Spring-Ford wins opener at duals
HERSHEY » It was a promising start for Spring-Ford Thursday.
The Rams opened action in the PIAA Duals Tournament with a matchup against Delaware Valley. The pairing of district champions — Spring-Ford claiming District 1’s top honors Saturday, the Warriors sitting atop District 2 — saw the locals score a 37-26 victory at the Giant Center.
Spring-Ford’s middleweights came up particularly big, erasing DV’s 10-3 lead after three bouts by running from 132 to 152. The Ram upperweights then flexed their muscle after the Warriors made it a fourpoint (20-16) match through 170, scoring a pair of pins and a technical fall in three of the next four weights to get the clincher.
Quinn Smith got SpringFord (17-1) going with a 6-0 decision of Connor Crescimanno in the 113-pound opener. DV (15-3) then posted a pin and two decisions for its lone lead of the match, Quinn Tobin stemming its run with a 3-3 verdict over Preston Machado at 132.
The Rams’ run continued with Zach Needles scoring a third-period tech fall at 138, Alex Johns following with a 5-2 decision of Joe Casella at 145
and Jack McGill pinning Jay Shauger 1:08 in at 152.
A pair of Warrior decisions cut the SF lead, but Joey Milano recorded a 4:33 technical fall on Gavin Brazanskas at 182. Louis Carbajal’s 1:30 drop of Matt Daub staked the locals to a 31-16 lead, and Sen Brogan applied the clincher with a four-minute pin of Todd Smirman at 285.
The win extended Spring-Ford’s current win streak to 17 after a narrow season-opening loss to Council Rock South. The match also ended the Warriors’ own 11-match win run.
Along the way, Tobin and Milano moved closer to the 100-win mark for their scholastic careers. Both currently stand at 97.
The Rams will be back in action Friday, facing Dallastown in the 2 p.m. quarterfinal round. Dallastown, District 3’s duals runnerup, advanced by topping
District 12 champion Father Judge, 49-23.
Other Class AAA rounds Friday include secondround consolations at 4 p.m. and semifinals at 8 p.m.