Patriots Nip Dawgs 33 - 28 On January 24.  Great Strategy & Wrestling Witnessed

Berwick hosted the Patriots of Pittston on Tuesday, January 24.  The Patriots just barely got past the Dawgs with a 33-28 win.

One thing - just one thing needs to be said about this outstanding dual.

Nobody in the district thought Berwick would have much of a chance against Pittston.

....except the Dawgs.

There is no question that others had Berwick as the under-dawgs in this match.  But then again, head coach Ernie Yates showed what 18 years of coaching experience can do with a bunch of young and talented wrestlers.  Coach Yates juggled the lineup with great strategy and secured key match-ups.

But that was only half of it.  The wrestlers had to perform.  And perform they did in snatching half of the bouts wrestled and coming up just short in what was arguably the best and most action-packed district match of the year.

Senior team captain Josh Walsh was the first Dawg out of the pen and got the Berwick Faithful to their feet in recording a commanding second period fall.  The Patriots took the next bout by decision before Senior Steve Ferguson wrestled with all the guts and intensity needed on the big night and walked off with a 5-3 decision.

With Berwick holding a 9-3 lead, Pittston struck back with two consecutive falls that put them into their first lead of the night by the score of 15-9.

Sophomore Aaron Karns, wrestling up and giving up a ton of weight, showed why quickness and conditioning matters most in recording an impressive and key 3-2 decision.  The Patriots took the next bout by a 7-3 decision and Pittston was holding a 18-12 lead.

Enter freshman Dom Yantorn.  In what many expected to be a close bout between two top ranked district wrestlers, Yantorn stormed to the mat and ignited the fans in the stands in nailing an excellent fall in just a mere 18 seconds.  Fellow freshman Steve Prebola followed suit and came out on fire putting on a clinic in grabbing a 9-6 decision.  Sophomore Lou Ney kept the rally fire going by putting on a show of strength and technique in placing a superb 8-1 decision into the books.  Berwick now had a 24-18 lead.

Pittston then notched a key win in the next bout by the slimmest of margins with a one-point 5-4 decision.  Sophomore Nick Venditti came out next and simply overwhelmed his opponent with an outstanding 11-0 major decision.

The Patriots would take the last 2 bouts of the night by fall that allowed them to just nip the Dawgs with a 33-28 win.

Winning Dawgs Against Pittston
Josh Walsh:  Fall
Steve Ferguson:  Decision
Aaron Karns:  Decision
Dom Yantorn:  Fall
Steve Prebola:  Decision
Lou Ney:  Decision
Nick Venditti:  Major Decision

Go Dawgs!!