Crestwood Defeats Berwick 40 - 28 On January 27

Berwick traveled to take on the Comets of Crestwood High School on January 27.  As the last regular season dual meet for the Dawgs, Crestwood was able to record 4 falls to Berwick's 2 and and the Comets snatched a 40-28 win.  Recording pins for Berwick were Dom Yantorn (1:59) and Tyler Perry (3:39).

Prior to the evening battle, the good-size crowd on hand witnessed some very exciting exhibition wrestling bouts.  Dawg freshman Matt Knecht took to the mat of manhood in what was the most thrilling match of the entire night.  Knecht, engaged in an all-out war that saw the score see-saw between the gladiators, was losing with precious time ticking away in the third.  Matt then rallied and impressively collapsed his opponent to record the winning points and an exhilarating 7-6 decision as time ran out on the clock.  Dawg junior Richard Brown also put on quite a performance when he notched an impressive victory.  Brown took to the circle of war and initiated a lightening blitzkrieg against his opponent by utilizing his superior strength.  Richard went on to power-staple the shoulders of his opponent to the mat with a thunderous pin.  Great job Dawgs!!

The official start of action witnessed the Dawgs open up on a strong note when sophomore Aaron Karns pummeled his opponent in a "take-him-down & let-him-up" clinic that resulted in an electrifying win by technical fall.  Berwick's lead was short-lived as the Comets took the next bouts, 2 by major decision and 1 by decision, with the Dawgs trailing 5-11.

Freshman Dom Yantorn got the scoreboard lights twinkling once again for Berwick when he electrified the Dawg Faithful in attendance by stitching a singlet to the mat with surgical precision with just one second left in the first period.  Yantorn's fall tied the meet at 11 with still 9 bouts to go.  Crestwood responded with a rally that saw them capture the next 3 bouts, 2 by fall and 1 by technical fall.  Berwick was now trailing 11-28.

Junior team captain Tyler Perry was determined to stop the Comet rally and demonstrated his leadership with his superior technical skills.  Tyler came out on fire and dismantled his opponent before clamping a lights-out pin in the second period.  After Perry got the all-important 6 bonus points for Berwick, Crestwood negated the Dawg score by recording their own fall in the next bout.  Berwick was now down by a 17-34 deficit.

Berwick desperately needed a rally and the Dawgs responded.  Sophomore Nick Venditti took the circle of battle next for Berwick and once again physically and technically dominated his opponent for the duration in securing an impressive 8-0 major decision.  Senior team captain Josh Walsh was up next, and with the strength of a raging bull and the quickness of a hungry cat, Josh put on a brilliant display of wrestling when he overwhelmed his opponent in notching an inspiring 11-2 major decision.  Sophomore Chris Johnson kept the Dawg rally alive when he entered into an all-out slugfest that witnessed Johnson out-wrestling and out-hustling his opponent to place a much needed 7-3 win into the score book.

The Dawgs closed the scoring gap to a 28-34 deficit but once again Crestwood responded by taking the last bout of the night by fall to empty the gym with a 40-28 Comet win.

Berwick, 12-8 (overall) and 7-3 (district) has qualified for the District 2 Class AAA team duals championship tournament which will be held next weekend on February 4 & 5 (more details will provided when available).

Winning Dawgs Against Crestwood
Aaron Karns:  Technical Fall
Dom Yantorn:  Fall
Tyler Perry:  Decision
Nick Venditti:  Major Decision
Josh Walsh:  Major Decision
Chris Johnson:  Decision

Go Dawgs!!