Saucon Valley Wrestlers Destroy Southern Lehigh, 73-3

Special to Saucon Source

Six Saucon Valley pins added to five Southern Lehigh forfeits added up to a quick Saturday morning showdown between the two Colonial League rivals.

It took Saucon Valley less than an hour to improve to a 2-0 league record while still chasing a third straight Colonial League championship. Saucon tallied pins from Paul Miller (106), Angelo Mahaffey (120), Jason Jones (138), Blayne Hirschbeck (160), Zac Petrucelli (195) and Trey Polak (285). Five of the six pins averaged to :41 second bouts, while freshman tough guy Angelo Mahaffey scored six for his team in 2:42.

Coach Eddie Labatch’s Spartans handed over 30 points to Chad Shirk and the Panthers with five forfeits. Coach Labatch was not happy about the loss, but kept a positive perspective.

“Really, the only true forfeit we should have is at 132,” he said. “We had five guys out due to injury or sickness and have six freshmen in our lineup. We’ll be OK. We’ll get better.”

Saucon, with a nice mix of experience and youth, got the action started at 106 with sophomore Paul Miller catching Devin Venzia in a cradle at :48 seconds. Following a forfeit by Southern Lehigh to Jack Hill at 113, freshman Angelo Mahaffey pinned Dylan Holschwander halfway through the second period after leading 5-0. Southern Lehigh forfeits at 126 and 132 to Saucon seniors Ty Druckenmiller and Brett Svites led to a :55 second pin of Bradford Schaffer by Saucon freshman Jason Jones at 138 with a surprise cement job.

At 145 there was a battle that went the distance between Dylan Yonney of Saucon Valley and Southern Lehigh’s Anthony Colasurdo. After a scoreless first period, Yonney started bottom and quickly escaped before converting two sweet takedowns to build a 5-2 lead going into the third. The match was tight, but Yonney scored two more takedowns in the third and held on for a 9-6 win.

Following a Spartan forfeit at 152, Saucon junior Blayne Hirschbeck popped a rolling cement job for a :31 second pin of Zac Fitzgerald. At 170, Saucon senior stud Jason Lynch was able to overcome a defensive-minded Richard Frable with three takedowns and two reversals to win a major 14-4.

The Southern Lehigh highlight of the day was 182, with Spartan junior Wyatt Noone holding on to defeat Saucon’s Nate Kehs in an ultimate tiebreaker.

Tied up after regulation 1-1, neither wrestler could score in the overtime period. Kehs, weighing 168 pounds, was able to counter Noone’s reversal with two escapes to even the scoring 3-3 at the end of the two 30-second ride-out periods. Noone started down, but proved too much for Kehs by scrambling for a reversal and adding two back points to earn a 7-3 win. Noone’s win avoided the shutout for the Spartans.

Saucon quickly got back on track at 195 with Zac Petrucelli cradling Alex Baca for a pin at :47 seconds. This was followed by a Southern Lehigh forfeit to Devan VanVliet and a quick :26 second pin by Saucon sophomore Trey Polak at 285.

Saucon Valley Head Coach Chad Shirk named freshman Jason Jones “Wrestler-of-the-Match” and credited Yonney and Lynch for wrestling smart during the contest. Shirk was also quick to acknowledge, however, that there is work to be done.

“There were mistakes made out there, and we will fix them,” he said. “Every day we need to get better.”

Saucon Valley assistant coach Tommy Rohn agreed.

“We will keep doing the right thing,” he said. “We will continue to train the right way. Things will fall into place. This is a process.”

The long road to a third Colonial League title for Saucon Valley continues with a home match against Pen Argyl Wednesday night. Then the Panthers will compete with some of the best scholastic wrestling teams on the East Coast when they participate in the Beast of the East tournament in Newark, Del., Dec. 19 and 20. Good luck Panthers!

About the Author: Keith is a deeply rooted sports fan, former coach and freelance writer. A Penn State grad and veteran educator, he resides in Saucon Valley with his wife Jill and four children: Brooke, Kiele, Travis and Tanner.