It’s the second time Denny Harer has coached a team to a top-6 finish, the first since doing so at Muncy in 2018. It also marks the highest finish in team tournament history for the Red Raiders.

“It’s exciting. We knew the odds going down there and what we were going to be facing and our goal was to try to win a couple matches and that’s exactly what we did,” Harer said.

Montgomery found itself in a hole early against Bishop McDevitt and the Crusaders were able to cruise from there. Going in, however, Harer knew it would be tough against a team like Bishop McDevitt.

“For sure. The chance of us winning the dual was not very high, but our kids went out and wrestled and that’s all I can ask of them,” Harer noted.

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montgomery's Carden Wagner tries to escape Saucon Valley's Mason Wenhold at 133 pounds on Saturday.

Montgomery’s Liam Seeley fell at 121 pounds where the dual started by decision in a tough matchup against McDevitt’s Aiken Smith, 5-4. Seeley, ranked No. 20 in the state, secured a takedown with three seconds left in the first period for a 3-0 lead and had an escape to open the second period for a 4-0 lead but the third period saw No. 21-ranked Smith fight back.

Smith had an escape with 1:14 left in the third period and with 16 seconds remaining, was awarded a point via stalling penalty. Then, as time expired, he secured a huge takedown to win at the buzzer, 5-4.

At 127, Carden Wagner, ranked No. 18, faced McDevitt’s Zane Crouse. No. 7-ranked Crouse kept racking up points, leading 3-0 after the first period and 12-2 going into the third. Crouse would eventually secure a pin for six points against Wagner and a 9-0 McDevitt lead.

Crouse’s pin victory at 127 was followed by back-to-back tech fall wins for Bishop McDevitt which built up the lead to 19-0.

At 133, No. 9 Liam Lawler earned an 18-0, 2:14 tech against Carter Finck and at 139, top-ranked Camden Baum cruised past AJ Kroft by tech fall, 15-0, 1:16. In the final 48 seconds of the first period, Baum accumulated 11 points thanks to a takedown and then two nearfalls in the final 35 seconds.

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montgomery's Trace Furman takes down Saucon Valley's Ashton Beckowski during their bout Saturday at 152 pounds.

The matchup at 145 saw the Nos. 2 and 3 ranked wrestlers meet up between No. 2 Brandt Harer and Bishop McDevitt’s Greyson Music, ranked No. 3. Harer picked up win No. 202 for his career as he had a hard-fought 4-1 decision win over Music. Harer had an escape in the second period with 1:42 left for a 1-0 lead and then had a big takedown with four seconds left to go ahead, 4-0. Music secured an escape with 1:01 remaining in the third period, but couldn’t score any other points against Harer.

The match against Music was just the second time this year that an opponent went a full six minutes against Harer. The other happened on Saturday morning in the consolation semifinals against Saucon Valley’s Matthew Santorow, which Harer won via major decision, 16-4.

Harer now sits at 202 career wins and trails only Northern Lebanon’s Aaron Siedel’s state record of 206. He’s four from tying and five from becoming Pennsylvania’s all-time wins leader as Montgomery will turn its attention to the individual postseason with the Central Sectional tournament at Hughesville this week.

“We need some rest. We’re going to give a couple days off, our guys are beat up and banged up and they also need rest,” Harer said. “It’s important to this sport, so we’re going to take a couple days, get healthier and get ready in the middle of week and wrestle sectionals.”

A forfeit at 152 extended McDevitt’s lead over the Red Raiders, 25-3.

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montgomery's Brandt Harer battles Saucon Valley's Matthew Santoro during their bout Saturday at 145 pounds.

At 160, McDevitt’s Nicky Negron, ranked No. 5 in the state, secured a fall over Josh Knoebel in 4:05 after leading 16-3. That extended Bishop McDevitt’s lead to 31-3 with six bouts to wrestle.

Montgomery’s Raiden Felix tried to stay with Bishop McDevitt’s Johannes Gilfoil at 172, but Gilfoil proved to be too much in the end. The Bishop McDevitt 172-pounder, ranked No. 22 in Pennsylvania, had a only 3-0 lead after the first period, but pulled away in the second period with 12 points scored en route to an 18-5 major decision win which gave his team a 35-3 lead going to 189.

“Such a great kid from watching him start as a freshman year to what he’s done now, it’s exciting,” Harer said. “It’s a testament to our program, just a great kid and we’re excited with the success we’re having right now.”

Another tech fall at 189 by Bishop McDevitt made it a 40-3 lead as Ryan Lengal beat Gage Furman, 16-1 in 4:25. Lengel had a 7-0 lead in the first period and extended the lead to 13-1 in the second thanks to two takedowns. He had a third takedown with 35 seconds left in the third to secure the tech fall victory.

Evan Hugar dropped a 12-6 decision at 215 against Bishop McDevitt’s Ethan Miller. Hugar trailed just 3-1 after the first period thanks to a late escape with 24 seconds left. In the second period, however, Miller secured four points 35 seconds in with a nearfall and then, after an escape by Hugar, had a takedown 14 seconds later for a 10-2 lead. Hugar added a point as the period closed.

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montgomery's Liam Seeley controls Bishop McDevitt's Aiken Smith during their bout on Saturday at 121 pounds.

Hugar had a takedown with 58 seconds left in the third period to cut the deficit to 10-6, but that’s the closest he’d get to flipping the match as a reversal with 36 seconds left by Miller put him ahead by six. The win put Bishop McDevitt ahead, 43-3.

Bishop McDevitt made it a 49-3 lead after Christopher Thompson pinned Keigan Clark at 285 in 2:46 after he led the bout, 4-0.

Montgomery’s Ian Marquette fell at 107 by tech fall to No. 12th-ranked Bishop McDevitt’s Blake Klipp, 22-3, as McDevitt extended its lead to 54-3.

The bout at 114 put two top-6 ranked wrestlers against one another in No. 2 Braiden Lotier of McDevitt and No. 6 Gabe Oberheim of Montgomery. Lotier showed why he’s the second-ranked wrestler in Pennsylvania as he dominated for a 16-1 tech fall win to secure the 59-3 win against the Red Raiders, ending Montgomery’s team run.

Montgomery shook off a 61-12 loss from Friday night with a 37-23 consolation-round victory on Saturday morning against Saucon Valley to keep its season alive and advance to the consolation semifinals.

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montgomery's Evan Hugar controls Saucon Valley's Liam Stonebeck during their match at 215 pounds on Saturday.

“It was a question of if I let (Furman and Seeley) wrestle that match or not. Trace (Furman) is banged up, (Liam) Seeley was coming off a concussion and trying to get the fine line of keeping these guys healthy and winning a dual,” Harer said. “We thought in that instance vs. Saucon Valley, we knew we had a shot at winning. They were both in and we went after it. Kudos to those boys.”

Montgomery had back-to-back falls at 114 and 121 pounds when Oberheim and Seeley secured falls. At 114, Oberheim pinned Gavin Chunko in 2:10 and at 121, Seeley needed just 50 seconds to secure a fall over Gabe Baer.

After a fall for Saucon Valley at 127, Montgomery had a run of six consecutive victories from 133-172.

Wagner had an 18-2, 3:26 dominating tech fall win against Mason Wenhold at 133. At 139, Kroft of Montgomery secured an 11-0 major decision win vs. Zachary Rygiel.

Harer defeated Matthew Santoro at 145 via major decision, 16-4. Santoro is the first wrestler this year to go a full six minutes against Harer, who won all his previous matches by either tech fall or pins.

At 152, Furman took an early 3-0 lead against Saucon Valley’s Ashton Beckowski before being able to get him on his back for an 18-second pin.

Felix defeated Taylor Rohn of Saucon Valley at 172 in a hard-fought battle by decision, 4-2. Felix had a takedown with 18 seconds left in the first period for an early 3-0 lead. An escape 15 seconds into the second period gave Felix a 4-0 lead, which lasted the rest of the period. In the third period, Rohn secured an escape with 46 seconds left and was awarded a point with 15 seconds remaining for stalling. Felix prevented a match-turning takedown, however, in the final seconds.

At 189, Brittian Ash of Saucon Valley beat Furman by decision, 9-6. Ash had a takedown with 47 seconds remaining in the first period for a 3-0 lead and had an escape early in the second for a 4-0 lead. Furman had a takedown halfway through the second period to cut the deficit to 4-3, but Ash responded with a quick escape and then takedown for four more points as the second period ended with a Furman escape and Ash ahead, 8-4.

A reversal with 1:20 left in the third period cut the deficit to 8-6, but Ash had an escape with 1:10 remaining to go ahead by three and held on from there.

At 215, Saucon Valley’s Liam Stoneback and Hugar had an exciting match which went to overtime. Tied at 1-1 through three periods, Stoneback had a takedown with 18 seconds left to get the sudden victory win over the Red Raider. Hugar tied it with an escape with 1:08 left in the third period.

Montgomery’s Clark was pinned by Ezekiel Deily in 1:46 in the 285-pound matchup. Clark led 3-0 with 30 seconds left in the first period thanks to a takedown.

Bishop McDevitt 59, Montgomery 3

(PIAA CLASS AA DUALS)

(CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS)

107: Blake Klipp (BM) tech fall Ian Marquette, 22-3, 1:59. 114: Braiden Lotier (BM) tech fall Gabe Oberheim, 16-1, 2:34. 121: Aiken Smith (BM) dec. Liam Seeley, 5-4. 127: Zane Crouse (BM) pinned Carden Wagner, 3:28. 133: Liam Lawler (BM) tech fall Carter Finck, 18-0, 2:14. 139: Camden Baum (BM) tech fall AJ Kroft, 15-0, 1:16. 145: Brandt Harer (M) dec. Greyson Music, 4-1. 152: Easton comp (BM) by forfeit. 160: Nicky Negron (BM) pinned Josh Knoebel, 4:05. 172: Johannesn Gilfoil (BM) maj. dec. Raiden Felix, 18-5. 189: Ryan Lengal (BM) tech fall Gage Furman, 16-1, 4:25. 215: Ethan Miller (BM) dec. Evan Hugar, 12-6. 285: Christopher Thompson (BM) pinned Keigan Clark, 2:46.

Montgomery 37, Saucon Valley 23

(PIAA CLASS AA DUALS)

(CONSOLATION FIRST ROUND)

107: Dominic D’Ambola (SV) tech fall Ian Marquette, 15-0, 3:11. 114: Gabe Oberheim (M) pinned Gavin Chunko, 2:10. 121: Liam Seeley (M) pinned Gabe Baer, 0:50. 127: Carter Chunk (SV) pinned Carter Finck, 0:41. 133: Carden Wagner (M) tech fall Mason Wenhold, 18-2, 3:26. 139: AJ Kroft (M) maj. dec. Zachary Rygiel, 11-0. 145: Brandt Harer (M) maj. dec. Matthew Santoro, 16-4. 152: Trace Furman (M) pinned Ashton Beckowski, 0:18. 160: Josh Knoebel (M) dec. Etlijah Szlachtianschyn, 4-0. 172: Raiden Felix (M) dec. Taylor Rohn, 4-2. 189: Brittan Ash (SV) dec. Gage Furman, 9-6. 215: Liam Stonebeck (SV) dec. Evan Hugar, 4-1 SV. 285: Ezekiel Deily (SV) pinned Keigan Clark, 1:46.

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montgomery's Raiden Felix battles Saucon Valley's Taylor Rohn at 172 pounds during Saturday's bout.

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montgomery's Brandt Harer earns back points against Saucon Valley's Matthew Santoro at 145 pounds on Saturday.

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montgomery's AJ Kroft earns back points wrestling Saucon Valley's Zachary Rygiel at 139 pounds on Saturday.