Montoursville – who defeated Hughesville 53-12 last season – had a tougher time shaking off the Spartans than in recent years on Tuesday. Following a close win from Hughesville’s Keagan Smith, its lead dwindled to 22-21, with just a few matches remaining.

However, three straight wins, including one by forfeit, allowed the Warriors to avoid an upset, as they improved to 2-0 with a 40-21 victory. Montoursville coach Matt Yonkin was proud of his wrestlers, particularly when it came to some of its closer wins, but emphasized that there’s work to be done.

“We’ve got to wrestle with a little more physicality and a little more urgency,” said Yonkin after the match. “We’ve got to do better, and we will. It’s early in the season. It’s not where we start, it’s where we finish. We’ll continue to grind, work and improve.”

“I commend Hughesville tonight. They wrestled very well. They did a very good job with the fundamentals and positioning, made it difficult for our guys,” he added when discussing Hughesville.

Gage Wentzel of Montoursville takes down Conor Knight of Hughesville during their match at 152 pounds at Montoursville High School Dec. 12, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

The match began with the teams trading heavy blows, as the first six matches accounting for a combined 34 points. After two forfeits to start, 2023 state qualifier Chase Shaner racked up six points before pinning Brady Bower early in the second quarter of their match. Then, Montoursville responded with a major decision win from Karter Stone and first-quarter pin from David Kennedy to reclaim the lead at 16-12.

“It was good. Just trying to be cautious, tight,” said Kennedy on his performance. “Trying not to get in any bad positions.”

That lead was short-lived, as Hughesville freshman Kile Hartman followed up Kennedy’s pin with one of his own. After securing an early takedown in the first quarter, Hartman was able to capitalize on it, attributing the fastest pin of the night at 52 seconds. Hughesvillecoach Troy Charles is excited about what he’s seen from Hartman early and has witnessed him learn exceptionally quickly.

“We came in last weekend and wrestled at the DKIs and Kyle, within a few matches, had made major adjustments to what he was doing,” said Charles. “He’s getting better really fast. I’m super excited to see what he does this season.”

The next big blow wouldn’t occur until the end of the match, with the next five battles all being decided by decision.

Karter Stone of Montoursville and Casey Mook of Hughesville are on their heads as they wrestle during their match at 127 pounds at Montoursville High School Dec. 12, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

A low-scoring affair between Montoursville’s Blaze Vogel and Hughesville’s Mason Mordan opened the stretch, as the pair entered the final period tied at 2-2. Through most of the quarter, Mordan had an advantage and appeared to be on the cusp of a pin.

But after a reset, Vogel was able to pull off a clutch escape, earning his team a pivotal win. The fact that he was bumped up a weight class due to sickness within the team, along with it being his first match of the season, added to his team’s pride in him.

“We have a lot of trust and faith in Blaze (Vogel), that any time he steps on the mat, he’s going to give everything he has for us,” said Yonkin. “I believed he was capable of winning that. That’s why we put him up there.”

That win set the team’s gears in motion, as the Warriors were able to take five of the next six matches. Though the span of five straight matches decided by decision was certainly stressful, Vogel, Gage Wentzel, Owen Kleinman and Evan Bloom all found ways to boost Montoursville’s lead, eventually growing insurmountable after Bloom’s 4-0 victory over Luke Stutzman.

“There were a number of close matches in there, you know, the ones we want to do a little better at,” said Yonkin. “But we still have to take away from the fact that we gutted it out when we had to and as a result, those matches are what tallied it up for us.”

Hayden Harvey of Montoursville takes a shot on Keagan Smith of Hughesville during their match at 160 pounds at Montoursville High School Dec. 12, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

It now sets its sights towards King of the Mountain, as it prepares to face off against 30 teams this weekend.

“We’re looking forward to that,” said Yonkin. “I’m glad whatever we had in our system tonight, we got it out. We haven’t been in that tournament before, so we’re excited to kind of get there and see what that atmosphere is like.”

For Hughesville, it leaves Montoursville with a lot to be proud of as it prepares to host Hughesville Spartan Duals this weekend. Along with Shaner and Hartman, Keagan Smith also secured an exciting win that came with the loudest crowd moment of the night, one of the many bullet points in a list of positives from the match.

“Keagan Smith coming back at the buzzer against a really good freshman (Hayden Harvey), Conor Knight had a really good fight, Mason Mordan had a great fight. Those guys wrestled very skilled wrestlers,” said Charles when listing examples.

“I think our guys are buying in. They’re training, lifting and doing the things they need to do to prepare to the best of their abilities. Montoursville has beaten us by a lot of points over the last five years. So, we come up here and maybe we didn’t win, but we really fought hard, and I was super proud of every single one of my guys.”

Owen Kleinman of Montoursville Wyatt Gavitt of Hughesville to the mat during their match at 172 pounds at Montoursville High School Dec. 12, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Montoursville 40, Hughesville 21

107: Teli Bobotas (M) by forfeit; 114: Jarrett Whitmoyer (H) by forfeit; 121: Chase Shaner (H) pinned Brady Bower, 2:35. 127: Karter Stone (M) maj. dec. Casey Mook, 14-2; 133: David Kennedy (M) pinned Wesley Harvey, 1:31; 139: Kile Hartman (H) pinned Gabe Newton, 0:52; 145: Blaze Vogel (M) dec. Mason Mordan, 3-2; 152: Gage Wentzel (M) dec. Conor Knight, 7-4; 160: Keagan Smith (H) dec. Hayden Harvey, 5-4; 172: Owen Kleinman (M) dec. Wyatt Gavitt, 4-1; 189: Luke Steinbacher (M) dec. Luke Stutzman, 4-0; 215: Evan Bloom (M) won by forfeit. 285: Cole Yonkin (M) pinned Bruce Burkhart, 2:19.

David Kennedy of Montoursville wins his match against Wesley Harvey of Hughesville at 133 pounds at Montoursville High School Dec. 12, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Cole Yonkin of Montoursville wins his match at 285 pounds against Bryce Burkhart of Hughesville at Montoursville High School Dec. 12, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Gabe Newton of Montoursville is pinned by Kile Hartman of Hughesville during their match at 139 at Montoursville High School Dec. 12, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Gabe Newton of Montoursville taken to the mat by Kile Hartman of Hughesville during their match at 139 at Montoursville High School Dec. 12, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Luke Steinbacher of Montoursville takes down Luke Stutzman of Hughesville during their match at 189 pounds at Montoursville High School Dec. 12, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Brady Bower of Montoursville tries to escape the grasp of Chase Shaner of Hughesville during their match at 121 pounds at Montoursville High School Dec. 12, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Karter Stone of Montoursville takes Casey Mook of Hughesville to the mat during their match at 127 pounds at Montoursville High School Dec. 12, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Brady Bower of Montoursville is taken down by Chase Shaner of Hughesville during their match at 121 pounds at Montoursville High School Dec. 12, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Cole Yonkin of Montoursville wins his match at 285 pounds against Bryce Burkhart of Hughesville at Montoursville High School Dec. 12, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette