Web posted
Friday, January 11, 2008
Derby's depth too much for Ark City
|
Photo by David Wolman
click image to enlarge
|
By DAVID WOLMAN
Traveler Sports Editor
If you take one glance at the program for Thursday evening's dual and compare Derby's roster to Arkansas City's, the Panthers clearly outnumbered the Bulldogs. With more than twice as many wrestlers as Ark City, Derby's depth proved to be too much for the Bulldogs in their 50-19 loss to the Panthers.
And Ark City was already at a disadvantage to start the dual, as it had four open weight classes -- starting right off the bat when Roger Windham won by forfeit at 103 pounds.
That's been the case for Ark City at every dual it has competed at so far this season, as it dropped to 1-4 in duals after Thursday's loss.
Already without the services of Aaron Hoag and Kash Biddle because of illnesses, Ark City coach Shawn Silvis knew his team would have to make up those lost points in other matches. But the Bulldogs went only 5-6 in matches they wrestled -- earning bonus points in only two matches: Trison Graham's 10-1 major decision over Brandon Marlett at 130 pounds and Scott Elliott's win by injury forfeit at 171 pounds.
"We've got to have bonus wins when we can get them," Silvis said. "It just so happened that Derby just matched up well against our guys that normally get bonus (points)."
Even with that said, Silvis was quick to praise those on his team that wrestled Thursday.
"I was happy with the way the guys wrestled," he said. "The guys that wrestled did a good job. It was just tough. Derby's depth is amazing. They've got a lot of options to chose from. Their depth is what hurt us."
Garrett Jones cut Derby's lead in the dual to 6-3 with a 12-7 decision over Travis Reinhart at 112 pounds. Jones was on the offensive throughout. He took a 6-2 first period lead on a takedown and then a 12-5 lead midway through the third period with his sixth takedown of the match.
But the Panthers took control from there, with Dane Rodriguez winning by forfeit at 119 pounds and Cody Shavlik pinning Parker Cameron 1 minute, 12 seconds into their 125-pound match, for an 18-3 dual lead.
Perhaps the most entertaining match of the evening was between Sterling Terry and Zack Kuipers at 135 pounds.
Kuipers was the aggressor early, taking a 2-0 lead on a takedown 23 seconds into the match and a 4-3 lead on a reverse late in the period.
But what helped Terry were escapes recorded just as the buzzer sounded at the end of the first and second periods. The second escape gave him an 11-8 lead heading the final period.
"It was a big point," Silvis said. "It would've been nice to finish that match a little more stronger than what he did, but it was huge. That's what I tell these guys all the time is that you have to wrestle every second of the match. Had he not wrestled that second, we wouldn't have won that match. So, that was huge. That kid took a match off and (Terry) didn't. That's how come we won the match."
Kuipers scored a reverse with one two seconds left in the third period. But it was too little, too late as Terry escaped with an 11-10 decision.
"Sterling, in the (practice) room, is really just a tough kid," Silvis said. "One of these days, he's going to come on strong. He's puts him in a position to win, and most of the time he doesn't win. Tonight, he found a way to win."
Terry's win cut Derby's lead in the dual to 18-10. But wins in the next three matches by Derby -- with a technical fall, forfeit and pin -- put aside any thoughts of a comeback by the Bulldogs.
Even with Derby well on its way to the dual win, Cameron Riojas and Clint Bruce provided exciting matches.
Like Terry, Riojas escaped with a win over Coty Reinhart at 160 pounds. Riojas rolled Reinhart on his back for a takedown with two seconds remaining in the first period. Reinhart tied the match at 2 with a takedown, but Riojas took a 3-2 lead with an escape late in the second period and won by that margin.
After trailing 3-0 to Blake Long, Clint Bruce rallied to tie their 189-pound match at 3-3 with a takedown early in the third period. Long and Bruce met in the finals of last weekend's Derby Invitational tournament. And just like last weekend, Long prevailed -- this time by a 6-3 decision, recording an escape and takedown in the third period to account for the final margin.
In junior varsity, Gary Schoeppel pinned TJ Gilliland 34 seconds into their 160-pound match. Skylar McComb pinned Parker Cameron 1 minute, 15 seconds into their 125-pound junior varsity match.
Varsity results:
103: Windham, Derby, wins by forfeit; 112: Jones, Ark City, Dec Reinhart, 12-7; 119: Rodriguez, Derby, wins by forfeit; 125: Shavlik, Derby, pinned Cameron, 1:12; 130: Graham, Ark City, MajDec Marlett, 10-1; 135: Terry, Ark City Dec Kuipers, 11-10; 140: Prewitt, Derby, T-Fall Martin, 15-0; 145: Moon wins by forfeit; 152: Shook, Derby, pinned Marr, 1:00; 160: Riojas, Ark City, Dec Reinhart, 3-2; 171: Elliott, Ark City, wins by injury default Feldkamp, 6-2; 189: Long, Derby, Dec Bruce, 6-3; 215: Carpenter, Derby, pinned Chaparro, 0:54; 285: Westmoreland, Derby, pinned Ibarra, 1:24.
Above: Arkansas City senior Cameron Riojas, left, rolls Derby's Coty Reinhart on the mat for a takedown in the first period of their 160-pound match during Thursday's dual at ACHS. Riojas won the match with a 3-2 decision.
|
