Victory in Bayport says a lot about Tuckers
TUCKERS 55, PHANTOMS 9
The final score was, well, staggering would be the word to describe it. Then again, why use words when numerals will suffice? How does 55-9 sound?
That’s right, 55-9!
As impressive as the score of the Mattituck/Greenport high school wrestling team’s victory was, what may be just as impressive was the opponent it came against: Bayport-Blue Point. Bayport-Blue Point is a respected wrestling power, undoubtedly not accustomed to being on the short end of such scores, but the one-sided result of Friday’s Suffolk County League VII match in Bayport said a lot more about Mattituck/Greenport, the defending league and Suffolk Division II champion, than it did about the hosts.
It was only the third time in nine years that the Tuckers have defeated the Phantoms, and it was easily the most decisive of those three, said Mattituck/Greenport coach Cory Dolson.
No less than 12 of the 15 bouts went the Tuckers’ way, including one forfeit, and they didn’t lose a single contest by a major decision. The Tuckers (10-2, 3-0) never trailed.
Four of those wins came on pins by Luke Bokina (99 pounds), Brian Pelan (132), Tanner Zagarino (152) and Sal Loverde (182). Jack Bokina (106) and T. J. Beebe (113) both triumphed on technical falls.
The quickest pin of the day belonged to Loverde, who wasted little time, 44 seconds, to be exact, in putting Christian Engel to the mat.
Pelan started off the contest with a pin of Jake Palma at 3:25, raising his record to 19-0. Zagarino pinned Dan Primm at 2:44, and Luke Bokina was leading by 15-1 when he stopped Chris Bacalla at 5:28.
The tech falls came in back-to-back bouts by Jack Bokina (at 4:08 against Derek Strine) and Beebe (at 4:15 against Sean Leahy).
James Hoeg won the first of six straight bouts that went Mattituck/Greenport’s way for a 27-6 lead. He used a takedown and a pair of back points to overcome a 1-0 deficit and win his match at 145 pounds against Dylan McGovern, 7-3.
The results kept going the Tuckers’ way.
Mattituck/Greenport’s entry at 160 pounds, Ryan Bergen, registered an 8-4 win over Mike Albanese. Adam Goode, wrestling at 195 for the Tuckers, was a 5-0 winner over Cam Mauro. The bout at 120 went to Tim Pelan, a 4-2 victor over Austin Kruger. As if the Tuckers needed it, Stephen Ostrowski won by forfeit at 285.
Lucas Webb put the finishing touches on the match, defeating his opponent at 126 pounds, Liam Moloney, 5-1.
The day was such that even the Tuckers’ losses were respectable. Despite throwing Joe Palma to the mat several times, Bobby Becker fell short, 2-1, at 138. Christian Angelson met a tough opponent at 170 in Mike Sweeney, who prevailed, 6-3. Connor Andersen suffered a 4-2 loss at 220 to Matt Doty, who scored the winning points with about four seconds left in that contest.
