But credit North Hunterdon wrestling coaches Tim Flynn, Jason Hawk, Joe Laspada and Chris Hrunka -- one of the best staffs, not only in the these parts, but around New Jersey -- with formulating a game plan, or two or three in Tuesday night's thrilling 28-27 victory over Hunterdon Central.
It was a battle from start to finish -- one of those good old fashioned dual meets that many of us around here were spoiled with week in and week out back in the day. Let's take a closer look at where this one was won, and also lost.
1. Coaches, the ones that do their homework, usually have a pretty good idea coming into a match on what moves to make in order to give their team a chance to win a close dual meet. But sometimes, it comes down to the coin flip. North Hunterdon lost the toss, giving Central control of a potential matchup of unbeatens between two-time state finalist Gary Dinmore and Lions senior Mike Ciavarro. That forced Flynn to go to Plan B and C. "We had a game plan all week, then we lost the toss, but we had a plan for that," the coach said. "Some things went our way and some things went their way. A lot of guys did their job." With North up 21-10 after Derek Ciavarro's 3-1 nailbiter over Nick Taylor at 138, Flynn inserted reserve junior Miles Mohan at 145 to face Central's talented Collin Boylan, who earned a technical fall win. Then, sophomore Brian Smolinsky was bumped to 152, where he earned a 15-5 major over Matt Suydam. Central opted to chase Ciavarro with Dinmore, who really tried too hard for a pin in a 5-0 win. Up 25-18, the Lions needed just one of the last three bouts to seal it. After Mike Sicola dropped a 5-0 decision to Joe Scerbo at 170, senior Joe Guzzo picked him up with a 4-3 win over Nestor Crespo at 182. Guzzo got a late takedown in the second period and one in the third period off a sweet ankle pick with 12 seconds left to pull it out.
2. While North made all the right moves, Central coach Steve Gibble was likely second-guessing the decision to bump freshman 106-pounder Peter Nace up to 113 to face junior Luke Approvato in order to gain a split of those two weights, as junior Paul Robinson would have been favored, although I feel slightly, against Nace at 106. Approvato, who showed me something at the John Goles Invitational when he knocked off Delaware Valley freshman Matt Kolonia, 7-6, in the quarterfinals to give Kolonia his only loss to date, was a little too big and strong for Nace, who almost threw Approvato to his back with a nasty chin whip in the final period to knot it at 7. But an escape with 1:15 left gave Approvato an 8-7 win. This after Robinson decked Bryce Hall at 106. Chances are that Central still gives up nine points with the matchups reversed, but bumping a freshman up to face a talented junior in the light weights can be a risky move. Losing a tossup at 220 to open the night may also have been the impetus behind the move.
3. Back to North's master plan, it was clear from the onset that the Lions wanted to stay in the neutral position. This was really where the match was won in my opinion. Despite losing the takedown battle, 18-16, Flynn's squad, which was aggressive and opted to cut its opponents loose to start periods on seven occasions, got at least one takedown from eight out of 14 wrestlers. "We're good on our feet and [Central] is good on the mat," Flynn said. "We spent a lot of time [working on takedowns] in the offseason." In fact, 15 of Central's 18 takedowns came from just four wrestlers -- Kyler Rodriguez (six at 120), Boylan (5), Dinmore (2) and Peter Nace (2). That means the Red Devils has just three takedowns from the other 10 wrestlers in their lineup.
4. North really had a collective effort in the win, but let's single out a few wrestlers. Junior Ryan Pomrinca (12-0 at 126) is looking awfully good after an injury spoiled his bid for a second medal in the state tournament last season. Not known as a pinner, Pomrinca got the job done against Hunter Orr in 1:47. Robinson also got a fall at 106, as those were two of just three pins in the match -- Central's Nick Suk had the other at 195. Derek Ciavarro at 138 and Guzzo both came through with clutch takedowns late to win their bouts. "I knew if I kept wrestling 100 percent and stayed with it, I could beat him," Guzzo said of his win at 182. "It was all about opportunity [converting an ankle pick for the winning takedown]. We all had a job to do." "Joe has worked his tail off since last season," Flynn said. Not to be overlooked is Tim Bartlett's gutsy 7-5 win in triple overtime against Central's Arturo Hernandez in the opening bout. Bartlett (5-4), a senior who never wrestled a varsity bout until this season, got an escape and takedown in the second overtime to snap a 4-4 tie. Conditioning was a factor in most of the upper weight bouts, with North winning that battle as well.
5. For a change, things finally went North's way in a tight match. Consider last season, when the Lions dropped two close ones to Central (29-27) and Voorhees (26-25). North had dropped four of the last five meetings with Central coming in, posting a 33-26 win at the Field House in 2012. In fact, the last four matches between the county rivals have been decided by a total of 18 points. "For once [we won a close one]," Flynn said. Now, North will hope to ride the momentum from this one into Thursday night's showdown with Phillipsburg at The Pit. The Stateliners, who own a 48-8-1 advantage in a series that began in 1961, have won the last nine meetings. The Lions, whose last win was 36-21 at home in 2007, haven't won at The Pit since a 27-24 upset victory in the 1993 Group 3 final. The matchups for this year's clash heavily favor P'burg.
Here is the full boxscore:
NORTH HUNTERDON 28, HUNTERDON CENTRAL 27
220 -- Sr. Tim Bartlett (5-4), NH, d. Arturo Hernandez (3-4), 7-5 OT3.
285 -- Sr. Dan Hausman (6-4), HC, d. Sr. Brandon Leonidas (4-6), 4-2.
106 -- Jr. Paul Robinson (9-2), NH, p. Fr. Bryce Hall (0-1), 1:41.
113 -- Jr. Luke Approvato (5-5), NH, d. Fr. Peter Nace (9-3), 8-7.
120 -- Jr. Kyler Rodriguez (6-5), HC, md. Jr. Mike Bednar (4-7), 15-6.
126 -- Jr. Ryan Pomrinca (12-0), NH, p. Jr. Hunter Orr (3-5), 1:47.
132 -- Sr. Dylan Nace (9-0), HC, d. Sr. Eric Martin (9-5), 1-0.
138 -- So. Derek Ciavarro (11-3), NH, d. Jr. Nick Taylor (7-4), 3-1.
145 -- Sr. Collin Boylan (11-0), HC, tf. Jr. Miles Mohan (0-1), 17-2, 5:06.
152 -- So. Brian Smolinsky (11-3), NH, md. Sr. Matt Suydam (5-4), 15-5.
160 -- Sr. Gary Dinmore (11-0), HC, d. Sr. Mike Ciavarro (11-1), 5-0.
170 -- Jr. Joe Scerbo (7-2), HC, d. Jr. Michael Sicola (9-4), 5-0.
182 -- Sr. Joe Guzzo (12-1), NH, d. Jr. Nestor Crespo (6-4), 4-3.
195 -- Jr. Nick Suk (8-2), HC, p. Sr. Kyle Stevens (5-6), 1:59.
Records -- North Hunterdon 5-1; Hunterdon Central 3-1.
Official -- Frank Leitner.
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