Blue Eagles win first 4 bouts in beating Red Rovers
Stephen Schott chalked up a loss to Easton’s Andrew Balukas at the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic to a lack of confidence and preparation.
The Nazareth 220-pounder has made the most of his next two opportunities.
Schott rallied from a secondperiod deficit Saturday night with a pair of third-period takedowns for an 8-6 win.
It essentially secured Nazareth’s 43-12 win over Easton in front a large Alumni Night crowd at Raymond J. Nunamaker Gymnasium.
“I just focused on wrestling more confidently,” Schott said of his last two bouts against Balukas. “Just getting in the right mindset before I go out to wrestle, too.”
The Blue Eagles captured the first four bouts, three with bonus points, then ground out things until Andreo Ferraina, Andrew Smith and Sean Pierson produced a combined 17 points in the final three matches.
“They won the close matches,” Easton coach JaMarr Billman said. “There were [four] matches, 132, 152, 195 and 220, they are winnable matches.
“We’ve got to find a way to scratch and claw to get those wins, and get those takedowns or escapes. Little things here or there.”
Best of three
Schott’s win was his second in a row against Balukas. He pinned him in the consolation round in Bethlehem en route to a third-place finish.
On Saturday night, the Blue Eagle needed all six minutes.
Balukas took a 4-2 lead with a takedown midway through the second period. Schott tied it with a pair of escapes, then took the lead for good with a 56 seconds left with a takedown.
“He’s definitely one of the strongest kids I wrestle at this weight,” Schott said. “We like to compete against each other.
“I look forward to seeing him again. I know I’ll see him again.”
Getting healthy
Nazareth welcomed back two of its three injured starters. Both won.
Blaine Wilson started the match with a 7-3 decision at 132.
Pierson finished the night with a pin in 3:32 at 126.
Nathan Stefanik remains a few weeks away recovering from a right ankle injury.
“I think we wrestled pretty hard,” Blue Eagles coach Dave Crowell said, “but I’d kind of like to see more offense. We were wrestling well. It is kind of early, but I’d like to see us push the pace more.
“I was happy with what we were doing, though. Anytime you beat Easton, it’s a big deal for Nazareth.”
Key bouts
Nazareth won at 152 and 195, thanks to strong third periods.
At 152, Joe Ferraina led only 5-3 with 65 seconds left against Jake Koerwitz but picked up an escape, takedown and three back points in a 37-second span to produce an 11-3 major.
At 195, Chase Levey’s takedown with 43 seconds remaining was the difference in a 3-2 decision over Matt Cruise.
“Jake was in on three or four shots,” Billman said. “He just needs to finish. Cruise had his chances, too.
“This was our first big environment we’ve been in for our younger kids. It takes getting used to all of this, the emotion. “We’ve got to learn from it.” Experienced Red Rovers Gaven Krazer at 160 and Dom Falcone at 182 were in close matches and prevailed.
Up next
Nazareth travels to Pocono Mountain East on Wednesday before heading to the Virginia Duals next weekend. Easton hosts Central Catholic on Thursday before heading to Blair Academy (N.J.) for the annual Who’s No. 1 Duals.