By winning all but four bouts, Eagles score first win over Easton since 1997. Thursday, February 02, 2006 By MIKE WEILAMANN The Express-Times PALMER TWP. | It was a long time coming for Nazareth Area High School's wrestling team. Nine years to be exact. And though the Blue Eagles were heavy favorites Wednesday evening, it didn't make the win it any less sweet. Nazareth won 10 of 14 bouts in dominating rival Easton 44-15 in a Lehigh Valley Conference clash before an overflow crowd of 1,300 at the 25th Street Gym. The Blue Eagles (16-1 overall, 7-0 LVC), ranked No. 1 in The Express-Times region, ended a 12-match losing streak to No. 3 Easton (15-5, 5-2) while picking up their first Lehigh Valley Conference crown in the process -- their first league title since winning the Mountain Valley Conference crown in 1996. Nazareth's last win in this longtime series before Wednesday was 33-20 in the 1997 District 11 Class AAA championship match. "It's been a very long time," said Nazareth senior Phil Santee, who put a charge into the Blue Eagles' fans two bouts in when he decked freshman Joe Piro in 3:25 at 160 pounds. "For me being a senior this year it feels great. We tried not to come in too overconfident and take it like it was just another match. We took it to them." "This means a lot to the kids and the community," said Blue Eagles coach Dave Crowell. "These kids don't even remember the last time Nazareth beat Easton." Crowell went for the kill early on by inserting junior Adam Counterman at 152 to open the match while bumping his lineup up through 189. The move paid off handsomely as Counterman opened things with an 8-2 win over Jules Knighton and the Blue Eagles raced out to a 19-0 lead when Thad Frick, who weighed in at 164, decked freshman Chris Wilson with a low-leg cradle in the fourth bout at 189. "We looked at from 145 on," said Crowell, who coached Easton from 1977-84. "We knew we had either (Tim) Darling or Counterman or Santee the first two weights. We were hoping to win every bout we could. If we could have gotten Frick against (Cory) Rutt we thought we had a chance to win (the first seven)." Easton coach Steve Powell was forced to make a move of his own, though it was more about survival when he sent Wilson out at 189 and moved Rutt to 215. Rutt stopped the bleeding when he escaped with 12 seconds left for a 2-1 double-overtime win against Jim Mutch, who outweighed Rutt by 21 pounds. "You try and get at least seven wins, but I don't think there's a lot we could have done to change it," said Powell, who couldn't recall ever suffering a worse loss at home during his 22 seasons in charge. "(Nazareth) pretty much dominated the Valley this year, and that's saying something." Down 25-3 after Mike Mutch's pin at 275, Easton star Jordan Oliver (30-0) pinned Tim Flegler at 103 before Nazareth sophomore Bobby Ward edged Kegan Handlovic 1-0 at 112 in one of the night's featured bouts. Russ Souders pulled Easton within 16 points at 28-12 with a hard-fought 5-0 win over Andrew Flegler in a battle of state medal winners at 119. But that's as close as the Red Rovers would come as the Blue Eagles took four of the last five, starting with Mario Giordano's impressive 10-4 win over Ju-Ju Drummond at 125. Giordano (26-4), ranked No. 1 by The Express-Times, dominated Drummond, ranked fifth, on their feet in racking up four takedowns including two in the final 27 seconds. Ray Ward bested Mike Biase 9-3 at 130 -- which officially clinched the match -- and Mike Greck pinned Tevin Gibson at 135 to stretch the lead to 40-12. That left Darling (27-2), a returning PIAA Class AAA state champ, to wrap it up at 145 and he ended a fine night for the visitors with an 11-3 major of sophomore Colin Dailey. Mike Weilamann can be reached at 800-360-3601 or by e-mail at mweilamann@express-times.com

Nazareth finally gets a win over Easton The Blue Eagles top the Rovers for the first time since 1997. By Beth Hudson Of The Morning Call Nazareth senior Mario Giordano and his teammates spent more than a few hours thinking about Wednesday night's match at Easton. ''It wasn't just today,'' Giordano said. ''We were thinking about it for a while.'' But no matter how long — or how often — these Blue Eagles had pondered the possibility of beating the Red Rovers, it's probably safe to say that the Nazareth wrestling fans wanted the victory just as much. Finally, they all have it. Nazareth won 10 of 14 bouts — including pins from Phil Santee, Thad Frick, Mike Mutch and Mike Greck — and the Eagles overwhelmed Easton, 44-15, at the 25th Street Gym. With the win, Nazareth earned the Lehigh Valley Conference title and, essentially, locked up the top seed for this weekend's District 11 3A dual-meet tournament. Official seedings and pairings will be announced later today. For the Eagles, though, Wednesday night was all about enjoying the moment; they hadn't defeated the Rovers since 1997. ''Basically, we came to this match no holds barred,'' Giordano said. ''We were going to take it to them … . We haven't reached our best yet. [But] we're one big family, and it's awesome.'' ''It means a lot to the kids — and the community,'' Nazareth coach Dave Crowell said. ''It has been a long time. These kids don't even remember the last time Nazareth beat Easton.'' From the opening bout, Nazareth demonstrated how the night was going to develop. Junior Adam Counterman didn't give up a takedown in his 8-2 victory over Jules Knighton at 152 pounds. How dominant were the Blue Eagles? They won the first four bouts and five of the first six. Easton didn't score its first takedown until the seventh bout (Jordan Oliver's pin of Tim Flegler at 103). With falls from Santee and Frick, Nazareth quickly built a 19-0 advantage. After Santee pinned Easton's Joe Piro in 3:24, Nazareth junior David Crowell rolled up a 13-1 major over Keenan Walls. Then Frick, who weighed in at 164, moved up to 189 and pinned Chris Wilson in the second period. Easton finally broke through at 215, when sophomore Cory Rutt escaped with 12 seconds left in the rideout for a 2-1 win over Jim Mutch (Mutch outweighed Rutt by about 20 pounds). Following Oliver's pin at 103, Easton trailed by 16 points, as close as it would get the rest of the way. The Rovers also pulled within 16 after Russ Souders (119) earned a 5-0 victory over Andrew Flegler. However, most of the highlights belonged to Nazareth. Giordano used a couple of double-leg takedowns in his 10-4 decision over JuJu Drummond. ''Me and him go way back,'' Giordano said. ''My sophomore year, we wrestled a couple of times. This is the first time I beat him.'' Bobby Ward (112) made a second-period escape stand up for a 1-0 victory over Easton's Kegan Handlovic, and Nazareth's 2005 state champion, Tim Darling, closed the match with a major decision over Colin Dailey. ''We're going for every match that we can,'' Crowell said. ''If you've got Easton on the line, they're tough. You don't want to give them any way to get back into it. They're too dangerous. You want to get every point you can.'' beth.hudson@mcall.com 610-820-6501