FORT WASHINGTON - Boyertown had its work cut out in Friday night's District 1-AAA Duals Tournament semifinal against Pennridge. But the Bears were able to counter every possibly disheartening setback with a spirited performance and advanced to the championship match with a 34-22 win at Upper Dublin High School.
Gregg Harvey won his 100th career match and J.T. Cooley picked up a key pin along the way for top-seeded Boyertown (17-0), which clinched a spot in the PIAA Tournament and will face Council Rock South for the title today at 3 p.m. Earlier, the Bears defeated Upper Perkiomen, 40-18. Owen J. Roberts and Spring-Ford each split their two matches and will meet in a consolation semifinal at 1 p.m., needing a win to advance to states.
"We're not going to get discouraged if one of our teammates loses," said Harvey, who earned an 8-1 decision at 195 pounds after fourth-seeded Pennridge (10-2) had won a major decision to start the match. "We just have to come back and pick each other up and keep on wrestling hard."
Jordan Wood made his season debut for the Bears in the next bout and took a 12-1 win and Boyertown led the rest of the way, except for a 10-10 tie.
Pennridge closed to within 22-16 with a pair of close decisions, but Cooley pinned his man in 51 seconds at 138 pounds, and the defending champion Bears were off and running again.
"They're a tough team they're a very dangerous team," Boyertown coach Pete Ventresca said concerning Pennridge. "There were some knock-down, drag-out matches."
Tommy Killoran also picked up a key win, 7-4 at 285 pounds to give his team a 10-4 advantage.
"That was a big win for Tommy," said Ventresca. "They (Killoran and Joe Kracz) are always battling each other."
But the biggest win was by Harvey, who took nothing for granted as he tried to reach the milestone.
"I didn't think I had it in the bag," he said. "Every match, I have to go out there and wrestle tough. He (Andrew Reinhold) was a tough opponent. Pennridge is a good team."
In the quarterfinals, Boyertown jumped to a 21-3 advantage against the ninth-seeded Indians, but fifth-seeded OJR (9-4) fell behind 31-3 midway through against Pennridge.
"We looked a little bit flat," said Wildcats coach Stephen DeRafelo. "I didn't see the kind of fight in the first round that you need this time of year. They took it to us physically and we had too many stalling calls. Hand fighting was a lot better in the second match a better pace. Guys finished their matches and finished periods better."
Second-seeded Council Rock South (12-1) easily handled Council Rock North 60-9 in the quarterfinals, while Spring-Ford was defeating Downingtown East 43-18. Then the semifinal between the two came down to the final bout after Frankie Krauss brought the third-seeded Rams (19-2) to within 27-23 with a 3-2 win. But CR South wrapped up the final berth with a pin.
"We've got to put that (the win against Pennridge) in the rear view mirror and focus on South and see what we can do tomorrow (today)," Ventresca said.
