Pete Ventresca was being cautious in his assessment of Boyertown's opponents in its Brian Bealer Memorial Duals Saturday.
Even after seeing his squad dominate through its first three matches, which it won by a combined score of 182-28.
"We could be looking at some challenging matches,' Boyertown's head coach said.
That ended up not being the case in pool competition, where the Bears went 4-0 while posting a combined point margin of 231-40. And that roll continued in the championship match, the hosts topping Owen J. Roberts 34-25 in a first-day duel between Pioneer Athletic Conference member schools.
"It was a hell of a day,' Ventresca said. "The kids came out and battled through adversity. I'm proud of the guys.'
The Bears' pool victories came against Dallas (62-6), Council Rock North (51-13), Interboro (69-9) and Bethlehem Liberty (49-12).
In the title match, Boyertown (5-0) bolted to a 31-6 lead through nine bouts. Though splitting the next two weights (138 and 145), the Bears still got a match-clinching 34-10 lead with Chris Berry posting a 6-2 decision of Dave Gerber at 145.
Lucas Miller (126), Garrett Mauger (132) and Tommy Killoran (285) recorded pins to help Boyertown build its big early lead on the Wildcats. Roberts' late run was fueled by a pin from Dominick Petrucelli (152), Jimmy Fratantoni's technical fall at 160 and Micky Kohn's major decision at 170.
"Owen J. Roberts is a really tough team. We always go back-and-forth with them,' Ventresca said. "We got the better of them this time, but we have to be ready for them next time.'
For Owen J. (4-1), Demetri D'Orsaneo (138), Petrucelli (152), Fratantoni (160) and Xavier Ferrizzi (195, 220) all went 5-0. Luke Resnick (106), Ryan Resnick (113) and Derek Gulotta (120) compiled 4-1 records on the day.
Roberts' pool wins came against North Penn (47-25), Harry S Truman (59-18), Unionville (55-21) and Gov. Mifflin (41-30).
Saucon Valley Invitational -- Tre Romance emerged as the star for Phoenixville as it opened the season at the Saucon Valley Invitational.
Romance reached the championship round at 152 bwefore falling to Exeter's Ethan Stever, 8-4. Stever was a state-level qualifier in 2013.
Also placing in the tournament for the Phantoms were seniors Austin Place (145) and David Rosati (285), both finishing fourth in their respective weight classes. Phoenixville placed eighth in the eight-school competition, which saw the host team edge Emmaus for the team championship.
Jim Thorpe Duals -- Logan and Mason Pennypacker led the way for Pottstown in the Jim Thorpe Duals, each going 5-0 on the day.
Logan swept the field at 132 while Mason got his wins at 145 and 152. Bryant Wise was 4-1 at 145 and 152, and Isaiah Mayes went 3-0 at 170 to lead the Trojans, whose lone victory in five matches came against the host team.
Cumberland Valley Classic -- Spring-Ford's Steve Rice scored a third-place finish in the Cumberland Valley Classic, the Rams' 170-pounder pinning Delaware Valley's Christopher Duncan in 3:35 of the bracket's bronze-medal bout.
