Trailing the Patterson Mill Huskies, 12-3, after the first three matches meant little to the Harford Tech Cobras on Wednesday evening, since they would go on to win the next eight bouts and cruise into a 41-27 dual meet win.
“We wrestled exceptionally well considering we have four starters out of the lineup,” Harford Tech coach Gary Siler explained. “Everyone had to bump up a weightclass and most of them came through better than what was expected. I would say it was a great win.”
Starters Adam Teal, Jimmy Cosgrove, Nate Cook and Mike Vega all were out of the lineup for health reasons, but those wrestlers who filled in performed beyond what Coach Siler could have wished for.
It only took two matches before the Cobras had tied the score at 12-12, seeing Jamie Rappazzo (160) stick his opponent in just 29 seconds and George Majchrzak (171) work a 5-0 decision before the Cobras went to town on the Huskies in the remaining matches.
During the eight-match winning streak, Harford Tech notched four pins, three of them in a row between Nathan Haskell (103), Tyler Granese (112) and Ryan Beatty (119), and added three decisions and a technical fall to its scoring night.
Majchrzak, Kyle Sakora and Will Hughes all recorded decisions at 171, 215 and 285, respectively, with Sakora’s coming in a come-from-behind win.
Trailing 3-0 in the final period, Sakora excaped and notched a takedown to tie the match, and took his opponent down again before the buzzer after being optionally let to a neutral position.
“When you win right off the bat, it really helps the team know what it needs to do to keep winning,” Rappazzo said. “It sets the tone for how the season is going to be.”
Patterson Mill opening wins by Jake Stone and Jeff England, pinning at 140 and 152, respectively, while Raul Rivera (135) decisioned, and Zack Cullison (125) and Jon Williams (130) pinned to end the match.
The Cobras are looking to have a terrific season in 2010-2011, in contention for an UCBAC title with other top teams like Bel Air and Rising Sun. But they know it will take a lot of hard, teamwork to get to where they would like to be.
“We’ve got to bust our tails in the practice room everyday and make sure that we stay healthy,” Siler said of the Harford Tech successful equation. “Like gelatin, we have to gel as a team and come together to pull this off for all of us. It has to be as a team effort.”
Harford Tech’s next match will come in the Butch Keaser Duals at North County this weekend, while the Huskies will take on North Harford on Saturday.
Harford Tech 41, Patterson Mill 27
140 Jake Stone (PM) pins 3:30 Marcos Pelaez (HT)
145 Joey Malanga (HT) dec 7-1 Sinha (PM)
152 Jeff England (PM) pins 3:55 Josh North (HT)
160 Jamie Rappazzo (HT) pins :30 Taylor Morningstar (PM)
171 George Majchrzak (HT) dec 5-0 Tyler Mackechnie (PM)
189 Dillon Brush (HT) TF 16-0Ryan Zwierien (PM)
215 Kyle Sakora (HT) dec 5-4 Mike Myers (PM)
285 Will Hughes (HT) dec 8-2 Mike Dashiell (PM)
103 Nathan Haskell (HT) pins 3:28 Chase Tallon (PM)
112 Tyler Granese (HT) pins 2:15Thomas Clary (PM)
119 Ryan Beatty (HT) pins 1:43 Mark Mossa (PM)
125 Zack Cullison (PM) pins 3:24 Brandon Hoch (HT)
130 Jon Williams (PM) pins 2:22 Bret Blevins (HT)
135 Raul Rivera (PM) dec 4-3 Chase George (HT)
