Thursday, February 4, 2010

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

St. Peter's Prep improved to 15-3 with a 40-33 win over North Bergen on Wednesday night.

NORTH BERGEN – St. Peter’s Prep’s Luke Venditti has no dreams of winning a state individual title, he is not a sure-fire college prospect, nor does he pretend to be any of that. But the value of Venditti to a high school wrestling team is immeasurable because of one factor; his work ethic. He is a typical lunch pail guy, a coach’s dream; someone who will come in ready to work hard every single day without ever so much as a complaint all for the one opportunity that the coaching staff will call on him in a big match.

That time came last night in a big spot against North Bergen and Venditti was ready.

With the Marauders holding a nine-point lead with two bouts left, Venditti came, saw, and conquered on a decisive 10-2 major decision that clinched a hard-fought St. Peter’s Prep victory, 40-33, at North Bergen High School.

Both teams had three starters out at various spots with injuries, so that forced each team to shuffle their lineups and play a bit of a chess match.

“North Bergen always wrestles hard and we knew this was going to be a tough match,” said St. Peter’s Prep head coach Anthony Verdi. “Each team wasn’t coming into this one with their full lineup, so some other guys needed to step up and earn valuable points.”

North Bergen missed the state playoffs by a mere .5 power points.

St. Peter’s Prep has been the class of Hudson County all year and it is largely because of their strong upper weights. James Fox started the match off with a second-period pin at 171 pounds. At 215 pounds, Marauders’ football standout Gianni McLaughlin also showed his mettle in the circle. He needed every ounce of strength he had to hold off a pesky Nick Garcia for a 7-6 decision.

Kevin Innis, who is the state’s top ranked wrestler at 215, bumped up to heavyweight and scored a quick pin and Frank Biafore followed with an efficient 5-0 verdict at 103 that gave the Marauders an 18-3 lead.

After just missing the state tournament by less than a single power point, the Bruins were not about go away without a fight. Vin DeMartino got the ball rolling with a 19-second pin at 112 pounds. Thomas Maldonado and Angel Quinones scored pins wrapped around a pair of traded forfeits to give North Bergen (10-5) a 27-24 lead.

“I thought we had some kids really step up tonight and come ready to wrestle,” said North Bergen head coach Jerry Maietta. “Thomas Maldonado and (Angel) Quinones came up with big pins. We had a shot tonight against a very strong team, but just didn’t get the job done. Everything needed to break right for us to win this match and it almost happened.”

The Marauders took the lead back for good with a first-period pin by Joe Buckman. Brian Merkel snapped a 1-1 tie with a pin in 3:05 at 145 pounds to give St. Peter’s Prep what to the naked eye would seem like a safe 36-27 lead with two bouts left.

But with North Bergen standout Chris Duran waiting in the wings, it was up to Venditti to put the match away. He initially thought he would face Duran, but it turned out he went up against Guillermo Shaffer. Despite the change just before the bout was to begin, Venditti kept his gameplan the same. Venditti scored a pair of takedowns in the first period. The latter came with just seconds remaining as he grabbed a 4-1 lead.

St. Peter's will face the winner of Don Bosco Prep vs. St. Joseph in the Non-Public North A state sectional playoffs.

“I knew (Chris) Duran is a really tough wrestler, but I go into every match the same way,” said Venditti. “It was really important for me to get the first takedown. When I got the second one and went up (4-1), I just had to stay aggressive and keep wrestling. Then I had to focus on doing what I’ve been doing, but not do anything stupid or take chances that could cost me and our team the match.”

Venditti maintained control from start to finish and scored the major decision that gave St. Peter’s Prep (15-3) a nice finish to the regular season.

“It’s awesome to see a kid like Luke Venditti close out the match, he truly deserves it,” added Verdi. “Kids like him are fun to coach. When you tell him something, you know he’s listening. He will take the advice given to him and then use it to try and make himself a better wrestler. I couldn’t be happier to see him battle the way we did tonight when we needed it.”

The Marauders can now focus their attention on trying to navigate through a stacked Non-Public North A section. The big positive is that they will get to try and win the title in their own gym in front what is sure to be a raucous crowd. They will face the winner of fifth-seeded Don Bosco Prep and fourth-seeded St. Joe’s (Montvale) on Wednesday night at 7:00 in Jersey City.

“This is what we’ve been waiting for all year and now the time is right around the corner,” said Verdi. “It’s going to be a very interesting section because I honestly believe that any of the six teams could win it. I think the home advantage is huge for us and it can only help us. Either way, it’s going to be a battle. We know every other team in our section is going to be 100-percent ready. We’ll be just as ready and hopefully we’ll be fully healthy and give it our best shot.”

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