Pins rally South Western past Dallastown
Adam Leib jumped up, flashed his muscles to the jam-packed South Western student section and shook his head.
The Mustangs' 113-pounder had just pinned Dallastown's Darin Wise for his team's first points of Thursday's dual meet after they fell behind 27-0, and relished the moment for a couple seconds.
In the moment, it was just a pin that cut Dallastown's lead from 27 points to 21 points. But Leib knew he may well have just won the match for South Western, and he was right as the Mustangs rallied from there for a 44-27 win.
"I was pretty pumped up," Leib said. “I have a lot of confidence in (Derek Wilson, Gage Thomas, Owen Wherley, Chase Mowery) and the rest of the guys. Those guys are the death row right there.”
Within 10 minutes of Leib's pin, South Western's death row had reeled off four more pins in a row to take a three-point lead. Mowery's pin and Wilson's pin both came in the first period of their matches, then 132-pounder Gavin Smith took a big lead on Yazir Dixon before pinning him with eight seconds left in the second period of their match. Wherley added the pin that gave them the lead, then a Jordan Shepard decision and Thomas technical fall sealed the Mustangs victory. Tyler Osborne added one more pin at 160 pounds for good measure.
“That’s where the strong point of our lineup is," Thomas said. "Starting off with Adam getting a pin, it just gains momentum and keeps piling on.”
The South Western student section, dressed in beach theme, grew louder and louder with each victory.
“They’re awesome, they’re the best student section,” Wilson said.
Before running into South Western's death row, the Wildcats got pins from Drake Pew and Bryce Shields as they built their early lead. But that lead never felt safe.
“We knew coming in that starting at 170, we would probably start out with a lead," Dallastown coach Rob Jansen said. "We did win a couple close ones up front, so I thought we had a good shot at it, but we had trouble staying off our backs tonight.”
The Mustangs' win sets up a crucial rivalry dual meet at Spring Grove next Tuesday. Both teams will enter that match undefeated in YAIAA Division I competition, and the winner will clinch at least a share of the division title.
at South Western High School
170 — Drake Pew (Dt) pinned Dan Mummert 0:55. 182 — Cameron Green (Dt) dec. Cole Stremmel 7-2. 195 — Bryce Shields (Dt) pinned Thaddeus Young 1:05. 220 — Jack Marks (Dt) dec. Tom Aumen 6-2. 285 — Will Anderson (Dt) dec. Scotty Dickmeyer 1-0. 106 — Geoffrey Grim (Dt) won by forfeit. 113 — Adam Leib (SW) pinned Darin Wise 3:24. 120 — Chase Mowery (SW) pinned Gerald MacDonald 1:08. 126 — Derek Wilson (SW) pinned Dalton Daugherty 0:19. 132 — Gavin Smith (SW) pinned Yazir Dixon 3:52. 138 — Owen Wherley (SW) pinned Jaron Baker 1:13. 145 — Jordan Shepard (SW) dec. Ben Hyman 9-4. 152 — Gage Thomas (SW) tech. fall Hayden Jones 24-7 (5:34). 160 — Tyler Osborne pinned Matt Ross 1:42.