Fred T. Foard High wrestler Zach Pitts won a key match in the 145-pound weight class to propel the Tigers to a come-from-behind 36-29 win over Alexander Central on Friday night in Northwesern 3A-4A wrestling.
The Tigers maintain their share of first place in the conference at 4-0 and improved to 23-5 overall.
Alexander Central dropped to 3-1 the conference and is 22-12 overall.
The Cougars got an advantageous draw prior to the match, enabling Alexander Central to place arguably its best three wrestlers up first.
Alexander Central took advantage as Blake Baker (189 pounds), who placed fifth place in last year's 4A state tournament and is 25-2 this year, and Kevin Markham (215) each registered pins to put the Cougars up 12-0.
Alexander Central appeared poised to make it three straight pins with heavyweight wrestler Stephen Burns, who entered the match with 20 pins (eighth in the state at the 4A level) facing Zack Edwards.
Burns built a 6-1 lead in the second period after gaining a reverse out of the defensive position and led 9-3 at the end of the period. But Burns was not able to finish off his opponent, and Edwards held Burns to a 10-6 decision, putting the Cougars up 15-0.
"That was key there," said Fred T. Foard head coach Mike Casey, who was concerned about the draw entering the meet. "He is a tough kid.
"(Edwards) is just a sophomore. He fought and stayed off his back and that was important for us."
Fred T. Foard got within 15-12 with two pins but Jeff Buchanan (103) and Mike Vincent (112) each scored pins. Vincent's pin came at the end of a tough match after he led Will Roberts 8-6. He pinned Roberts at 5:42.
Devin Isaac (119) put the Cougars back up 19-12 after a 12-1 decision.
Then, after Shawn Stephens (125) got the Tigers to within 19-15 on a 4-2 decision, Jonathan Zuniga (130) and Woody Lovejoy (135) each picked up wins on decisions to give Alexander Central a 25-15 lead.
Fred T. Foard's Jacob Harper (140) pinned Tyler Matthews at the 1:11 mark to get the Tigers to within 25-21, setting up the key match of the night between Pitts and Alexander Central's Casey Anderson at 145.
Anderson dominated the match early as he took a 5-0 lead on a take down with 37 seconds remaining in the second period. Pitts escaped the hold to score to end the period down 5-1.
In the final period, starting from the defensive position, Pitts finally fought out of the hold to score a point on the escape with 1:07 remaining. The score remained 5-2 until the final 13 seconds, when Pitts made a quick move on Anderson for a takedown, then was able to turn Anderson's shoulders to the mat for a three-point near fall as time expired to win the match 7-5 and bring Fred T. Foard to within 25-24.
"Coach always tells us to be mentally tough," said Pitts. "I didn't want to let him down, so I just kept pushing.
"I didn't want to give up. (Anderson) might have given his best shot early and I took advantage of it."
Hayden Albert (152) gave Fred T. Foard a lead at 30-25 as he pinned Logan Adams before Alexander Central sneaked back to 30-29 on a major decision by Jacob Francisco (160).
But Dillon Johnson (171) pinned Tyler Hertzler to close out the win for the Tigers.
"Our guys stepped it up early on," said Alexander Central head coach Josh Williamson. "But they won the big matches down the stretch.
"They've got a great group and wrestle hard with a lot of class and heart."
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement