Cut to present day and it’d be slated to go head-to-head with the Crusaders again, this time with each team’s PIAA Class AA Team tournament life on the line. And while the prospect of beating them seemed more unlikely with the previous match in mind, the energy the Warriors put forth didn’t match that vibe.

Senior David Kennedy and sophomore Hayden Harvey each notched upset wins after falling short of victory in their January matchup. Coupled with Gage Wentzel, Teli Bobotas and Owen Kleinman replicating their previous win, the Warriors went into the final two bouts with a fighting chance.

Ultimately, Bishop McDevitt’s Lucas Lawler – ranked No. 2 in the state at 215 – would seal it one bout later, as the Crusader went on to win, 34-25. But in this case, Montoursville – the lone public school that finished in the top six of this year’s tournament – showed just how close it could come to defeating one of the state’s most consistently stacked squads, putting forth a commendable effort.

Even in defeat, the Warriors left the gym feeling accomplished, represented in the prideful smiles present throughout the accomplished squad. The District 4 champions represented every public school in the state well to say the least, a goal they left Montoursville hoping to achieve.

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's Gage Wentzel wrestles Bishop McDevitt's Ryan Lengel at 172 pounds on Saturday at Altoona during a consolation match.

“I’m proud of the team for making it this far for a public school,” said Harvey on the run. “It’s like us versus all these private schools, just proud of all of us.”

“I think we definitely felt better here rather than down at Bishop McDevitt,” said Kennedy on the performance. “Really quiet gym, no energy and wasn’t really our element. Here, a lot of people, a lot of fans so everyone’s kind of just loving it and feeding off each other’s energy.”

After putting the Warriors on the board with a tight decision over No. 9 Liam Lawler, his second over Lawler this season, Teli Bobotas would miss the first sequence of the next match while settling down following a hard-fought match. In the process, he heard the Montoursville crowd exclaim, as David Kennedy posted a six-point move against the No. 2 wrestler in the state in Greyson Music.

“I was putting on my shirt and hear everyone go insane, like, ‘What just happened? Oh my gosh, Greyson’s down 6-0,” explained Bobotas.

The effort came less than 24 hours after Kennedy secured a takedown on Bishop McCort’s Jax Forrest, a rare occurrence given Forrest’s dominance and No. 1 national ranking. With elevated confidence, Kennedy had worked a tech fall in his following match against Chestnut Ridge before building on it against Music.

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's Blaize Vogel competes against Bishop McDevitt's Zane Crouse at 133 pounds on Saturday at Altoona in the PIAA team consolations in Class AA.

“I’ve trusted myself throughout the whole season with all my work and just went out and did my best,” said Kennedy. “I’ve trusted myself throughout the whole season with all my work and just went out and did my best.”

With controlled ferocity, Kennedy garnered takedown after takedown, expertly working to take advantage of his opportunities while also maintaining his offensive pressure from start to finish. After going into the second with a 6-0 lead, Kennedy generated two more takedowns to up that to 12-2 heading into the third.

Whenever Music worked shots early, Kennedy found a way to work it against him, doing so with his last takedown of the second period. And whenever Music was able to generate offense in the third, briefly getting Kennedy down in decision range with a takedown, Kennedy composed himself and fired back, sealing the 16-5 major decision with his fourth and final takedown of the bout.

“I was thinking straight and everything was going perfect,” said Kennedy. “Knee pick, ankle sweep was all feeling good. This makes me understand how good my takedowns are, and I can trust myself.”

Though things would start to go the other way from there, as Bishop McDevitt fired back with four straight wins to go up 29-7, the Warriors certainly weren’t done yet. Not with anticipated wins, and not with upsets either.

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montuorsville's David Kennedy wrestles against Bishop McDevitt's Greyson Music during Saturday's matchup in Altoona for the PIAA team tournament. Montoursville lost in the consolations in Class AA.

After enduring a major decision loss to No. 11 Nicky Negron in January’s bout, going into Saturday with a 0-2 record in the matchup, Hayden Harvey fought toe-to-toe with Negron in their third match against each other, going into the third trailing 1-0.

There, he’d fight tirelessly to secure a match-tying escape, finally attributing it just past the midway point of the period. Then, rather than vying for overtime, the sophomore would immediately go on the attack, shooting and landing a grip on Negron’s right leg and winning a brief scramble. With a firm hold on his opponent’s leg and continued drive and adjustments, he’d take the lead with a takedown, holding on from there for the 4-1 decision.

“I felt good; I was thinking right,” said Harvey on the keys to bouncing back. “I came out with a different mindset to be aggressive instead of more defense. In the end, it helped me out and got me going.”

Wentzel would follow Harvey up with a third-period pin after multiple close calls and Kleinman would all to the run, making it 19-9 with a 5-1 decision over Landon Blouch. Those were the exact wins the pair had pulled off the last time against the Crusaders, bright spots in a previously dimmer match for the Warriors.

Blaize Vogel and Branden Eisenhour each suffered hard-fought losses to standout opponents, with Vogel obtaining a 1-0 third-period lead against No. 6 Zane Crouse before falling victim to a wave of late takedowns and Eisenhour coming one late surrendered takedown from falling by decision to No. 5 Braiden Lotier at 107.

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's Teli Bobotas looks to take down Bishop McDevitt's Liam Lawler at 121 pounds on Saturday in Altoona.

It was a strong performance overall, one which capped off a memorable run for the Warriors.

Despite facing two top three teams, Gage Wentzel and Teli Bobotas finished undefeated through their runs at Altoona, with Bobotas prevailed through his respective gauntlet, pulling off victories over No. 4 Easton Mull (Chestnut Ridge), No. 9 Liam Lawler and No. 16 Jack Silfies (Bishop McCort). The juniors continue to impress, with Bobotas seeming to up his consistency by the month.

“Just not making it bigger than it actually is. Just wrestling. That’s a big takeaway that I’ve been taking out of this past year and a half of wrestling. It’s a just a match, another day in the office,” said Bobotas. “This is the time to peak, (and) my wrestling is definitely peaking. I’m getting to that level.”

All in all, Montoursville’s run was representative of just how far its come as a team with this current cast. Its been a historic two seasons for the program and there’s still a month left in the season for it to continue building on it.

Now, the focus shifts to the individual postseason.

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's Branden Eisenhour wrestles Bishop McDevitt's Braiden Loiter at 107 pounds on Saturday in Altoona.

Bishop McDevitt 34, Montoursville 25

(PIAA CLASS AA TEAM TOURNAMENT CONSOLATIONS)

17: Braiden Lotier (BM) maj. dec. Branden Eisenhour, 11-1. 114: Aiken Smith (BM) by forfeit. 121: Teli Bobotas (M) dec. Liam Lawler, 3-1. 127: David Kennedy (M) maj. dec. Greyson Music, 16-5. 133: Zane Crouse (BM) maj. dec. Blaize Vogel, 12-4. 139: Camden Baum (BM) tech fall Karter Stone, 19-3, 1:58. 145: Easton Comp (BM) tech fall Hunter Gee, 16-0, 2:19. 152: Ryan Lawler (BM) tech fall Ryan Meredith, 16-1, 1:08. 160: Hayden Harvey (M) dec. Nicky Negron, 4-2. 172: Gage Wentzel (M) pinned Ryan Lengal, 3:37. 189: Owen Kleinman (M) dec. Landon Blouch, 5-1. 215: Lucas Lawler (BM) tech fall Gabriel Vanderwall, 19-3, 2:19. 285: Landon Morehart (M) by forfeit.

Montoursville 37, Chestnut Ridge 29

(PIAA CLASS AA TEAM TOURNAMENT CONSOLATIONS)

107: Garrett Weyandt (CR) dec. Branden Eisenhour, 10-4. 114: Colby Kaufman (CR) by forfeit. 121: Teli Bobotas (M) dec. Easton Mull, 10-3. 127: Dominic Deputy (CR) pinned Ryan Aguirre, 1:19. 133: David Kennedy (M) tech fall Trenden Willey, 18-2, 4:18. 139: Blaize Vogel (M) tech fall Maddux Sipe, 17-0, 2:06. 145: Aaron Ickes (CR) maj. dec. Karter Stone, 11-0. 152: Christian Feight (CR) maj. dec. Ryan Meredith, 8-0. 160: Hayden Harvey (M) pinned Jonmark Harbaugh, 1:16. 172: Gage Wentzel (M) pinned Tristan Casey, 1:41. 189: Jayden Imler (CR) by forfeit. 215: Owen Kleinman (M) pinned Jesse Calhoun, 0:53. 285: Landon Morehart (M) by forfeit.

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's Branden Eisenhour wrestles Chestnut Ridge's Garrett Weyandt at 107 pounds in Saturday's consolations at Altoona.

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's Owen Kleinman wrestles Chestnut Ridge's Jesse Calhoun at 215 pounds on Saturday in Altoona during a consolation bout.