Wildcats Nipped by Huskies for District Crown (Video Report)

AdminFebruary 1, 2015

2 minutes read

TYRONE—It couldn’t get much tighter, Saturday night’s District Six Teams Duals showdown between defending AAA champion Central Mountain and last year’s runner-up Mifflin County.

And whereas the Wildcats pulled out a 1-point win for the title a year ago, Mifflin County extracted revenge this time around, pulling out a back-and-forth 32-31 victory.

With the win Mifflin County (17-3) will move on to the PIAA state dual tournament starting Thursday; a likely first round match against District 11 second place finisher Parkland. For Central Mountain (11-1) the loss was the first of the season as the Huskies used a Wildcat staple, bonus points, to pick up the win.

The Huskies made a strategic move in their lineup, “bumping up” their middle and upper-weights as it paid dividends, Mifflin County splitting the 14 bouts at 7-apiece. In December Central Mountain had won 36-24, taking 8 of the 14 bouts.

Mifflin County led for much of the match, Central Mountain getting the lead for the first and only time in bout number 12 when Keanan Bottorf ( 22-7) got a takedown and third period fall after trailing Noah Myers 1-0 late into the final period. The Wildcats took a 28-26 lead at that point but Mifflin County got a fall from Jonah Kile at 126 pounds to regain the lead at 32-28. Wildcat sophomore Colton Weaver (19-8) needed a bout termination or a fall for a CM win; Weaver gave it his all but had to settle for a 10-5 win in the night’s final bout, putting the final score at Mifflin County 32, Central Mountain 31.

Other Wildcat winners were Emery Watson (19-6) with a major at 145 pounds; Demetri Probst (25-7) with a 6-3 win over state-ranked Isaac Underhill; Gavin Caprio (17-1), held to a 10-3 regular decision by the Huskies’ Keith Corson; Bryce Hanley (25-7) with a fall; and Geo Barzona (20-5) with a forfeit.

The Wildcats had moved into the final with a 62-0 dusting of State College while Mifflin County struggled to edge Bellefonte 36-33.

Central Mountain will return to regular dual meet action Tuesday, hosting Hollidaysburg. Other mid-state teams qualifying for next weekend’s trip to Hershey were District 4 champ Jersey Shore, defeating Shikellamy 34-23, and St. Marys, winning the District 9 crown over Clearfield by a 33-22 score.