Not so fast

By JOHN ENRIETTO Eagle Sports Editor

January 24, 2008 Last Updated: January 24, 2008 02:58 PM High School

Butler's Alex Evanoff controls Seneca Valley's Shon Schetter during their 145-pound match Wednesday. Evanoff recorded a pin in 3 minutes, 13 seconds as the Golden Tornado pinned a 44-28 loss on the Raiders.

SV takes early lead, but Tornado storm back for win

JACKSON TWP— Three consecutive pins had Butler trailing early Wednesday night.

But four dominating wins later in the match gave the Golden Tornado wrestling team a 44-28 triumph at Seneca Valley.

"Those early pins were disappointing,"Butler coach Scott Stoner admitted. "At the experience level we're at right now, I don't think we should be giving up that many pins."

Grant Colton at 171 pounds, Jordan Williams at 189 and Dave Bonetti at 215 secured the pins that gave the Raiders the early advantage, but the Tornado (16-2, 7-2) more than made up for the early 18-11 deficit.

Butler senior heavyweight Mark Moses surprised defending section champion Zach Eckstrom in the next match, however, nearly pinning him before settling for a 6-4 decision.

"It was big for me personally to beat a highly ranked kid like that, but, more importantly, I wanted to do it for my team to keep us close,"Moses said.

Moses entered the match with a 12-9 record, with eight of his wins coming on pins.

Stoner thought he had a ninth.

"We had a good ref tonight and he was scrambling to get into position, but I thought he missed one there,"Stoner said. "Mark had him pretty tight."

That was in the second period, when Moses had to settle for three back points and a 6-1 lead. He held on for the win despite giving up a stalling point late in the third.

"He grabbed my leg and I could feel myself going down,"Moses said of his second-period flurry. "So I grabbed his leg and just rolled through. I thought I had him."

The win gave the Tornado momentum heading into the lighter weight classes.

"When somebody goes down, you count on someone else to pick him up,"Seneca Valley coach Lee Mullett said. "We depend on all 14 weight classes, not just one."

The Raiders won only two matches the rest of the night. Grant Evans pinned Dave Jaillet at 2:48 of their 119-pound match, giving SV (8-6, 5-4)its last lead at 24-23, and Nate Cully decisioned Ken Rosenbauer 8-0 at 135.

"We were overmatched by Evans, who is a really tough kid,"Stoner said. "Kenny's a battler, but Cully is one of the best around at that weight class."

Cully, a sophomore, has lost only three matches this season.

"Nate did a great job of wrestling hard the entire six minutes, not giving up any points and getting the major decision,"Mullett said.

Once Butler fell behind 24-23, it seized the dual match victory behind four stellar performances.

• Mike Crawford, a freshman, improved to 21-5 with a pin of Jason Hildum at 125 pounds.

• Cole Baxter, also a freshman, improved to 22-3 with a technical fall over Dan Papst at 130.

• Jon Sanko, a senior, moved to 18-6 with a 10-0 decision over Bart Lalonde at 140.

• Alex Evanoff, a senior, moved to 25-0 on the year with a pin of Shon Schetter at 145 pounds.

Evanoff's win improved his career win total to 87, tying him with Jason Parker for third on Butler's all-time list, nine behind Joe Davis and 16 behind T.J. McCance.

"Alex dropped down to 145 pounds tonight, which is where he'll likely wrestle in the (postseason) tournaments,"Stoner said. "He looked impressive."

Evanoff built a 12-2 lead on Schetter before scoring a sudden reversal and pin to end the evening.

Seneca Valley wrestles at Ambridge a week from Saturday.

"We're a young team with eight sophomores in our lineup,"Mullett said. "These guys are making the adjustment from junior high to varsity wrestling. They've been making strides all year."

Butler is scheduled to compete at the Ringgold Duals Saturday, facing perennial power McGuffey and defending WPIALchampion Hempfield. The Tornado will compete in the WPIALteam playoffs next week.

Notes:Eric Tuck (103 pounds) and Derek Hays (160) picked up pins for Butler and Josh Pascazi improved to 20-5 with a technical fall at 152. ... Seneca Valley recognized seniors Eckstrom, Bill Galiotos and Ian Whittaker during a prematch ceremony.

Butler 44, Seneca Valley 28103

pounds: Eric Tuck (B)pinned Colton Schiever in 1:50;

112: Daman Redenbach (B) dec. Aaron Schetter 6-1;

119: Grant Evans (SV)pinned Dave Jaillet in 2:48;

125: Mike Crawford (B)pinned Jason Hildum in 1:25;

130: Cole Baxter (B) tech. fall over Dan Papst in 5:31 (16-1);

135: Nate Cully (SV)dec. Ken Rosenbauer 8-0;

140: Jon Sanko (B)dec. Bart Lalonde 10-0;

145: Alex Evanoff (B)pinned Shon Schetter in 3:13;

152: Josh Pascazi (B)tech. fall over Ryan Benning in 5:59 (21-5);

160: Derek Hays (B)pinned Bill Galiotos in 3:49;

171: Grant Colton (SV)pinned Jon Saul in 5:09;