Sunday, February 14, 2010

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Passaic Valley pulled its second straight upset, this time a 32-25 win over Roxburty, to claim the North 2, Group 3 state sectional title on Saturday at Roxbury High School.

SUCCASUNNA – There was a loss by a single point in the Bloomfield Tournament, then another by four points in the Passaic County Tournament. Mix that in with close losses to Lakeland and Wayne Valley and there were many examples of a team down on its luck. But Passaic Valley wrestling coach Joe Benvenuti knew that his team’s persistence through the tough times would only make it stronger.

That proved true with a North 2, Group 3 state sectional semifinal win over top-seeded Warren Hills the other night and that match was the confidence boost his kids needed heading into Saturday’s section final against Roxbury, one of the rugged squads from West Jersey.

With all of the close losses and disappointments out of the way, the Hornets got to work on bringing home a section title.

Nick Swangler, Tim Yarrish, and Jack Pohlman all scored late to win their matches by one point and those swing bouts proved to be the difference as fourth-seeded Passaic Valley won its first North 2, Group 3 title since 2005 and only its second in the past 30 years with a 32-25 upset over second-seeded Roxbury at Roxbury High School.

“We knew coming in that Passaic Valley was just as good as any team in our section,” said Roxbury head coach Jim Dolan. “It came down a few swing matches and they came up with some key wins that put them in the driver’s seat.”

Swangler led things off by scoring a takedown with nine seconds remaining in 119-pound bout for a 5-4 win. Roxbury bounced back with a pair of pins to take a 12-3 lead. Although they gave up that lead, the Gaels felt encouraged about their chances of winning after surviving dominating performances by PV’s Ryan Dunphy and Frank Crocco without giving up pins or technical falls.

C.J Caserta (152 pounds) scored a 12-6 win to put Roxbury back in front, but the Hornets responded with four huge wins, two of them by a single point, to take control of the match.

Yarrish won the last bout against to cap the upset of Warren Hills and was in another tough bout at 160 yesterday, but this time with even more at stake. Tied at four late in the third period, Yarrish spun around to score on a reversal with 27 seconds left in a 6-5 win that put PV back on top, 17-15.

“We could have folded our tent after they held off (Dunphy and Crocco) from pinning,” said Benvenuti. “But lately we have had some kids who have really stepped up and wrestled well in big matches. The other night it was guys like Peter Tantillo and Rob Sotelo. Today, it was guys like Tim Yarrish, Brandon Spinella, and Jack Pohlman who righted the ship for us.”

Sotelo followed by pulling away late in the second period en route to a 10-6 win over Roxbury’s Anthony Maiorana at 171 pounds. Spinella followed by giving the Hornets three bonus points they needed. His cradle and pin midway through the second period put PV ahead, 26-15.

“When you get this far in the states, every point counts,” said Spinella, a senior. “The turnaround mentally on this team the past few weeks has been amazing and I wanted to help keep that going. I didn’t want to put more pressure on myself and I just wanted to wrestle my match. But in the back of my mind, I knew we needed a pin. I just waited for my opportunity and then I went for it.”

At 215 pounds, Pohlman escaped with 1:06 left and held off a pair of late takedown attempts from Roxbury’s David Maddison for a 2-1 lead. 103-pounder Edwin Aristizibal clinched the section title with an 11-5 win that sent the Hornets into celebration mode.But that celebration was cut short and for a good reason. The Hornets have to turn around quickly and get ready for Sunday’s Group 3 state semifinal against New Jersey’s No. 1 ranked team, High Point. However, Benvenuti wants his kids to bask in the glory of finally being able to call themselves champions.

“When things are tough is when you find out about the character of your team” added Benvenuti. “From the kids, to the coaching staff, to the parents, to the fans, this win was a total team effort from the entire program. With the all the losses and the stuff we’ve been through this year, we were mentally prepared to seize this moment. Our season has been a roller coaster ride in many ways. But this win just made it a lot smoother and all the hard work we put in this season made the ride well worth taking.”

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