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Wildcats rout rival Shore on road, post 11th straight win

By HENRY HUBER 6 min read

JERSEY SHORE - In front of a packed Jersey Shore gym on Thursday night, No. 16 Central Mountain (11-0) hit the ground running and never looked back.

Freshman Hayes Donley opened the rivalry bout with a first-period pin to kick off a five-match span of dominance that featured four pins and five bonus-point victories, helping the Wildcats break out to a 28-0 lead. And when Jersey Shore responded with two bonus-point victories, Central Mountain responded right back, shutting it down until closing handshakes to defeat its rival, 59-10.

With the win, the Wildcats closed out their regular season dual schedule undefeated for the third straight year, following up a similarly dominant win against Hollidaysburg with much of the same on Thursday. Despite their on-the-scoreboard dominance, head coach Biff Walizer still feels there are improvements to be made as they prepare for next weekend's District Duals.

"I don't feel it was our best, complete all-around performance as far as guys staying focused for the full six minutes," said Walizer. "As a team overall, I just think that our focus needs to be more consistent throughout the match. We had some lapses there and at District Duals, those lapses will cost you big."

There were some tough results, like freshman Hayes Henry surrendering a late takedown to give Jersey Shore's Owen Vandruff a major decision and Dalton McDermott falling short of a tech fall after building up a 14-1 lead heading into the third period. But there was also plenty of dominance to go around.

Donley used sound maneuvering amidst a scramble to establish advantage, securing a takedown before turning it into a match-opening pin at 145. And in the four matches that followed, No. 2 Dalton Perry, Luke Ananea, McDermott and Bryce Brungard racked up a combined 58 points and 11 takedowns, with Perry, Ananea and Brungard posting falls and the latter two doing so in the first period.

When Jersey Shore responded behind a second-period pin from No. 16 Slate Sechrist and emphatic major decision from Owen Vandruff, cutting the deficit to 28-10, the Wildcats ended any semblance of doubt with a string of 31 unanswered points.

No. 10 Gavin Heverly and Luke Garman secured first-period pins at 114 and 133 respectively, with Garman posting the fastest pin of the night at 28 seconds. Cael Dorman added a major decision against Bradley Derr at 107, racking up nine points through the first two periods and nearly pinning Derr in the second. And Patrick Tarantella won a hard-fought decision, 10-6, against Louden Spotts, with two wins by forfeit contributing to the run.

"Some of our young guys did well, Luke Ananea's been wrestling really well," said Walizer when discussing standouts from the match. "To see (Ananea) going out and taking advantage of his senior season, I'm really proud of his effort and the work he's put in. That was his 20th win on the season."

For Jersey Shore (6-13), there were positives despite the lopsided final score.

On Senior Night, seniors Slate Sechrist and Owen Vandruff honored their class well on the mat, each posting big wins to excite an anxious crowd. Sechrist racked up seven points through the first period at 215 before landing an immediate shot off the whistle at the start of the second, securing a quick takedown before working it into a pin.

And amidst a tense, hard-fought match at 285, Vandruff put together a strong, all-around effort, never allowing Henry to score a point while consistently finding ways to establish his offense.

In the second period, he landed a well-placed shot before tracking Henry down for the takedown before he got back to neutral. Then, with the clock winding down in the third, he used his strength to get Henry down out of a standing scrum, securing the major-clinching takedown with just 18 seconds left in the match.

"It was nice to see our seniors pick up Ws because they mean a lot to us, not just as wrestlers but they're two amazing young men that I love to death," said Jersey Shore head coach Tony Owens on their success. "I was happy that they were able to win and that every guy (was able to establish) little things, a takedown here or escape there."

Sophomore Tobias Morgret became just the fourth wrestler this season to last until the third period against 2022 state champion Dalton Perry, granted Perry is coming off injury. And Spotts fought well against perennially ranked Patrick Tarantella, continuing to show flashes as a freshman.

With the team not competing in District 4/9 Class AAA Duals next Saturday, Jersey Shore's dual season closes with its three remaining regular season matches against Troy, Mount Carmel and Wellsboro. The hope is that the team can continue building on the positives experienced in recent weeks, as they prepare for individual postseason.

"I've always said Central Mountain, they set the standard. We knew coming in that we were the underdog, so we just take the positives where we can get them and work on it," said Owens.

"There are some things we wish we would have done better and things we did really well. Obviously wasn't the outcome I hoped for but they're the bar. They're ones that we've got to compete against."

For Central Mountain, the focus quickly shifts to its last regular season tournament in West Branch's 46-team Ultimate Warrior, which is set to begin at 1 p.m. on Friday. Then, it begins its postseason with District 6 Class AAA Duals next weekend.

"It's a big weekend, two-day tournament, so hopefully we can work to get the team points up and get a team trophy, which is always nice," said Walizer.

"But just want to improve on the things that we need to improve on, keep moving forward, working hard, competing hard and trying to get through the weekend as healthy is a big point at this time."

Central Mountain 59, Jersey Shore 10

145: Hayes Donley (CM) pinned Blake Murphy (JS), 1:27. 152: No. 2 Dalton Perry (CM) pinned Tobias Morgret (JS), 4:55. 160: Luke Ananea (CM) pinned Jon Dincher (JS), 1:56. 172: Dalton McDermott (CM) maj. dec. Zeke Sechrist (JS), 14-5. 189: Bryce Brungard (CM) pinned Garrett Barner (JS), 1:50. 215: Slate Sechrist (JS) pinned Kai Fravel (CM), 2:14. 285: Owen Vandruff maj. dec. Hayes Henry (CM), 8-0. 107: Cael Dorman (CM) maj. dec. Bradley Derr (JS), 9-0. 114: No. 10 Gavin Heverly (CM) pinned Draylen Phillips (JS), 1:44. 121: Collin Bauman (CM) won by forfeit. 127: No. 5 Aiden Kunes (CM) won by forfeit. 133: Luke Garman (CM) pinned Kaleb Morse (JS), :28. 139: Patrick Tarantella (CM) dec. Louden Spotts (JS), 10-6.

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