Parkland Overpowers Quakertown

by By Alex Frazier

Posted on December 23, 2009

Kurt Handel called it an "old fashioned butt whuppin.'"

The Quakertown coach wasn't far from the truth as Lehigh Valley power Parkland thrashed the Panthers 45-22.

Quakertown 112-pounder Alex Brulliea was the only winner in the first eight matches as the Panthers fell behind 36-3.

"They beat us in every aspect of the sport—offense, defense, aggressiveness, desire, will, intensity," said Handel. "They took it to us in every category."

Brulliea, a sophomore, didn't wrestle last year and is light for the weight this year.

An experienced youth and middle school wrestler, he decided to take last year off.

Actually he went out for one day.

"I quit because the practices were too hard," he said.

This year he was better prepared when he stepped on the mat for his first practice.

"I was ready ahead of time so I felt it was a lot easier on me," he said.

After Quakertown forfeited at 103, Brulliea faced Parkland's Grady Millick, who took him down for the first points. Brulliea rallied to escape and take Millick down with just four seconds left in the first period to take a slim 3-2 lead.

Brulliea managed to hold onto the lead in the second. After Millick took Brulliea down again and Brulliea reversed in the third, Millick broke loose at the buzzer to force overtime.

"I was a little nervous," he said. "I felt like puking up 'til the end. I didn't want to (go into overtime), but I had to."

Millick shot in on a single and Brulliea grabbed a leg, which he managed to convert into a takedown of his own for a 6-4 win.

"I just did the best I could," he said. "I was just fighting to see if I could get two points, and it worked."

The win makes him 1-1 on the season.

"He went hard for seven minutes there," said Handel. "He won that on pure grit and determination."

That was the last hurrah for the Panthers until Eric Koch majored Rich Trotta at 152, 12-0.

In between, two of Quakertown's best wrestlers lost. At 125, Scott Wolfinger fought back against Brandon Davis to tie the bout 7-7 on a cradle in the third period, but Davis escaped, took him down with a dump and tilted him or a 12-7 win.

"He's had one heck of a 10-day stretch," said Handel. "Last week he had (CB West's) Bubba McGinley, a district champ from District Two, and at the Beast he lost to two of the top 10 kids in the country, and then he comes here and wrestles a regional qualifier. For the first 10 days of the season, he's had one heck of a roller coaster ride.

"He lost a heartbreaker there. He wrestled really tough and real well. You wrestle that match a few times and it you get a different outcome every time. I was proud of his effort."

At 145, Briar Malischewski fell victim to Mike Ottinger, who took him down four times in a 10-4 victory.

Koch then staunched the bleeding with a 12-0 major of Rich Trotta, using his legs for four sets of back points.

Tyler Wolfe lost a tough match to Parkland's Wade Rivera at 171. He gave up a switch with 31 seconds left in regulation to tie the bout, and then Rivera took him down with one of Parkland's favorite takedowns—a fireman's carry—in overtime.

"That was a great match," said Handel. "Both guys went at it. Tyler didn't hold back."

The rest was all Quakertown.

At 189, Seth Gray started a bit slow as he was taken down twice in the first period after getting bumped on the nose and having to take blood time.

"I can't use that as an excuse," he said, "but that's why I gave up the first takedown. I got pumped up on the sideline and went out there and showed him up. I just wanted to get a win for the team."
Gray got in on Cory Bruder for a single leg takedown to tie the match at four after the first period.

"I took it as a challenge," said Gray. "I love going on my feet with kids. When he did that (took me down), I knew I wasn't wrestling my match. I wanted to answer right back to show he couldn't dominate me."
Then he went to work with two takedowns in the second for a 9-5 lead. In the third he took Bruder down with another front headlock and cradled him for the fall in 5:01.

Gray said he was motivated by the lopsided score, after watching teammate after teammate lose.

"It's extreme motivation," he said. "You don't want to have the team end on a bad note. You want to go out there and help them out as much as you can. You have to look after your teammates."

After a scoreless first period at heavyweight, Rob Basile came alive in the second, cradling Tarik Haddad for a fall in 3:34.

Gregg Walker concluded the evening's festivities with a dominating first period (two takedowns and a two-point near fall), which he rode to a 7-4 win.

The heavyweights were the bright spot of the night.
"They did real well," said Handel. "They got the wins."

Despite the thrashing, Handel doesn't regret scheduling a team like Parkland.

"It's a real tough team," he said. "They expose all your flaws. That's why you put a team like this on your schedule. When you wrestle a team like this that's that good, it's a humbling experience."

Posted by Lou Rivera

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