Dennis, Eagles Hold on in Wrestling Playoff Opener

In a matter of seconds, Scott Dennis went from being in total control of his match and the wrestling team’s playoff future, to hanging on to both for dear life.

With his team leading visiting Barnegat by just four points, Dennis entered the third period of the final bout of the night with a commanding 7-0 lead over Richie Schmaltz, but got caught in a cradle in the final 30 seconds and was facing the unthinkable scenario of being pinned and seeing his team's historic season end prematurely.

As he fought to keep his shoulders off the mat, the emotions could be felt everywhere.

“Please just win,” junior Christian Terinoni recalled thinking. “Please don’t let it all be for nothing. We came so far, I don’t want to stop now.”

“Scott was in control of the whole match and then he gets put in that cradle, and you just get scared to death, because if he gets pinned, we lose,” said head coach John Craig.

With his team’s season on the line, every scenario went through Dennis' mind.

“When he got me in the cradle I looked up at the clock,” Dennis said. “I saw the clock, I saw the score. Very quickly, I calculated in my head what would happen if I won or lost, and I also thought of everyone in the stands, my coaches, my team, the seniors. This is our last time in this gym; why not go out with a bang.”

Dennis was able to turn away and avoid being pinned on two occasions to pull out a 7-6 win that helped No. 3 West Deptford produce a 34-27 victory over No. 6 Barnegat in a NJSIAA South Jersey, Group 2 quarterfinal. West Deptford will travel to face No.2 Buena on Wednesday.

Although he was disappointed in putting himself—and his team—in that position, Dennis was happy to fight on for another day.

"I wrestled very sloppy the last couple of minutes,” Dennis said. “I was tired. Those last few seconds, the kid was still fighting, going harder than ever. He was going harder than the first five minutes of the match, those last 10 seconds. I had to fight back and try not to get turned again.”

“He was walking on eggshells,” said freshman Griffin Bonner.

In what has been a recurring theme this season, the Eagles once again had to come back from an early deficit. West Deptford (21-3) entered the match shorthanded, as Gerald Owens, Mark Fisher and Hunter Holmstrom were each out of the lineup due to medical reasons, according to Craig.

Barnegat (11-8) held a 24-12 lead when the lineup turned over to 106 pounds. Griffin Bonner started the comeback with an impressive 8-4 decision over Nick Fogarty.

“That kid was actually cutting down from 113 and he’s a junior,” Bonner said of Fogarty. “I was kind of nervous. He was bigger than me, I just tried not to get out-muscled and use technique. I got the best of him.”

Tyler Kaminski followed with a pin at 113 and Evan Zuzulock scored a 10-0 major decision at 120 to put the Eagles ahead, 25-24. Barnegat was able to get the lead back on a 3-0 decision by John Mandara at 126 pounds, but Terinoni gave West Deptford the lead for good with a pin in three minutes, 15 seconds.

“I knew I had to go out there and do my best to get a win and get a six if I could,” Terinoni said. “The cleanup crew came in clutch, like always. Griffin had a big match against a kid a little bigger than him, and we just kept rolling from there.”

If anything good has come from the Eagles having to wrestle from behind a lot of the season, it is that it has produced an atmosphere devoid of any panic during a deficit. In a way, it was business as usual.

 “We are just used to it by now,” Terinoni said. “Five or six matches we have been down by 20-plus points going into 106. You just have to get on your horse and win, pin, and do whatever you have to do, as long as we come out on top.”

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