Falcons outlast Tigers

by Tom Waring, Bucks County Courier Times

Posted on February 4, 2010

BRISTOL TWP. - What a night of wrestling at Harry S Truman High School.

The nearly three-hour bout between Truman and Pennsbury left coaches, wrestlers, fans and the referee agitated for one reason or another.

In the end, Pennsbury left with a 36-21 victory.

"It was a confusing night, I think, for everyone," said Pennsbury coach Joe Kiefer.

Truman (16-11 overall, 2-3 Suburban One League National Conference) celebrated its Senior Night before the match, which dragged on with a combination of nosebleeds, injury timeouts, stalling calls and other stoppages.

The Tigers also celebrated a 15-12 lead after an improbable win at 145 pounds. Decisions by Josh DiSanto, Jeff Lieb, Dave Mills and Anthony Argenti had given the Falcons an early lead.

Sean Edmondson's pin and Dan Balek's decision kept Truman close, but Pennsbury's Pat Schlatter built a 9-0, third-period lead on Kyle Robinson before the Tigers senior completed a miraculous turnaround with a pin at 5:15.

Pennsbury (9-4, 4-0 SOL) answered with three nice wins in a row. George Peel scored a late takedown and pinned his opponent with just 10 seconds on the clock at 152. Mark Nicholson moved up to 160 to beat a pretty good wrestler in Shane Marchesani. Conlan Cornman used a cradle to pin Jim Wolfe in 2:21 at 171.

"That was big for us," Kiefer said of Cornman's fall.

Truman's Don Crawley and Pennsbury's Kevin Bree traded decisions, leaving Pennsbury with a 30-18 lead with two bouts to go. Then, things got really interesting.

Pennsbury's Josh Mitchell, ninth at 285 pounds in the Class AAA PA PowerRankings, was twice whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct against Quinton Bryant. Truman coach Steve Given grabbed his rulebook and argued for an automatic disqualification.

After conferring with Kiefer and the scorer's table, referee Andy Seader raised Bryant's hand in victory, and Mitchell left the gym area. Upon further review of the rulebook, it was determined that a disqualification comes only after four unsportsmanlike calls, and Mitchell and Bryant resumed the bout. Bryant held on for a 3-1 win.

"Quinton did what he had to," said Given, whose team was missing four starters. "He handled the adversity, and that was the difference in the match."

Pennsbury is favored to go to 5-0 in the conference after tonight's match with William Tennent, but the Falcons are given little chance of winning the championship, since they haven't yet wrestled Council Rock South and Council Rock North.

Still, they're a lot better than last year's team that went 2-5 in the SOL.

"All of our weight classes seem to be pretty good," said Cornman, a junior who just returned to the lineup after a jaw injury. "And we can always count on Bree and Mitchell. We see them as the team anchors."

Pennsbury lost to Truman in a tournament earlier this season and fell to Neshaminy in the District One Duals, but beat both of them in conference matches.

"We're real happy with those two," Kiefer said. "They were super big matches."

Pennsbury will clinch at least third place if it beats Tennent.

"That's a big if. Tennent has a good team," Kiefer said.

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