Tri Match Thrillers

It was an exciting and historic night on the mats in Keyser on Wednesday evening.  The Rams were in action against Fort Hill and Keyser in a tri match.  Additionally, junior Austin Shaffer was searching for his 100th career win.  This is an exclusive club and membership takes a lot of hard work and dedicationa dn an equal amount of skill.  In the end, Shaffer became Southern's 14 wrestle to reach this milestone.

For the first match of the evening, the Rams faced Fort Hill.  Southern won easily in the first meeting of the teams earlier this month, this match would prove to be much closer.  The first bout was at 145 where Johnny Lascaris gave the Rams an early lead with a first period pin.  Fort Hill won the next three matches by decisions to give the Sentinals an 11-6 lead.  Brian Rinker picked up a second period pin at 182 and Scott Cooper added a pin of his own at 195 and the Rams were back on top 18-11. 

But the see-saw battle continued as Fort Hill earned pins of their own at 220 and 285 to regain the lead 23-18 going into the lighter weights.  At 106, Devan Hamrick earned a tech fall to tie it up at 23.  Fort Hill won by pin at 113 and forfeited to Austin Shaffer at 120 and we were tied again at 29-29 with three matches remaining.  At 126, Cooper McCauley was in a tight battle that went to the wire, literally.  With a flurry of action at the end, the buzzer rang and the score was tied.  The match went to overtime.  In the extra session, McCauley was able to score a takedown to win the sudden death match.  Next up was Zach Tichnell at 132.  He dominated his opponent for a major decision with put Southern up by 7 with one match remaining, icing the victory for Southern.  In the final bout at 138, Tanner Massey fell behind early but fought back to earn a tough, 8-7 decision to make the final team score Southern 39 - Fort Hill 29

Our match against Keyser started at 152 and started with Stephen Collins winning by pin.  At 160, Seth Kisner lost a decision, but Dalton Cooper earned a pin at 170 move the team score to 12-3.  Brian Rinker lost a tough decision at 182 but Scott Cooper won by tech fall at 195 to extend Southern's lead to 17-6.  The Golden Tornado stormed back with pins at 220 and 285 to take an 18-17 lead going into the lightweights.

Devan Hamrick won by decision at 106 and Keyser won by pin at 113 to bring the team score to 24-20 Keyser.  Austin Shaffer put the Rams back in the lead for good at 120 with a tech fall and Cooper McCauley added a major decision to extend the Ram's lead to 29-24.  At 138, Tanner Massey put the match away with a pin to make the team score 35-24 going into the final bout of the evening.  At 145, Johnny Lascaris took the mat for the rams.  The final bout would be close and back and forth like the entire evening of wrestling was.  In the end, Johnny tied the score in the final seconds and was able to score the winning takedown in overtime to put the icing on the cake.  Southern 38 - Keyser 27

Southern 39 - Fort Hill 29

106 - Devan Hamrick (SG) tech fall Jacob Harper (FH) 15-0
113 - David Baker (FH) pins Ethan Bittinger (SG) 3:36
120 - Austin Shaffer (SG) via Forfeit
126 - Cooper McCauley (SG) dec Tyler Dolly (FH) 12-10 ot
132 - Zach Tichnell (SG) m dec Tristan Tressler (FH) 12-3
138 - Tanner Massey (SG) dec Adam McDonald (FH) 8-7
145 - Johnny Lascaris (SG) pins Ryan Eckard (FH) :40
152 - Drake Arnold (FH) dec Stephen Collins (SG) 9-8
160 - Joey Turbin (FH) m dec Seth Kisner (SG) 13-2
170 - Cody Airgo (FH) m dec Dalton Cooper (SG) 13-0
182 - Brian Rinler (SG) pins Jordon Nichols (FH) 3:10
195 - Scott Cooper (SG) pins Brandon Harper (FH) :52
220 - Brennan Carlin (FH) pins Keith Chapman (SG) 3:21
285 - Timmy Friend (FH) pins Marcus Tichinel (SG) :25

Southern 38 - Keyser 27

106 - Devan Hamrick (SG) dec Ethen Whitlock (K) 6-2
113 - Hayden Siler (K) pins Ethan Bittinger (SG) :20
120 - Austin Shaffer (SG) tech fall Zach Cannon (K) 16-1
126 - Cooper McCauley (SG) m dec Lanny Johnson (K) 18-6
132 - Beau Horner (K) dec Zach Tichnell (SG) 6-1
138 - Tanner Massey (SG) pins Jon Evans (K) :41
145 - Johnny Lascaris (SG) dec Cody Whitlock (K) 7-5 ot
152 - Stephen Collins (SG) pins Noah Hartman (K) 5:26
160 - Jacob Mellott (K) dec Seth Kisner (SG) 8-2
170 - Dalton Cooper (SG) pins Zach Stickley (K) 5:12
182 - Cody Rodeheaver (K) dec Brian Rinker (SG) 6-0
195 - Scott Cooper (SG) tech fall Max Redman (K) 19-4
220 - Jared Miller (K) pins Keith Chapman (SG) 5:58
285 - KJ Ravenscroft (K) pins Marcus Tichinel (SG) 1:13

Southern Over Northern

Austin Shaffer picked up his 99th career win with a pin at Northern on Thursday

The first of two cross county duals were held in Accident on Thursday night where the Rams came away with a 51-25 victory over the home standing Huskies.  Despite the lopsided score, it was a spirited, hard-fought match from start to finish in front of a large, excited crowd.  Photos courtesy of Kelli Fulmer.

A Northern/Southern match is intense, even when we win big!

The match began at 152 with Stephen Collins taking the mat for Southern.  The senior co-captain wasted very little time securing the takedown and working for the pin.  Before the first period came to an end, the ref was slapping the mat and the Rams took an early 6-0 lead.  Will Foulke lost a close decision and Seth Kisner added another first period pin to extend the lead to 12-3

Seth Kisner pins again!

The Huskies forfeited the next three weights which took the match to heavyweight.  Earning the forfeit wins were Dalton Cooper (182), John Zimmerman (195) and Brian Rinker (220).  Once again, we moved Scott Cooper into the largest weight class to take on the Huskies' big man.  Despite giving up nearly 100 pounds, Cooper stayed in control of the match, finally earning the pin in the second period to extend our lead to 36-3 as we headed to the lower weights.

Scott Cooper bumps to heavyweight and scores a pin!

Northern chose to forfeit to Devan Hamrick and after picking up the pin against Ethan Bittinger, Austin Shaffer took the mat, looking for his 99th career win.  Shaffer easily scored the takedown and some nearfall points in the first period and picked up the pin early in the second.  Shaffer goes for the 100th win on Wednesday night at Keyser.

Cooper McCauley with the cross face and ankle.

With the team score 48-9, we forfeited at 126 to set up a rematch at 132 for Cooper McCauley.  The match was close until the third period when the Husky wrestler pulled away for the win.  At 138, Zach Tichnell was in the position to win the match with a cradle in the third period, but his opponent was able to hook a leg and score a defensive pin (much to Zach's surprise!)  Southern 48 - Northern 25 heading into the final bout.

Johnny Lascaris with a big win in front of the big crowd.

At 145, senior Johnny Lascaris took the mat in front of most of his family and an excited Southern crowd.  Johnny was facing one of Northern's better wrestlers and we knew the match would be tight.  Lascaris got an early takedown but his opponent was able to score a reversal to tie it up.  Johnny was able to score 7 of the next 8 points to build a 9-3 lead which he held to the end to win the decision, making the final team score Southern 51 - Northern 25.

Will Foulke cranks his opponent in a close match.

The Rams move to 7-1 in duals this season and will face Fort Hill and Keyser on Wednesday evening in Keyser in a tri-match.

Southern 51 - Northern 25

106 - Devan Hamrick (SG) via forfeit
113 - Lane Rounds (NG) pins Ethan Bittinger (SG) :26
120 - Austin Shaffer (SG) pins Cody Platter (NG) 3:03
126 - Justin Opel (NG) via forfeit
132 - Cody Lauck (NG) dec Cooper McCauley (SG) 10-1
138 - Brysan Day (NG) pins Zach Tichnell (SG) 4:15
145 - Johnny Lascaris (SG) dec Chris McCann (NG) 9-3
152 - Stephen Collins (SG) pins Kyle Beard (NG) 1:54
160 - Ryan Miller (NG) dec Will Foulke (SG) 8-6
170 - Seth Kisner (SG) pins Cordel Yoder (NG) :55
182 - Dalton Cooper (SG) via forfeit
195 - John Zimmerman (SG) via forfeit
220 - Brian Rinker (SG) via forfeit
285 - Scott Cooper (SG) pins Brandon Platter (NG) 2:55

Sticking it to South

Seth Kisner thrills the crowd to finish the match with a pin.

South Hagerstown visited Southern on Monday evening for a dual meet which was rescheduled from December.  The home crowd was loud and excited and the Rams put on quite a show, scoring a 63-15 victory.

Dalton Cooper starts the match with a quick pin.

The match started at 182 where Dalton Cooper got the ball rolling with a quick pin for Southern.  His brother Scott did the same at 195 and Brian Rinker added a pin of his own at 220 to give the Rams an 18-0 lead.  South reeled off three straight wins (their only three of the night) to bring the score to 18-15.  South Hagerstown has two state ranked wrestlers and both were able to get wins vs. Southern.

Austin Shaffer in control as usual.

At 120, Austin Shaffer got the Rams back on track with a third period pin against a very physical, active wrestler.  Cooper McCauley and Zach Tichnell both recorded pins for Southern to stretch the lead to 36-15.  At 138, Tanner Massey survived a battle that lasted all three rounds and featured lots of scoring on both sides.  In the end, Tanner scored a 19-12 win.

Zach Tichnell, winner by fall.

The Rams then earned pins in each of the last four bouts of the evening.  At 145, Justyce Fulmer turned a close match in to a win by pin and the crowd went wild.  Next up, Stephen Collins had little trouble sticking his opponents shoulders to the mat for the win.

Will Foulke with the pin.

Will Foulke used his long legs and arms to stretch his opponent out and pick up a pin of his own and Seth Kisner thrilled the home crowd by coming off his back and locking up the South wrestlers and squeezing him up for the final pin of the evening.  Final Score, Southern Garrett 63 - South Hagerstown 15

Scott Cooper gets the pin.

Southern Garrett 63 - South Hagerstown 15

106 - Isiah Brooks (SH) dec Devan Hamrick  (SG) 6-2
113 - Anthony Sodergren (SH) pins Ethan Bittinger (SG) 2:47
120 - Austin Shaffer (SG) pins Timothy Heidtke (SH) 3:41
126 - Cooper McCauley (SG) pins Brandon Decker (SH) 1:05
132 - Zach Tichnell (SG) pins Luke Heinrich (SH) 5:19
138 - Tanner Massey (SG) dec Jason Smith (SH) 19-12
145 - Justyce Fulmer (SG) pins Omar Mbye (SH) 4:32
152 - Stephen Collins (SG) pins Nathan Resspass (SH) 1:33
160 - Will Foulke (SG) pins Tony Owusu (SH) 3:10
170 - Seth Kisner (SG) pins Sarosh Bukhari (SH) 1:11
182 - Dalton Cooper (SG) pins Lemonte Green (SH) :29
195 - Scott Cooper (SG) pins Spencer Moore (SH) :31
220 - Brian Rinker (SG) pins Michael Rodriguez (SH) 5:36
285 - Marquil Holt (SH) pins Keith Chapman (SG) :40