Local Sports

Huskies blowout rival Wildcats, 48-21

Short-handed Cats can’t hang with Huskies

MILL HALL -- A depleted Central Mountain squad was no match for Mifflin County as the much-anticipated wrestling match between District 6 state powers turned into a blowout as the Huskies came away with the 48-21 victory on Wednesday.

The No. 25 ranked Huskies (2-0) took advantage by capturing nine bouts, scoring bonus points in seven of those, with five coming by fall.

The Wildcats (1-1) ranked fourth in the state, were without Luke Simcox, Taylor Weaver, Gino Serafini, and Griffin Walizer, all state-ranked.

Mifflin County coach Kirby Martin wanted to face a full Central Mountain lineup, but still recognized the Wildcats as a quality team, even without some of its starters. The win is a huge early season prize for the Huskies.

"Anytime you get to beat Central Mountain, who is always very good and very well-coached. That's something to be happy about," Martin said. "Yes, I would have loved for them to be at full-strength but to beat them in their gym, with their fans, that's a very good night for us."

Mifflin County set the tone for the match in the opening three weights. Starting at 172, freshman Avery Aurand fought off Rocco Serafini, who was up 14-1 in the third and going for a technical fall. Aurand scored a late takedown to thwart the Wildcats' plans and set the Huskies up for a five-match win streak and a 33-4 lead.

Trey Shoemaker fought off a hard-charging Damien Galentine for the 6-3 win at 189. The Husky senior took a 3-0 lead into the third before the Wildcat reversed him to even things up. Shoemaker escaped and scored the clinching takedown for the victory.

"What I'm trying to emphasize is I want grit for six minutes. I want one hundred percent effort for six minutes, and I want toughness, whether we're winning or losing," Martin said. "The more we get consistent at that, the better matches we'll have, and the kids will start buying in. We want to be tough. It's just a healthy style of wrestling."

The bonus babies came into play when Mifflin County collected four pins and a forfeit in the subsequent five weights.

Anson Wagner started it off with a pin in 3:47 over Micah Walizer. The Husky senior used a tough leg ride and the half to dominate the action. Wagner, up from 160, is getting a comfort level at a higher weight.

"He's still adjusting to the weight class after being a middleweight for most of his career. It's taking some time to get used to wrestling the heavier kids at 215," Martin said. "He may be more athletic than they are, but they're still heavier. He's trying to find ways to help him win, and right now, he's having success with legs."

Jaxson Pupo followed with a fall in 4:32 over Brayden Blackwell at 285. Styers Oden kept the momentum going at 106 with a 34-second pin over Leeah Eisenhower. Nic Allison received a forfeit at 113, while Hunter Johnson took out Clayton Foster in 1:19 of their 120-pound bout.

Central Mountain cut the deficit to 33-21 with a three-match run. Derek Keen scored a 15-0 tech fall over Kamden Everly at 126. Super frosh Dalton Perry bumped up to 132 and built a 17-4 lead before pinning Blake Aumiller in 3:16. Braylen Corter followed with a 5:03 pin of Lucas Sheetz at 138.

Mifflin County closed out the action with three straight victories to set the final score. Deakon Schaeffer won a hard-fought 3-2 decision over Zane Cooper at 145. Parker Kearns won by forfeit at 152, and Kyler Everly, up 9-0 in the third, decked Tristan Probst in 5:02 at 160.

Schaeffer started his match off with a first-period takedown. Cooper evened things up with an escape and penalty point. After four minutes, the Husky sophomore chose bottom and escaped to make it 3-2. Cooper took bottom, and Schaeffer closed out with a solid ride through the third.

"There were definitely some highlights like that. I'm not asking them to be perfect. A win is outstanding in my book, and sometimes they're going to be ugly. Deakon was gritty. He had a takedown not given in the second, he had to ride the kid out, and he did a great job of that," Martin said. "Shoemaker needed to defend for about 30 seconds on his feet in the third period. Avery Aurand not giving up the technical fall when that's what they were looking for. Little things like that are huge. I'm very proud of the kids and those kinds of efforts."

The Huskies have a surge of confidence heading into the holidays and the Conestoga Valley tournament on December 29-30.

"Anytime you can beat a team as well-coached and consistently good as Central Mountain, it's huge. I'm anticipating our confidence will continue to grow after tonight's match, and I'm looking forward to Conestoga Valley," Martin said.

Mifflin County Hs (MCH) 48.0 Central Mountain Hs (CMH) 21.0

172: Rocco Serafini (CMH) over Avery Aurand (MCH) (MD 14-3) 189: Trey Shoemaker (MCH) over Damien Galentine (CMH) (Dec 6-3) 215: Anson Wagner (MCH) over Micah Walizer (CMH) (Fall 3:47) 285: Jaxson Pupo (MCH) over Brayden Blackwell (CMH) (Fall 4:32) 106: Styers Oden (MCH) over Leeah Eisenhower (CMH) (Fall 0:34) 113: Nic Allison (MCH) over (CMH) (For.) 120: Hunter Johnson (MCH) over Clayton Foster (CMH) (Fall 1:19) 126: Derek Keen (CMH) over Kamden Everly (MCH) (TF 15-0 4:00) 132: Dalton Perry (CMH) over Blake Aumiller (MCH) (Fall 3:16) 138: Braylen Corter (CMH) over Lucas Sheetz (MCH) (Fall 5:03) 145: Deakon Schaeffer (MCH) over Zane Cooper (CMH) (Dec 3-2) 152: Parker Kearns (MCH) over (CMH) (For.) 160: Kyler Everly (MCH) over Tristan Probst (CMH) (Fall 5:02)