Cavs have edge on Spartans

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Photo by Jodie Andruskevich^^Milford's Peter Benoit grimaces as he's about to get pinned by Hollis-Brookline's Forrest Coon-Roberts in the 171lbs. wrestling match at Hollis-Brookline H.S. on Wednesday evening.

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Photo by Jodie Andruskevich^^Milford's Joe Albina, top, and Hollis-Brookline's Nate Ashe have each other locked up as they grapple in the 160lbs. match Wednesday evening at Hollis-Brookline H.S. Albine won with a pin over Ashe.

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Photo by Jodie Andruskevich^^Hollis-Brookline's Taylor Landry has Milford's Andrew Myers locked up in their 152lbs. match in Hollis on Wednesday evening. Landry went on to win the battle.

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Photo by Jodie Andruskevich^^Hollis-Brookline's Brandon Rocha, front, tries to break free from the grasp of Milford's Tyler Keating to no avail in the 189lbs. match as Keating went on to pin Rocha during Wednesday's wrestling match in Hollis.

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Photo by Jodie Andruskevich^^Ben Carmen, top, of Milford H.S. and Brian Litchfield of Hollis-Brookline battle each other in the 145lbs. match at Hollis on Wednesday evening. Litchfield won the match with a pin.

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Photo by Jodie Andruskevich^^Milford's Peter Benoit grimaces as he's about to get pinned by Hollis-Brookline's Forrest Coon-Roberts in the 171lbs. wrestling match at Hollis-Brookline H.S. on Wednesday evening.

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HOLLIS – Fans of the high school wrestling teams from Hollis/Brookline and Milford have reason to be pleased with the state of each program.

Both the Cavaliers and the Spartans have a nucleus of young grapplers who have the desire – and the talent – to succeed now. And when they get together on the mats, it’s usually quite a show.

It was no different Wednesday night as all but three matches contested went into the third period. H/B came out on top, beating Milford 40-21 in a three-team match. Both schools won over a four-man Winnisquam team, with the Cavs taking a 22-3 victory and the Spartans winning 18-9.

“We lost a couple tough matches,” Milford coach Dana Bourassa said. “I think if we didn’t get pinned at a couple of weights, it might have sparked the rest of the team.

“We always have a tough match with Hollis, and I enjoy the fact that it’s a friendly rivalry. We don’t have enough of that stuff. We always have a good, tough match. We like these guys a lot, and they do a good job.”

The first four matches between the Cavs and the Spartans went into the third period, including pins by H/B’s Brian Litchfield at 145 pounds and by Milford’s Joe Albina at 160. Albina is one of three freshmen regulars for Milford, and has lost just one Division II match all season.

Tyler Keating moved up to 189 for Milford and recorded a pin of his own, while H/B’s Zachary Migneault overcame an early deficit to win by pin at 285.

But the two matches of the night came in the lighter weights. Milford’s Thomas Scannell wrestled up to 119 and was in control of his match against Ryan Ahlquist, a freshman for H/B. In the final 30 seconds of the third period, Ahlquist escaped from and then took Scannell down to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 victory.

Connor Borne, another freshman for Milford, returned the favor at 125. Down 2-1 for most of the match, he recorded a takedown of Zach Jennings at the end to win 3-2.

“Our kids always wrestle tough and that’s all we asked,” Bourassa said. “We both have young teams. In a couple of years, both these teams will be good.”

Jake McPherson (135) and Forrest Coon-Roberts (171) also had pins for the Cavs, who had just one senior wrestle for them on the night.

“Every match is kind of a stepping stone for us, for the Division II tournament,” H/B coach Brian Bumpus said. “As long as we get better every match, we’ll be all set.”