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Rivalry Renewed

Falconer/Cassadaga Valley Upends Eisenhower

By Jay Young 5 min read

FALCONER -- A once competitive wrestling border battle 10 years dormant was reignited in front of a capacity crowd at Falconer Central School on Thursday night.

It did not disappoint.

Falconer/Cassadaga ended the evening with a 42-28 win over Eisenhower (Pa.) moving to 11-0 on the season and fighting through a much-needed early season challenge in the process.

"It's been a while. It's been probably 10 years since we've wrestled them," said Falconer/Cassadaga coach Drew Wilcox. "We used to wrestle every year and the way their point system works they didn't have any free points because their league is so big. (This season) they had an extra point so we lined it up. They're a real good team and you saw that. It was an opportunity for both teams to get better and I think both teams are better now than they were at 6 o'clock, and that is what you are always shooting for."

It did not take long for the tension to reach a fever pitch, as Nick Saeger led the hosts onto the mat at 145 pounds against Garrett Head for what turned out to be a truly spectacular finish.

Through the first two-minute period, Head earned a pair of takedowns to pick up a lead with Saeger getting on the board with a pair of escapes. Sitting in a big hole entering the third period, Saeger clawed his way back into striking distance, looking at just a two-point deficit with time winding down.

Desperately needing a takedown, Saeger found his opening and hit a lateral drop at the buzzer, not only earning his two points to tie, but also picking up a pair of back points to finish off an astounding 10-8 finish.

"He started wrestling," said Wilcox. "He was wrestling (Head's) style and then he finally decided that he was going to wrestle his (own) style and started catching up at that point. He hit a nice move at the end to win it. It was so loud in there that (the officials) couldn't hear the buzzer, so they had to talk about it."

That victory gave the hosts a much-needed cushion at 15-9 after Easton Headman of Eisenhower opened up the match with a pin of Brayden Newman in 42 seconds at 120 pounds.

That match was followed by another one of the Golden Falcons' strongest performances, as Joey Pillittieri earned a win via fall over Jacob Williams at 126.

Pillittieri fended off a pair of early single-leg shots in the opening period, eventually returning the favor to Williams with a single takedown of his own.

In the closing moments of the second period, Pillittieri fought his way into position for a pin, with Williams trying desperately to hold off to no avail as the clock showed 3:52.

"Joey did a nice job, and he is one of those kids who was grinding all summer and it's paying off for him," said Wilcox. "He is starting to get some recognition now and that is the best part about this sport. The kids that work at it are the ones getting better."

Leading up to Saeger's riveting performance, Gannon Jaquay gave Eisenhower a 5-4 decision over Hunter Teboe at 132. Jaquay finished off that win with a spinning reversal midway through the third to give the Knights some crucial points.

The Golden Falcons returned fire with a pin of their own at 138, as Jimmy Kramer earned a first-period finish against Josh Bortz.

Moving on to 152, Bryce Baglia gave Falconer/Cassadaga Valley another win via fall against Nate Holt, but the Knights kept pace at 160 as Alex Barnett earned a major decision win over Mack Mikula.

Wilcox's team padded its lead as Jordan Dustin earned a confident decision at 170, while Hudson Johnson picked up a first-period pin at 182 against Tristen Wilcox.

Despite wins by Cael Black at 220 and Josef Bauer at 285, the Knights had difficulty making up their deficit down the stretch due to forfeits at 195 and 99 pounds.

"I've felt good honestly since last summer when I saw the amount of kids coming in and wanting to get better and working to get better," said Wilcox. "I've been excited for this season since then. I think people thought we were going to be down, and maybe we are a little bit -- I don't know yet -- but we're going to keep grinding and see where we're at in February."

120: Easton Headman (E) p. Brayden Newman, 0:42

126: Joey Pillittieri (F) p. Jacob Williams, 3:52

132: Gannon Jaquay (E) d. Hunter Teboe, 5-4

138: Jimmy Kramer (F) p. Josh Bortz, 1:22

145: Nick Saeger (F) d. Garrett Head, 10-8

152: Bryce Baglia (F) p. Nate Holt, 3:15

160: Alex Barnett (E) md. Mack Mikula, 21-7

170: Jordan Dustin (F) d. Ethan Chambers, 7-1

182: Hudson Johnson (F) p. Tristen Wilcox, 1:13

195: Robbie Penhollow (F) win via forfeit

220: Cael Black (E) d. Collin Beichner, 2-1

285: Josef Bauer (E) p. Collin Mower, 3:06

99: Double forfeit

106: Austin Chase (F) win via forfeit

113: Logan Jaquay (E) p. Brodie Little, 2:39

Starting at /week.