With two forfeits at every dual meet, Southern wrestling coach Jeff Schrumm hasn't been secretive about needing pins from the strongest part of his team's lineup.
Instead, it was visiting Broadneck that secured pins in critical bouts to thwart the Bulldogs, 37-27, last night.
The Bruins (2-1 overall, 2-0 county) weathered a four-bout run by Southern through the heart of the lineup and broke the spell with two consecutive pins.
"It was as much of a defensive match for us," said first-year Broadneck coach O. T. Campbell. "If they started to run away from us, we would've been in big trouble."
The Bruins leaped to a 10-0 lead when senior Reed Preece registered a 12-4 major decision against junior Brandon Turley at 125 pounds. Then, senior Joe Cooch withstood a near-fall in the second period of his 130-pound match to deck Southern junior Charles Grigg at the 5:04 mark.
"I thought for a second that I was going to blow it for the team," Cooch said. "I had to fight off my back and avoid getting pinned. I knew I could get it back if I survived it."
The Bulldogs shaved the lead to 10-6 after 135-pound junior Chilly Orme pinned senior Richard Boord at the 3:00 mark.
Southern (1-2-1 overall, 1-2 county) earned consecutive wins from Mike Dowling (140), Matt Barrett (145) and Stan Smentkowski (152), but could pull out only decisions to build a 15-10 lead.
Broadneck halted the momentum with back-to-back third-period pins. Paul Magnuson decked Bulldogs John Scheckells with 20 seconds left in their 160-pound match, and Grey Campbell shouldered Joe Collinson to the mat with a minute left to give the Bruins a 22-15 advantage.
"The coaches came to me and said, `We need a pin out of you,' " Magnuson said. "The guy was tough, but I caught him late in the match."
Joe Brown pinned Noah McKechnie with three seconds left in the second period to bring Southern to 22-21, but forfeits at heavyweight and 103 boosted the Bruins' lead to 13 points.
The Bulldogs won at 112 when Broadneck elected to keep Chad Walker from exacerbating a hyperextended elbow. Kyle Cogar's 6-4 decision against Andrew Holt at 119 closed out the Bruins' win.
