13-0, over Logan Rickert and SV was in front, 29-25, with only two matches remaining.

That’s when the Raider freshmen Ringer and Hogue came through.

Reynolds moved on to the quarterfinals and the Raiders (19-2) will meet District 6 champion West Branch, a 33-26 victor over South Fayette Thursday.

District 10 runner-up Fort LeBeouf moved on with a 34-12 win over Central Columbia and will face the state’s top-ranked squad Bethlehem Catholic. BC rocked Lower Moreland, 81-0. The District 10 3rd-place finisher Saegertown fell to Boiling Springs — coached by former Lakeview High 3-time state champ Rod Wright — by a 31-25 count and is in the consolations today against Benton Area.

WRESTLING

ä Franklin 36, Lakeview 28 — At Franklin Wednesday, the Sailors dropped a close match Scoring pins for Lakeview were Marquis Spence (182) and Jake Heim (120).

BOYS BASKETBALL

ä George Junior Republic 69, Grove City 65 — At “The Eagles Nest” in Grove City, coach Pat Devine’s Tigers improved to 4-9 in Region 5-AAA and 6-12 overall with a thrilling 4-point win over GC (2-12, 4-15).

Quamere Boggs fired in 18 points to lead GJR while Ron Pearson and Malik Gibson had 14 each and Terrance Curtis added 10 markers.

Derek Turner scored 18 for GC, Danny Torok tallied 17 and Jared Graham tacked on 11 points.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

ä West Middlesex 61, Lakeview 36 — At West Middlesex, the Ms. Reds (3-7, 8-12) jumped out to a 14-6 lead after the opening 8 minutes and rolled to the Region 2-AA victory.

Molly Stitt and Alexis Summers had 18 points each for WM and Alyson Pierce bucketed 10. Pierce and Murray had 7 rebounds each and Summers tallied 7 steals.

Samantha Womer fired in 13 points to lead Lakeview (1-10, 5-15) and Casey Stringer added 10 markers.

ä Mercer 36, Greenville 31 — At Greenville, the Lady M’s (8-2, 15-5) trailed 18-13 at halftime, but outscored the Lady Trojans 10-2 in the 3rd quarter and 13-11 in the 4th to earn the Region 2-AA win.

Alexis Arkwright rifled in a game-high 19 points for Mercer.

Jessica Burnett led the way for Greenville (3-8, 5-13) with 13 points.

ä Brookfield 53, Mathews 37 — At Brookfield, the host Lady Warriors’s wire-to-wire win was fueled by Raeschelle Foster’s game-high 14-point performance.

Also for Brookfield (8-9), Lauren Hawley hit all 8 of her free-throw attempts en route to 10 tallies.

Ellis ended with 11 points for Vienna-Mathews.

ä Wilmington 60, Jamestown 24 — At New Wilmington Wednesday, the Lady Hounds (7-12) led 21-2 after the opening 8 minutes and eased to the non-region win over the Lady Muskies (0-20).

Alanna Elliott fired in 16 points for Wilmington while Hanna Drake bucketed 11. Emily Robinson scored 12 for Jamestown.

ä Rocky Grove 35, Reynolds 27 — At Franklin Wednesday, the Lady Raiders fell to 3-5 in Region 1-A and 5-13 overall with the 8-point loss to the Lady Orioles.

Amber Nerlich (15) and Aleece Schiffer (12) scored in double digits for RG while Kayla Thompson had 10 for Reynolds.

BOYS BOWLING

ä Howland 2429, Brookfield 2103 — At Bell-Wick Lanes in Hubbard Thursday, Matt Hardaway rolled a 428, Bridger Kowalczyk bowled a 424 and Kenny Dugan had a 400 as the Tigers won.

Adam Brooks (368), Joey Grandon (346) and Bradley Bridge (316) were the top performers for the Warriors.

ä Brookfield 1999, East Liverpool 1693 — At Bell-Wick Lanes recently, Brooks (374), Nelson Swartz (327) and Nick Kerr (288) led the way in Brookfield’s win.

Jim Beaver (333), Parker Bowers (281) and Jim Bundy (253) were the top rollers for East Liverpool.

GIRLS BOWLING

ä Howland 1966, Brookfield 1697 — At Bell-Wick Lanes Thursday, Morgan Reed (329), Kelly Dungan (320) and Alycia Bailes (307) paced Howland.

Heather Stanish (329), Kourtney Husnick (279) and Jessica Neal (252) led the way for the Lady Warriors.

ä East Liverpool 1799, Brookfield 1724 — At Bell-Wick Lanes recently, Becky Brewer bowled a 398, Leighanna Frantz rolled a 274 and Nicole Linkous had a 255 to lead East Liverpool.

Brookfield’s top rollers were Stanish (292), Neal (274) and Nicole Johnston (253).



WRESTLING

REYNOLDS 35, SAUCON VALLEY 29

113 - Mike Bartolo (R) pinned Ty Drukenmiler, 1:49; 120 - Bryan Israel (SV) pinned Nick Nottingham, 3:24; 126 - Tyler Harka (SV) pinned Mason McCollum, 1:39; 132 - Matt Leise (R) pinned Will Justino, 5:31; 138 - Brody Bisson (SV) dec. Cam Cianci, 11-5; 145 - Levi Stoyer (R) maj. dec. Nathan Harka, 13-2; 152 - Austin Matthews (R) pinned Travis Buddock, 1:16; 160 - Jason Lynch (SV) maj. Dec. Mike Millero, 10-1; 170 - Sam Dickey (SV) dec. Austin Moffett, 12-9; 182 - Jamar Henry (R) dec. Tyler Kehs, 7-3; 195 - Justin Blobe (SV) dec. Denton Zeronas, 9-4; 220 - Ray O'Donnell (SV) maj. dec. Logan Rickert, 13-0; 285 - Gene Ringer (R) pinned Matthew Ehrirtz, 1:25; 106 - Seth Hogue (R) maj. dec. Jack Hill, 9-1.

———

FRANKLIN 36, LAKEVIEW 28

160 -- Derek Steetle (F) forfeit; 170 -- Chris Matthews (F) pinned Jesse Amon, 0:41; 182 -- Marquis Spence (L) pinned Patrick Greco, 5:27; 195 -- Mike Wisner (F) dec. Kyle Canon, 3-2; 220 -- Andrew Clayton (L) dec. Jeff Rial, 9-8; 285 -- Sam Breese (L) forfeit; 106 -- double forfeit; 113 -- Evan Clayton (L) dec. Zach Sharrer, 5-2; 120 -- Jake Heim (L) pinned Dreux Harper, 3:05; 126 -- Dusty Bell (F) dec. Trevor Williams, 10-8; 132 -- Hunter Cook (F) forfeit; 138 -- Sustin Schleifer (L) major dec. Tyler Emrick, 11-1; 145 -- Tyler Carey (F) pinned Brandon Persch, 1:31; 152 -- Dakota Geer (F) forfeit.



BOYS BASKETBALL

GEO. JUNIOR    12    16    21    20    69

GROVE CITY    17    11    22    15    65

GEORGE JUNIOR REPUBLIC — Boggs 5-5-10-18, McKinley 0-1-2-1, Pearson 5-4-7-14, Toney 2-2-2-6, Oliver 1-0-0-2, Gibson 6-2-4-14, Cooper 2-0-0-4, Curtis 4-2-4-10. 3-pt. goals: Boggs 3. Totals: 25-16-29-69.

GROVE CITY — Marnich 2-0-0-4, Turner 6-4-7-18, Torok 7-0-0-17, Graham 4-3-6-11, Thrasher 3-0-2-7, Dolan 2-0-0-4, Polkabla 2-0-0-4. 3-pt. goals: Torok 3, Turner 2, Thrasher 1. Totals: 26-7-15-65.

JV — No score reported.



GIRLS BASKETBALL

JAMESTOWN    2    2    6    14    24

WILMINGTON    21    19    8    12    60

JAMESTOWN — Harnett 1-0-0-2, Robinson 5-0-0-12, Kell 2-0-0-4, Greenawalt 0-2-2-2, Sankey 1-2-2-4, Miller 0-0-0-0, McLaughlin 0-0-0-0, Liszka 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Robinson 2. Totals: 9-4-4-24.

WILMINGTON — Christofferson 2-2-2-7, Slonaker 1-3-4-5, Sikora 4-1-1-9, Marett 3-0-0-6, Elliott 7-0-0-16, Thompson 1-0-0-2, Borowicz 1-0-0-2, Drake 4-2-3-11, McCown 0-2-2-2, Romeo 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Elliott 2, Christofferson 1, Drake 1. Totals: 23-10-12-60.

JV — Wilmington won. No score reported.

———

REYNOLDS    7    6    7    7    27

ROCKY GROVE    8    14    4    9    35

REYNOLDS — Ringer 0-2-4-2, Bresnan 2-0-0-4, McDanel 0-2-2-2, Stoyer 3-3-4-9, Thompson 3-2-2-10. 3-pt. goals: Thompson 2. Totals: 8-9-12-27.

ROCKY GROVE — Lepley 1-0-0-2, Nerlich 6-2-5-15, Larson 1-0-0-2, Schiffer 3-5-6-12, Bevier 0-0-0-0, Swatzler 1-0-0-2, Holden 1-0-0-2. 3-pt. goals: Nerlich 1, Schiffer 1. Totals: 13-7-11-35.

JV — No score reported.

———

LAKEVIEW    6    12    4    14    36

W.MIDDLESEX    14    20    16    11    61

LAKEVIEW — Stringer 5-0-1-10, Fischer 1-0-0-2, M. Kasbee 1-0-0-2, Davis 3-1-2-9, Womer 6-1-1-13. 3-pt. goals: Davis 2. Totals: 16-2-3-36.

WEST MIDDLESEX — Murray 1-4-6-6, Atterholt 2-1-5-5, Stitt 8-1-2-18, Summers 8-2-2-18, Pierce 3-1-2-10, White 1-2-4-4. 3-pt. goals: Pierce 3, Stitt 1. Totals: 23-11-21-61.

JV — WM, 49-34. Kristen White 22, Morgan Atterholt 18 for WM. Raygan Fischer 14 for Lakeview.

———

MERCER    10    3    10    13    36

GREENVILLE    6    12    2    11    31

MERCER — Whenry 0-0-0-0, Arkwright 9-0-2-19, Mills 1-1-4-4, McKinney 4-1-3-9, Cook 2-0-0-4, Ryder 0-0-0-0, Angermeier 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Arkwright 1, Mills 1. Totals: 16-2-9-36.

GREENVILLE — Fagley 3-3-6-9, Williams 0-2-6-2, Burnett 6-0-0-13, Montalvo 1-0-0-2, Guerrini 0-0-0-0, Leary 0-0-0-0, Fenton 0-0-0-0, Marini 2-0-0-5, Herrick 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Burnett 1, Marini 1. Totals: 12-5-12-31.

JV — Greenville, 35-23. Michaela Marini 10 for Greenville.

———

MATHEWS    7    13    12    5    37

BROOKFIELD    14    12    18    9    53

MATHEWS — Omerzo 0-1-4-1, Wolford 0-0-1-0, Fischer 0-0-0-0, Williams 4-0-1-9, Rhine 2-1-5-5, McLura 0-2-2-2, Dickerson 0-5-6-5, Ellis 4-0-0-11, Fronzaglia 1-2-2-4. 3-pt. goals: Ellis 3, Williams 1. Totals: 11-11-21-37.

BROOKFIELD — Hawley 1-8-8-10, Boyer 2-0-0-4, DiCristofaro 1-0-0-3, Ash. Kirila 3-0-0-6, Thompson 3-2-3-8, Harpster 1-0-2-2, Corns 0-0-0-0, Foster 7-0-2-14, Aut. Kirila 0-0-0-0, Quinlan 0-0-0-0, Saxton 2-0-0-4, Gauding 0-0-0-0, Hiner 1-0-0-2. 3-pt. goal: DiCristofaro 1. Totals: 21-10-15-53.

JV — Brookfield, 31-28.