South Fayette comes back – twice
McDONALD – For a while Wednesday night, it seemed like there was going to be a changing of the guard, but South Fayette again proved why it belongs at the pinnacle of the wrestling mountain in Section 1-AA with its 42-25 come-from-behind victory against Burgettstown in the finals of the section team tournament.
“It definitely helps in the seedings and it feels good to win it,” Lions coach Rick Chaussard said. “Hopefully, we can come out with a good seed and go from there.”
The Lions will enter the WPIAL Class AA team tournament next week as the three-time section champs.
South Fayette reached the finals after beating Freedom, 44-28, in another match the Lions had to revive themselves after an early deficit. The Lions didn’t clinch the match until the next to last bout.
Burgettstown had an easier path to the finals, steamrolling Chartiers-Houston, 51-15.
The championship match started with a bang and a little bit of surprise for Burgettstown when South Fayette’s Rasaun Culberson pinned Bradley Hucik late in the third period at 195 pounds.
“I thought we came out and had the right mindset,” Blue Devils coach Terry Havelka said. “A couple matches didn’t go our way. We weren’t expecting to give up six points at 195. That was a toss-up situation.”
The Blue Devils regained control of the contest by recording 13 points through the next three bouts by virtue of a major decision, pin and decision.
The Blue Devils continued to build their lead to 25-12 and looked prime to come away with a victory.
But there were plenty of bouts yet to be determined and the tide of the match changed at 132 pounds, when junior Shane Ging – who didn’t wrestle in the semifinals – pinned Burgettstown’s Darrell Bails in three minutes.
The Lions then received a forfeit at 138 to bring the score to 25-24.
That set up the pivotal bout.
In what both coaches deemed another toss-up, Scott Rzepecki recorded a scintillating 9-8 decision over Evan Pethtel to give the Lions a lead they would not relinquish.
“That juncture in the match it was huge,” Chaussard said. “It was a momentum-changer. It was the swing match.
“It was a little bit of adversity, which we haven’t faced much this year. I think we rattled off seven wins in a row to end it. A couple of kids in the middle stepped up. We won toss-up matches at 145 and 160.”
The Lions did win seven bouts in a row and ended the match at 182 when senior and top-rated J.J. Walker picked up a 7-0 decision.
As for the Blue Devils, they will wait and see where they will be seeded but are feeling confident after their performance heading into the team tournament.
“I think our kids believe now that they are in the same ballgame,” Havelka said. “It was a well-wrestled match and I am proud with how my kids came out and focused. You are not going to win them all.
“It was a well-contested match. I would love to see them again. It was good competition and we will see what happens with the seedings. We are looking forward to it.”
Chartiers-Houston finished in fourth place in the section after losing to Freedom, 53-21, in the third-place match.