FORT WASHINGTON - The District 1-AAA Duals championship match between Boyertown and Council Rock South Saturday afternoon boiled down to the final bout, and J.T. Cooley finished it in spectacular fashion for the Bears.
The 132-pound sophomore pinned his opponent in 50 seconds in the winner-take-all finale to give Boyertown a 34-26 win and its second straight district title.
The victory also gives the Bears (18-0) the district's top seed for the PIAA Class AAA Team Tournament, meaning they can skip Monday's preliminary round and head right to Hershey for a match against the District 9 champ Thursday.
Cooley had led off three matches this year and won all three tries, but this was his first chance to finish one.
"I'm glad I had the opportunity," said Cooley, who used a single leg takedown to a bar-and-a-half to quickly end the suspense. "I try to just go out there and wrestle my match. Everybody stepped up and did their job. We did what we had to do to get it done."
"He got to be the hero, and that's a great thing," said Bears coach Pete Ventresca. "We knew coming in it was going to be a really tough match. It took every ounce of what we had to get the upper hand."
Boyertown jumped to a 10-0 lead on a pin by Chris Berry and a 9-1 decision by Hunter Vogels, but South (12-2) rallied for a 15-10 advantage and the match was a barnburner the rest of the way.
Will Scholl earned an 8-4 win for the Bears. Then 195-pounder Gregg Harvey, who won his 100th career match Friday night, toughed out an 8-7 win after falling behind 4-1 after a period.
"I never put myself out of the match," said Harvey. "I just really have to keep my head in it and focus."
Jordan Wood, who saw his first action this weekend after recovering from an injury, followed with a 12-second pin.
"I'm back and ready," said Wood, who used a high cross into a lumberjack slam for the quick fall. "All 14 fought and we came together."
A 4-2 win at heavyweight by Tommy Killoran gave the Bears a 25-15 lead and Boyertown was up 28-23 after a 6-2 decision by Garrett Mauger at 120. But Boyertown 126-pounder Lucas Miller, who was seeking his 100th career win, lost a tough 4-3 match to Zack Trampe, who came in with a 30-2 record.
That set the stage for Cooley.
"I told myself to stay calm," he said. "The coaches tell us just to wrestle our match and good things will happen."
"All year, we've been working on staying 14 strong," said Harvey. "Today we got the job done."
"It was an intense match," Ventresca said. "I was very happy for the kids. I can't say enough about the heart of this team."
Last year, the Bears went a disappointing 2-2 at states, and Wood - a two-time state individual silver medalist - is hoping for better this time.
"We're trying to get to the finals," he said. "We've got a second shot and hopefully, we can take advantage of it."
"We're going to have a couple more dogfights this week," said Ventresca. "I don't think it can be any harder than this match. They have the heart, and you can't coach heart. You either have it or you don't."
