JEFFERSON TWP — Joey Scanlon pressed his opponent's shoulders onto the mat, his muscles flexing, his face contorted under the strain.

Scanlon's Mars teammates and coaches all stood, yelling encouragement and waving their arms wildly.

The referee counted.

Pin.

It was the first fall of the night and it came in the final match to give Scanlon, a 120-pound sophomore, and the Mars wrestling team a 32-29 win over rival Knoch Wednesday night.

Scanlon, with a fresh bruise ripening under his eye and a scratch across the bridge of his nose, smiled.

“I just tried my hardest,” Scanlon said, shrugging. “That's about it. Yeah, it was in the back of my mind. If I didn't win, we would have lost, so I'm glad I won and I'm glad I was able to do it for the team.”

For Scanlon, it was a big bright spot in a season that started with few.

Scanlon moved up two weight classes this season, from 106 to 120, and has been underweight for most of the year.

Giving away that much strength has been a struggle.

“He had a tough go at the beginning of the season and he's starting to build confidence now and we're starting to see it in his wrestling,” said Mars coach Jason Wilk. “Maybe we should put pressure on him every match because it seems to bring out the best in him.”

Scanlon said he is just now adjusting to the stronger wrestlers he has had to face in his new weight class.

He used his strength to pin Mitch Walter with six seconds remaining in the second period, sending the Mars fans and bench into a victorious frenzy.

“Being underweight kind of stinks,” Scanlon said. “They are stronger than me and have more weight than me. I've been working hard in practice and trying to get my strength up.”

Knoch (5-6, 0-4) had built up a big lead with a pair of major decisions from Noah Kisson (132 pounds) and Eric Green (145), as well as decisions by Max Freyermuth (138), Matt Steinmiller (160) and Charlie Cook (182).

Dalton Ashton's forfeit win at 195 pounds gave Knoch a 29-10 lead, but Mars (4-7, 1-5) swept the final five matches (one by forfeit) to win.

Still, Knoch coach Steve Carney was happy with his team's effort.

“They battled so hard,” Carney said. “We wanted that one, but it came down to the last match and that's the way it goes. We went out fighting, so that's all you can ask for.”

Mars launched the comeback with a major decision by Trevor Heyl (220) and also got a pair of close wins from Tony LaCava (heavyweight) and Max Pasquinelli (113) to set up the make-or-break final match.

The two major decisions Mars lost almost came back to haunt the Planets.

“That's what I tell them; you're not always going to win, but it's about minimizing the points,” Wilk said. “Taking away the pin, taking away the technical fall, fight until that last whistle.

“This one was very evenly matched,” Wilk said. “It just came down to who pushed themselves to get that extra bonus point, because that's the one that made the decision.”

Mars 32, Knoch 29

(Match started at 126 pounds)

106-Alex Hornfeck (M) by forfeit; 113-Max Pasquinelli (M) dec. William Hockenberry, 5-3; 120-Joey Scanlon (M) pinned Mitch Walter, 3:54; 126-Aidan Leshinsky (M) by forfeit; 132-Noah Kisson (K) maj. dec. Robby Crawford, 13-3; 138-Max Freyermuth (K) dec. Silas Bender, 5-3; 145-Eric Green (K) maj. dec. Ryan Swan, 8-0; 152-Noah Wright (M) maj. dec. Brandon Yobst, 10-1; 160-Matt Steinmiller (K) dec. Chris Larch, 7-1; 170-Matt Walter (K) by forfeit; 182-Charlie Cook (K) dec. Nick Shriver, 6-1; 195-Dalton Ashton (K) by forfeit; 220-Trevor Heyl (M) maj. dec. Bailey Savage, 10-0; Hwt.-Tony LaCava (M) dec. Jacob Becker, 6-3