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Mules pin back Dexter
By TROY HYDE/DAR Sports Writer
It wasn't exactly how Poplar Bluff coach Brian Wisdom drew it up, but it was a win nonetheless.
The Mules and Dexter traded five pins on the wrestling mat Thursday night in Poplar Bluff, but the home team recorded two decisions and got 12 points from forfeits in a 48-30 victory.
"It wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be, but I'll take the win," Wisdom said. "Dexter came out ready and we didn't."
The 12-point advantage from forfeits for the Mules proved to be crucial as the Bearcats flexed their muscles and nearly came away with a head-to-head win. The two decisions at 119 and 135 prevented that from happening, though, as Dexter lost 36-30 not counting its forfeits at 145 and 215.
"We have the kids to fill those spots, but they are not quite ready for the varsity level yet," Dexter coach Rick Schwab said. "The team is real inexperienced with 10 new wrestlers, but we're getting there."
The most entertaining and closest match of the night came at 119 where Poplar Bluff's Storm McClure pulled out a narrow 8-6 win against Matt Macaluso. McClure scored four points early in the match off two quick takedowns, but Macaluso came back with an escape and takedown of his own. Another takedown by McClure made it 6-3 after one period.
The second period's only point was given to Macaluso on an escape. McClure got two points off escapes in the third, but Macaluso made it close with a 2-point reversal. He almost pulled out the win with a pin late in the match but a near fall was only good enough to pull him to within two points.
The other decision for Poplar Bluff was won by Cameron West at 135 pounds. West scored two quick points on a takedown in the first period and went up 5-0 after two frames following an escape and a reversal. He got another reversal in the third and wound up winning, 7-1, over Brandon Helton.
"I knew the only way we could win would be to take some points at the middle weights and we fell short at doing that," Schwab said.
Dexter fell short in the loss but made Poplar Bluff work for everything it got.
The two teams traded pins in the first two weight classes but two straight pins at 152 and 160 by Dexter's Eric Grimes and Wes McCollough, respectively, made things interesting.
"The kids did well, but we probably got out too hard in a lot of matches," Wisdom said. "We forced too many things tonight."
Poplar Bluff's Zach Surque pinned Brittney Waldner in the second period of the opening match at 103. He had a 10-2 lead before the pin as he got an early takedown and near fall in the first period.
Mikey Henley had a 3-2 lead on Danny Hendrickson at 112 before a pin with 49 seconds to go in the second round tied the score at 6-6. McClure's decision made it 9-6 in favor of the Mules and back-to-back pin falls by Brandon Bounds and Jordan Henningston pushed the lead to 21-6. Both Bounds and Henningston pinned their opponents -- Caleb Shafer and Jake McGuire -- in the first period.
The win by West gave Poplar Bluff three more points and a 24-6 lead. Dexter closed to within 24-12 following a pin at 140 by Matt Overall. The pin came halfway through the third period with the score tied at 7-7. Josh Parkin scored a reversal to start the match and another reversal and a takedown gave him a 6-2 advantage after the first period. A quick escape to start the second round gave Parkin a 7-2 lead, but a reversal and near fall by Overall tied the score up at 7-7. Overall's pin in the final frame came with 1:34 left on the clock.
Grimes fell behind Eric Lundstrom at 152, but a near fall put him up by one. Grimes' pin came shortly after the near fall as the Bearcats closed to 30-18 -- Poplar Bluff was awarded six points for Zach Fears' forfeit win at 145 -- after the victory.
Dexter then tied the score following McCollough's pin at 160. He was tied with David Gaebler at 2-2 after one period and recorded the fall just 30 seconds into the second frame.
"We just need to relax and slow down a bit," Wisdom said. "That's probably my fault because I have been working the boys hard every day in practice."
Poplar Bluff regained the lead in the match after a quick pin at 171 by Paul Swesey. He was leading 2-0 after a quick takedown and ended the match with 30 seconds to go in the first period.
Kelton Thompson gave the Mules a similar result at 189 as he took down Wes Fluharty with 31 seconds to go in the first. Thompson had total control of the match as he jumped out to a 5-0 lead following a takedown and near fall.
The forfeit at 215 for Dexter gave the Mules a 48-24 lead heading into the final match.
The match at 275 was nip and tuck and very entertaining as well. Dylan James of Poplar Bluff and Dexter's Ben Vaughn were scoreless in the heavyweight division after one period. A quick takedown by James gave him the early lead but a reversal by Vaughn tied the score. Then, a near fall by Vaughn made it 5-2 before a reversal by James made it a 1-point match after two frames.
"He's been working hard," Schwab said of Vaughn. "We knew we would have to take this match to six minutes and he just stayed out of trouble and took advantage of his opportunities."
The contest was decided in the final minute. James took the lead by one following a reversal with 32 seconds left. After a restart a few seconds later, Vaughn recaptured the lead with a reversal of his own. He finished off James seven seconds later with a pin fall, ending the match with 23 ticks on the clock.
"(Dylan) just got gassed out," Wisdom said.
The Mules are now 2-0 this season and will next wrestle at the Farmington Tournament on Saturday.
Notes: The Poplar Bluff JV team won, 54-30. The Mules surrendered four matches by forfeit, but the Bearcats returned the favor with three forfeits. The seven matches that actually took place were all pins for the Mules. The pins were recorded by Colton Woodsmall, Aubrey Taylor, Vince Faraone, Dalton Bilderback, Robert Hicks, Craig Cassinger and Jacob Duvall.