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Red Rovers get saddled by Riders
EASTON INVITATIONAL.
New addition Alex Meade held out against former team as Easton loses in final bout.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
By NICK FIERRO
The Express-Times
PALMER TWP. | When the new and improved Easton Area High School wrestling lineup goes back into action later this
week, it will ironically be with a sophomore who might have made a difference for the Red Rovers Saturday night.
But coach Steve Powell wasn't about to use Alex Meade against his former teammates in Easton's 35-31 loss to Caesar
Rodney (Del.) at the Easton Invitational.
Had Meade, a Delaware state and Cadet National Freestyle champion who enrolled at Easton one day earlier, appeared
at the 25th Street Gym dressed in an Easton singlet instead of street clothes, the Red Rovers would likely be 12-1
instead of 11-2 with matches against the likes of Nazareth, Northampton and Blair Academy looming straight ahead.
"I'm not taking (Riders coach Dick Howell's) kid and trying to beat him with his kid," Powell said. "But
he's at Easton ... and we're looking forward to having him out there."
Howell called the move "gentlemanly" while showing some class himself with his remarks about the whole,
sordid Meade plight, which will continue to be debated, ad infinitum, throughout the district and possibly the
state.
"I don't know exactly how to explain it," Howell said, "but the feeling is we're sorry he's not
wrestling for us, but I want to see him wrestle. I don't think it's good for Alex or his family for him to miss
the whole year (which he would have had to do had he stayed at Caesar Rodney after briefly transferring to a school
in Virginia).
"So we weren't going to put up any roadblocks or anything when they decided they were going to try somewhere
else. They left with our blessing, and we wish nothing but the best for Alex and his family."
Meade's absence from the mat did not prevent the teams from putting on one heck of a show for the near-capacity
crowd.
The match came down to the final bout, in which Riders senior Craig Koch had to find a way to beat freshman Chris
Wilson at 215 pounds. He did more than that, scoring a 45-second fall to wrap up the win.
But Easton wouldn't even have been in position to pull it out if not for clutch earlier wins by Mike Biase at 135,
Jules Knighton at 152 and Joe Piro at 171. Also winning against Caesar Rodney were Jordan Oliver at 103, Braylin
Williams at 140, Cory Rutt at 189 and senior Russ Souders, who recorded the fastest pin of his high school career
with an 8-second demolition of Todd Koch at 119.
"I just knew he was a good wrestler and we needed the win," Souders said. "That was my fastest (pin)
in high school. I had a six-second pin in midgets ... second grade or third grade."
Knighton needed considerably longer to work his pin, which he didn't get until 1:09 remained in his bout against
Brian Ribolla.
"We really thought that was a toss-up," Powell said. "He gave up that first takedown and a strange
locked-hands call, but he came through big-time and he got the fall."
Despite Knighton's win and Easton winning the prematch coin flip, the Rovers were not left with a whole lot of
moves down the stretch.
Immediately after Knighton won, Powell decided to give freshman Storm Kruscheck his first varsity match at 160
and bump Kruscheck's more experienced classmate, Piro, up to 171. But after Kruscheck was pinned and Piro struggled
to win a 4-3 decision over Matt Kelley, it basically meant Rutt needed to win big at 189 for the Rovers to have
any chance.
Rutt won a 7-3 decision to give his team a lead that lasted for just 45 seconds.
"We'll be all right," Williams said. "We'll be fine."
Earlier Saturday, Easton was a 63-15 winner over State College, while Wilson edged Pleasant Valley, 39-29. The
Bears, who also beat Seton Hall Prep 50-12, came back for the night session and suffered a 50-18 defeat at the
hands of Blair Academy, the No. 1 team in the country.
Nick Fierro can be reached at 800-360-3601 or by e-mail at nfierro@express-times.com
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Easton falls 35-31 to Delaware's Rodney in tense final
By Robert Hoffman
Special to the Morning Call
For the two titans in the marquee match-up of the Easton Invitational, the outcome predictably came down to the
last bout of the night.
Caesar Rodney's Craig Koch would line up across from Easton's Chris Wilson at 215 pounds. Unknown to those observing,
Koch unleashed his secret motivational weapon.
''I was just standing there waiting for my match to begin, so I had to turn up my music and get in the zone,''
Koch said.
So what artist revved Koch up?
AC/DC perhaps? Metallica? Queen? No, Koch got ready with the voice of country music artist Chris Cagle.
Huh?
''Chicks dig it and that music gets you fired up down where we are,'' Koch laughed.
Apparently it did the trick for Koch, because he needed just 34 seconds to pin Wilson. As a result, the three-time
defending state champions from Delaware pulled out a 35-31 victory over the Red Rovers.
''Every year, we put a lot of emphasis on seniors leading the team,'' Koch said. ''This year, it's my turn to step
up. Everyone else did their job keeping it close, I just had to finish.''
The loss spoiled several outstanding individual performances by Easton. At 119 pounds, Russ Souders pinned the
Riders' Todd Koch in seven seconds.
''I snapped him down, went behind, rolled back to a half and just snuck him,'' Souders. ''I was really pumped up
to go out there because my best friend and teammate, Kegan Handlovic, lost [by pin to Luis Burgos at 112]. He had
a bad match, so I went out there for him.''
Down 23-19, Jules Knighton gave Easton its first lead of the night when he caught Brian Ribolla for a surprising
third-period pin.
''I needed it for our team,'' Knighton said. ''I went all out for the entire time. It boosted the confidence of
some of our upcoming wrestlers.''
After Caesar Rodney reclaimed the lead with a pin by A.J. Edwards at 160, Easton won the next two matches to take
a 31-29 lead and set up the final showdown.
''We told him [Wilson] to watch out for 'bear rolls' because that's all that their guy [Koch] really does,'' said
Knighton. ''So then he gets stuck with a bear roll. … It's all right; we'll practice harder."
Knighton was ready to get back to the mat right away.
''As mad as I am at the prospect of practicing tonight, we need to practice.''
One other thing the Red Rovers needed on this night was Caesar Rodney transfer Alex Meade. The highly touted wrestler
was reported to have enrolled at Easton on Friday.
However, his first appearance in an Easton uniform was put on hold. Meade's future teammates were split on whether
he should have wrestled against his former team.
Souder said: ''Coach didn't want to bump anybody out of their spot in the lineup. They won their spots in wrestle-offs.
It was too late for him. But, I think we definitely would have won had Meade been in the lineup.''
Easton coach Steve Powell had a mixed reaction to the loss.
''Certainly, Easton fans like to win, but we have educated, knowledgeable fans that have been around a long time,"
he said. ''That was good wrestling out there. I've never had an undefeated team. We scheduled Blair, Bishop Lynch,
Northampton and Nazareth, so it's not going to get any easier. Our guys are down here in the practice room learning
and wrestling. We'll try to get better tomorrow.''
Earlier in the day, Easton scored a convincing 62-16 win over State College. The Red Rovers picked up pins from
seven wrestlers: Souders, Knighton, Wilson, JuJu Drummond (125), Colin Dailey (145), Joe Piro (160), and Cory Rutt
(189).
Among other area teams, Pleasant Valley defeated Wilson 39-29 and Seton Hall Prep (N.J) 50-15 before falling to
Blair Academy (N.J) 50-18. William Allen dropped a pair of matches: 41-34 to Penncrest and 64-11 to Seton Hall
Prep.
Robert Hoffman is a freelance writer.
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