NORTH HUNTINGDON — It was a place Butler's Ian McLaughlin wasn't familiar with, but he knew the way out.

McLaughlin, wrestling at 119 pounds, trailed 5-0 to West Allegheny's Jason Rider in his quarterfinal match at the WPIAL Class AAA Championships at Norwin High School Friday, yet he converted a second-period takedown into a pin at 3:09.

The fall helped McLaughlin (32-4) advance to the semifinal round Saturday, when he will face McGuffey's Matt Scherich (28-6). A win there would guarantee McLaughlin a berth in the PIAA tournament.

"(Shaler's Jon) Drzemiecki might have had him down by five in a dual match last year," said Butler coach Scott Stoner. "I told him, 'I don't like you down.' I wondered if I should say that. It could affect his confidence."

Against Rider (33-7), McLaughlin was able to recover quite nicely, picking up an escape late in the first period to pull to 5-1, then scoring a takedown with 1:15 left in the second period before wearing down Rider for the pin.

"(Rider) got under and blocked Ian's head and I think that took away almost all of his offense," said Stoner. "It takes you out of your game plan. A kid like (Rider) gets you on your back … you could get pinned.

"He showed a lot of character. Getting put on your back and then he got something in the first period. He used a cross-face cradle; that's his go-to pin. If it works, use it and use it to your ability and ride it out," Stoner added.

McLaughlin, only a sophomore, said he was caught off-balance, which led to his early deficit. He had a discussion with his father before the match about how he should handle things if he fell behind.

"I was totally ready if that happened," said McLaughlin. "You always get a little worried, though."

A win in the semifinals would make things a lot easier for McLaughlin.

A loss to Scherich would drop him to the fourth-round consolations, where a win there would send him to the consolation finals. He would then need a win to grab the third and final berth in the state tournament.

"(Friday's match) was a confidence-builder, but I'm not out of the woods yet," said McLaughlin. "I'll go back to my room, get a good night's sleep and go at it (Saturday)."

Butler's other quarterfinalist, heavyweight Marcus Hough, was pinned by Penn-Trafford's Ryan Tomei in 1:19. Tomei (35-3) is the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the tournament.

"I told him to take a shot," said Stoner. "He had a headlock, but a lot of guys make a mistake. If you do it as a big guy, you know it might slip. You've got to have it tonight."

Hough (16-8) will try to bounce back in the second-round consolations beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday. He will face Hempfield's Steve Santia (34-11).

The night's only other winner was Butler's Rob Runyan in the first-round consolations at 103 pounds. Runyan (31-7) pinned Chartiers Valley's Stefan Chaussand in 3:09 after building an 8-1 lead.

He will face Avonworth's Conrad Branchen (28-12) in the second-round consolations.

Five other area wrestlers saw their seasons come to a close as they lost their first-round consolations and were eliminated.

Butler's Alex Evanoff (135) lost a major decision to Canon-McMillan's Tyler Adams 11-0, Josh Pascazi (145) lost a 4-2 decision to Gateway's Mark Hough and Josh Coburn (152) lost a 7-3 decision to Chartiers Valley's Corey O'Keefe.

"Josh Coburn wrestled pretty good, "said Stoner. "He was pinned by that guy earlier in the year. Josh Pascazi, the great thing was to get him here and he was close to 30 wins."

Seneca Valley's Frank Mullett (145) lost a 6-2 decision to Central Catholic's Bill Loeffler while teammate Nick Perri (160) lost 7-2 to Canon-McMillan's Jurdon Maier.

Second-round consolations begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, the semifinals and third-round consolations are scheduled for noon and fourth-round consolations begin at 2:15 p.m.

The consolation finals are set for 6, followed by the Parade of Champions at 7:20 and the championship finals at 7:30.