Delbarton edges Blair Academy in New Jersey wrestling thriller between national powers

The Green Wave pulled out a one-point victory with a win by August Moser (285), in the evening's final match-up

Delbarton's August Moser seeks to gain control over Blair Academy's TJ Kellas in their decisive match at 285 lbs, Thursday night. Moser prevailed, 7-2, lifting Delbarton to a narrow 30-29 victory over their New Jersey rivals. / Billy Buckheit

Just because that’s the way it has gone over the last two years, another close affair that came down to the heavyweights was a distinct possibility on Thursday night at the Delbarton School in New Jersey, as it hosted fellow nationally ranked wrestling power Blair Academy. The last two enounters were won by Blair Academy, but No. 7 Delbarton, which was considered the favorite for the first time in recent history, flipped the script on the 10th-ranked Bucs.

The place was packed to the gills and ramped with energy, from both parties, but certainly more from the home faithful. What would unfold would be a crowd pleaser, with one side unfortunately heartbroken due to a slim loss.

As rankings go, the Green Wave was expected to claim wins in the first two bouts, and that is exactly how it began. No. 20 PJ Terranova opened at 106 lbs with an 8-2 decision of No. 29 Eddie George. No. 5 Cam Sontz took an early, 4-0, lead at 113 only to watch No. 18 Michael Batista not fold, but scratch his way back in the match, before gaining the 5-4 win.

The same confidence as favorites followed Blair over the next two on the slate, and like their counterparts, they satisfied the expectations, but with bonus points. No. 1 Leo Deluca rang up a 20-3 technical fall, with six takedowns, over honorable mention Tommy Marchetti at 120. The 126lb bout saw No. 14 Vince Anello ride an eight-point first period to a 13-3 major decision of Braden Jones.

Facing a 9-6 deficit, honorable mention Ryan DeGeorge (132) came out for the home troops to face unranked Ellis Kirsch. DeGeorge came up just shy of extra points with a 7-1 win.

This tied the match at nine and set the table for one of the wildest matches of the night that saw Weston Borgers (No. 29 at 132) come back from 8-1 down after the first period with a furious run of takedowns in the last half of the match to steal an 11-10 win from honorable mention Chase Quenault in a 138 lb showdown that had the crowd going off the hinges.

Blair’s time with the edge was short lived as they watched a 12-9 lead evaporate into a 19-12 disadvantage. At 144, Nick Schwartz threw a 14-2 major decision into the book versus Vedwin Nivas to energize the home fans. No. 2 Jayden James added to their frenzy, sticking Ryan Meier in the first period, 1:23.

Jospeh Schinder (157) deflated the Delbarton fans in lightning quick time, decking Cole Jasinkiewicz, filling in for the injured Trevor Jones, in just eight seconds to pull within one in the team score, 19-18.

No. 5 Alessio Perentin (165) could not equal Schinder’s fall on the team count but still slapped five upon the board with a 23-4 tech fall of Benjamin Koch that almost resulted in a pin at the end to run the home team’s edge to 24-18.

Blair slid Barry Norman (175) and No. 3 William Henckel (190) up from their customary spots at 165 and 175 respectively. The move paid off grandly as the two added a tech and a pin for extra icing on their wins.

Norman slowly built-up steam with one takedown in the first, then two in the second, before blasting through with four near-fall points in that second period and securing three takedowns in the final frame for a 20-5 tech against Jesse DeNegri. Henckel made quick work of Brody Ismael with a 42 second pin off a takedown right to the back, like Schinder, to put the Bus ahead, 29-24, with two more left on the card.

The bonus points are what has put the Bucs up in this race, as they picked them up in all but one of their six wins.

Elbrus Majagah appeared well on his way to getting some extra goodness with his win after twice taking Blair’s Mark Scialla down straight to his back in the first period to go up, 12-2. The pace slowed from there and Scialla secured a takedown in the second, and one at the very end, right before the buzzer, to keep the Green Wave to just a regular decision, 16-9.

Once again, here we were, the two giants would decide the fates of these two squads. Unlike years past when Blair had the No. 1 heavyweight in the land Carter Neves, they had no ace in the hole this year. Instead, TJ Kellas stepped out on the mat to face August Moler in a true swing match with no sure-fire favorite.

After a scoreless first that resulted in Kellas getting hit with a stall warning, Moser picked up the action with a takedown in the second for a 3-1 lead after a Kellas escape. There would be one more escape for each of them, but Moser drew the home crowd into a fury when he slipped in a Merkle for a late takedown in the third, then cruising to a 7-2 win that gave Delbarton the 30-29 win.

Delbarton School 30, Blair Academy 29

106-PJ Terranova (D) dec Eddie George, 8-2

113-Cam Sontz (D) dec Michael Batista, 5-4

120-Leo DeLuca (B) tech fall Tommy Marchetti, 20-3

126-Vince Anello (B) maj dec Braden Jones, 13-3

132-Ryan DeGeorge (D) dec Ellis Kirsch, 7-1

138-Weston Borgers (B) dec Chase Quenault, 11-10

144-Nick Schwartz (D) maj dec Vedwin Nivas, 14-2

150-Jayden James (D) pinned Ryan Meier, 1:23

157-Joseph Schinder (B) pinned Cole Jasinkiewicz, :08

165-Alessio Perentin (D) tech fall Benjamin Koch, 23-4

175-Barry Norman (B) tech fall Jesse DeNigri, 20-5

190-William Henckel (B) pinned Brody Ishmael, :42

215-Elbrus Majagah (D) dec Mark Scialla, 16-9

285-August Moser (D) dec TJ Kellas, 7-2