Parkland High School wrestling team defeats Easton Area High School 37-30

by MICHAEL BLOUSE - The Express-Times

Posted on December 13, 2009

Sunday, December 13, 2009


S. WHITEHALL TWP. | The climb to the top will have to be an uphill battle this season for Easton Area High School's wrestling team.

Junior Cory Bruder, competing in his first varsity match for Parkland, put an exclamation point on the Trojans' convincing 37-30 victory over Easton on Saturday night in a Lehigh Valley Conference match.

Parkland led 31-30 entering the final bout at 189 pounds. Bruder then capped the victory with a stunning 45-second pin of Red Rovers freshman Tyler Greene.

The season-opening win legitimizes coach Ryan Nunamaker's team as one of the top contenders in the conference and in District 11.

"It's an amazing feeling beating Easton," said Bruder, who used a headlock to deck his opponent. "In the opener, in front of all these fans, on TV ... There was a lot of pressure. Really, it was a little nerve-wracking but there's pressure anytime you wrestle."

The Trojans opened a 21-6 advantage after six bouts -- the match started at 215 pounds -- but Easton came storming back to take a 27-21 lead with four bouts left.

Zack Bambary's 5-3 win over Andy Moore at 160 put the Red Rovers up 30-25 with two remaining. But Wade Rivera at 171 and Bruder both picked up first-period falls.

Rivera pinned Easton sophomore Francis Stover.

"We were hoping to get a split there ... we needed to win one of those," Easton coach Steve Powell said. "Tyler Greene will have his day. And so will Francis."

"We weren't real sure at 189," Nunamaker said, "but we felt confident in our guy. You just never know with a kid wrestling his first varsity bout in a big match, though."

Parkland prevailed in three close ones at 189, 119 and 125. Tarik Haddad used a second-period reversal to defeat Jalal Page 2-0 at 189; Brandon Davis parlayed a five-point flurry in the final 10 seconds into an 8-3 decision over Mike Fleck at 119 and Mike Fake earned a 9-7 overtime win over Calvin Daly at 125.

The Red Rovers used their cousin combo to cut into the deficit and take a brief lead. The Minotti cousins -- junior Anthony and sophomore Mitchell -- and the Rizzolino cousins -- junior Joey and freshman Robbie -- produced 22 key points for Easton.

Senior Mark Hartenstine at 140 and Bambary were the other Red Rover winners.

Nunamaker said a momentum-changing victory for the Trojans came at 285 pounds. Freshman Shaun Heist turned a close match into six points for Parkland with a pin of Jacob Neve in 5:28.

"That was the biggest surprise there," said Nunamaker, who had Heist drink water Saturday to weigh in at over 189 pounds to be eligible to wrestle at heavyweight.

"We thought that one could go either way but to get a pin there was huge."

Easton, which defeated Parkland 42-13 in last year's match, now heads out west for the Reno Tournament of Champions on Friday and Saturday.

Powell put the opening-night loss into perspective.

"There were a lot of excellent bouts," the veteran coach said. "This is a real big win for Parkland. They did a very good job. We just need to find a way to turn this into a positive and we need to keep our heads up. Because if we don't, with the schedule we wrestle, it'll get real ugly."

PARKLAND 37, EASTON 30

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