Boyertown couldn't match the intensity of Upper Perkiomen during the first two bouts of Saturday's Pioneer Athletic Conference wrestling match.
But Gregg Harvey earned a hard-fought decision to start a string of six straight victories for the host Bears, who rolled on to a 48-14 win.
Will Scholl, Jakob Campbell and David Campbell won by falls during the run by the Bears (2-0, 8-0), who began the day by honoring all of the program's state qualifiers and medalists as part of the celebration of their 50th season of wrestling. Michael Felix won by a pin for the Indians (1-1, 5-2).
"This is always a good rivalry," said Boyertown coach Pete Ventresca. "Their kids always get up for it. Our kids always get up for it. They were a little more up for it than we were at the beginning. "
Mike Lockhoff started things off with a 10-2 decision for the visitors and Felix came back from a 6-2 deficit to take a 9-8 lead and then finished with a fall in 5:42 for a 10-0 lead.
That brought out 182-pound junior Harvey, one of 40 state qualifiers - who have made 62 appearances and earned 16 medals - over the years for the Bears. He got Boyertown on the board after a fast start and an eventual 13-7 win over Trevor Weeks.
"We wanted to pick up the pace and get the match started," said Harvey (17-4). "I beat him last year in districts. I knew I just had to go out and put on my grind and get the win.
"We take each opponent as seriously as possible and go out and do the same thing every match and be the best team we can be."
Scholl (6-0) followed with his pin, Brody O'Connell and Tommy Killoran (14-7) picked up decisions, and Jakob Campbell (17-5) and David Campbell (12-6) won by falls to give the Bears a 27-10 lead. Indian senior Dustin Steffenino (12-1) finally stopped his team's slide with a 10-2 decision over Garrett Mauger for his 98th career win.
"It was tough," said first-year Upper Perk coach Sam Walters, whose team was coming off first- and second-place finishes in holiday tournaments. "We're doing well, but they wake you up a little bit and they showed us where we're at. We've got some work to do.
"Mike Felix wrestled at 170 and was very good. He was down 6-2 in the second period. That's what we try to teach our kids. If they just push, push, push they can win. Steffenino at 120 wrestled a good match, a tough match against Mauger."
But the Bears didn't slow down as Lucas Miller (15-4), Chris Berry (9-4) and Elijah Jones won by decisions to go along with a pair of forfeit victories.
"We had some guys who had some really good performances for us," said Ventresca. "The Campbell's and Berry, and Mauger wrestled a good match. Steffenino is a tough kid."
Boyertown is honoring a different group from its storied past at each home match this year, and Harvey said that serves to get the Bears even more motivated.
"It gets us fired up," he said. "It shows up our pride in our heritage. Everyone wants to step up their game and be remembered in that legacy."
"We keep honoring people who made Boyertown wrestling what it is," Ventresca said.
Next for the Bears will be a trip to Owen J. Roberts Wednesday for what is expected to be one of the key matches of the PAC-10 season.
"That's a big match," said Ventresca. "They're very tough. We won a lot of close ones the last time (in a 34-25 win in the season-opening Brian Bealer Memorial Bear Duals). We'll need to be ready. We'll see what happens when the dust settles."
Contact Dennis Weller: 610-371-5061 or dweller@readingeagle.com.
