Milford Mirror

Lawmen sweeps five matches

Tuesday, 31 January 2012 15:25

Jonathan Law High School’s wrestling team might not be where coach Matt Schoonmaker wants it to be, but the Class M Lawmen are “working hard and getting better.” After getting off to a slow start this season, the squad has improved to 16-7, a turnaround which was capped off by a 5-0 stint at a six-team meet in Milford on Saturday.

“We’re not at the level we used to be, but we’re improving,” Schoonmaker said.

“The change in weight class distribution hurt us — we just don’t get enough kids, especially football players, coming out for the team. We’re a solid class M school; we should be able to get the turnout.”

This week, the Lawmen will head up to Woodstock on Saturday to take on Woodstock Academy. The meet begins at 9 a.m.

The Lawmen opened up the all-day affair with a narrow 39-35 victory over Newington.

The score was tied at 12 after four matches before the locals surged ahead, helped out by two forfeits in the 182- and 220-pound classes and a 1:28 pin by 195-pounder Kyle Frawley.

That took the score to 30-12, but the Indians were persistent.

Back-to-back first-period pins by Newington in the heavyweight and lightweight classes narrowed the margin to 30-24, and a five-point technical fall in the 113-pound class, brought the Indians to within one point.

With the score at 30-29, just four matches left and Newington on a roll, the Indians jumped ahead to a 35-30 lead with 8-4 and 8-2 decisions in the 120- and 126-pound classes.

Down by five points with two matches left, the Lawmen found themselves in a do-or-die situation.

Senior captain Evan Delorio took the mat for Law against Newington’s 132-pound Matt Kulowski and earned the early takedown.

Kulowski was persistent, escaping Delorio’s hold and later taking control.

The score was 5-3 Delorio at the end of the first period, and the senior assumed the top position to open up the second frame.

He promptly escaped Kulowski’s hold and recorded another takedown, but didn’t seal the deal until halfway through the third period, where the 5:04 pin boosted Law to a 36-35 lead with only one match left.

The fate of the team score lay in the hands of 138-pound freshman Max German.

German earned the early takedown over Newington’s Andrew Carter, and the score remained at 2-0 for the duration of the match.

Despite holding a lead over Carter which could have been erased with just a reversal or takedown, German skillfully held on for the decision and secured his team’s 39-35 victory.

Law was back on the mat against Stratford High in round two of the meet, annihilating the Red Devils by an astounding 66-9.

Cody Edson (145, 3:08), Evan Delorio (132, 3:31), Max German (138, 3:00), Ryan Bannon (126, 0:51), Brian Manes (120, 1:53), Jake Mastrianna (220, 3:31), Chris Krouch (152, 4:45) and Soukhith Khamhoung (160, 1:40) all contributed pins.

Anthony Volturno (170) and Phil Manes (113) chipped in with one-point decisions.

After a short break, the Lawmen returned to take on New Fairfield in round three.

Senior captain Khamhoung set the tone for the meet, opening things up with a 24-second pin of New Fairfield’s L.J. Quartaro.

Volturno earned his second win of the day with an 11-4 decision over Kerrin McLaughlin, before New Fairfield went on a tear, sweeping the next four matches to jump ahead to a 21-9 lead.

In typical Law fashion, however, the squad regained its momentum and bounced back, capitalizing on two forfeits to tie the score at 21 before captain Brian Manes earned a 1:31 pin in the 120-pound class.

Bannon followed up with a 27-second pin of Ryan Collins, giving Law a 33-21 lead with four matches left.

Delorio took the mat in the 132-pound class, earning the early takedown but not scoring another point in the entire first period.

He kept control of New Fairfield’s Billy Gantert for the majority of the match, racking up a 9-1 final score to earn the four-point major decision.

New Fairfield was still within reach of a win, and chipped away at Law’s lead with a major decision in the 138-pound class to narrow the margin to 37-25.

But Edson took care of business in the 145-pound class, earning a 2:40 pin of Andre Vazquez after maintaining control over the Rebel for the entire first period.

A 55-second pin for New Fairfield in the final match of the meet was too little, too late for the Rebels, and Law secured the 43-31victory.

Law’s closest meet of the day was a nail-biting 39-38 victory over the Derby Red Raiders.

The meet began in the 170-pound category and the Lawmen surged ahead, allowing only one loss in the upper weight classes.

Volturno started things off with his third win of the day, jumping ahead to a 5-0 lead in the first period and earning the pin at 3:49.

Mastrianna (1:31) and heavyweight James Marren (0:20) earned back-to back pins, stretching the score to 24-6.

Derby shaved 10 points off of Law’s lead with two victories in the lightest weights, but Law answered with a pair of pins by Brian Manes (120, 3:58) and Bannon (126, 1:35).

Delorio chipped in three points with a 5-0 win over Sebby Hernandez, taking the score to 39-16.

With four matches left, Law was far from a safe victory, and Delorio’s win proved to be the final match to swing in the Lawmen’s favor.

Derby swept the final four matches, earning back 22 points on two pins, an injury default, and a major decision.

It was that major decision - lost by Edson — that proved to be the deciding factor in Law’s victory.

Down by such a margin, the Red Raiders needed every point they could procure. Simply by staying off his back, Edson kept Derby at bay and the Red Raiders found themselves just one point short of victory.

With the heavy lifting out of the way, Law wrapped up the day with an easy 60-16 victory over a short-staffed Fitch of Groton squad.

After falling behind 10-0, Law rebounded to seize 10-of-12 matches.

Mastrianna started things off, earning a 3:08 pin in the 220-pound class, before Marron wrapped up the heavyweight division with a swift 17-second pin.

After Samantha Rebentisch earned the early takedown on her way to a 1:14 pin in the lightweight class, Fitch surrendered four matches by forfeit, stretching Law’s lead to 42-10.

Max German, Chris Krouch, and Soukhith Khamhoung each added pins in less than a minute and a half to cap off the Lawmen’s final victory of the day.

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