Thursday, February 2, 2012

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Joe DeFuria won the first bout of the night for Bergenfield, which won a league title and honored the memory of Danny Glover with a 30-25 win over River Dell on Wednesday.

BERGENFIELD – Having to wrestle in front of a home crowd for a league title is enough pressure for any athlete to carry with him in the days leading up to a match. But when tragedy strikes, it serves as a reminder of just how valuable life can be and how wrestling is more of a privilege than anything else. No one personified that more than former Bergenfield standout Dan Glover, a two-time BCCA champ in 2002 and 2003 who also formerly held the career-wins mark at Bergenfield with 109.

Glover, who went onto to wrestle for Ursinus College and was an assistant with the team last year, passed away this past weekend from injuries suffered in a car accident, leaving a giant void in the hearts of everyone who knew him. One of those individuals was senior captain Hons Seri.

Seri came into high school as a physically gifted athlete, but a virtual unknown in wrestling. Working with Glover last year allowed him to see just what kind of dedication it takes to be a successful wrestler. Although a league title was on the line, Seri was more concerned about honoring Glover and keeping his memory alive by displaying just how far both he and the Bergenfield wrestling program have come.

Seri’s 42-second pin at 170 pounds capped a four-bout run that gave Bergenfield the lead for good and a third consecutive league title, the second in the Big North United Division, as the Bears honored Glover in the best way they knew how with a 30-25 triumph on Wednesday over River Dell in front of a capacity crowd at Bergenfield High School.

River Dell's D.J. Tirelli finishing off his pin at 113 pounds.

“This match was so important because we want to win the league, but so much more because we wanted to win it for Danny,” said Seri. “When I heard about it, I was really down, we were all down. You could see the sadness on everyone’s faces. Inside I didn’t feel like practicing Monday or even wrestling tonight. But Danny would have wanted us to wrestle even harder and we had to all go out and do this for him.”

Another captain, Joe DeFuria, got Bergenfield off on a good note at 132 pounds with a hard-fought 3-0 win to get the ball rolling for the Bears, who never trailed all night.

After River Dell's Cenzo Carridi tied the scored with a 12-5 win, John Volmer dodged a bullet at 145. He was in control throughout his match, having not allowed a point through two and a half periods before nearly being caught for a pin by River Dell’s Nick Siegel before holding on for a 7-5 victory.

After a 7-4 decision by Michael Valle, Bears’ 160-pounder Jonathan Marrero turned Andrew Pohl early and pinned him with eight seconds left in the first period. With the emotional crowd at a fevered pitch and River Dell’s vaunted lower weights still yet to wrestle, Seri knew exactly what he had to do. He quickly scored a takedown and hit John Dickson with a cradle for the quick pin and a 21-3 Bergenfield lead.

Maalyah Goodall-Reid (top) pinned at 285 pounds to give Bergenfield a 30-10 lead.

“I knew how big bonus points were for us tonight and I had to get the pin,” added Seri. “I had so much adrenaline and once I got the takedown, I had to put his shoulder to the mat. Danny and I used to work out together and I give him all the credit. He taught me everything I know and I had to get this pin for my team and for him.”

Bergenfield scored another big fall at 285 pounds in what looked to be an evenly-matched bout between Bergenfield’s Maalyah Goodall-Reid and River Dell’s Brian Coyman. Goodall was able to wrap Coyman up and use a hammer throw to send him to the mat and pin in 1:17 to give the Bears a commanding 30-10 lead.

“They got all the necessary bonus points and we didn’t, that was the difference,” said River Dell head coach Mike Tota. “We gave up a couple of pins and weren’t able to get bonus points from guys we usually get them from. The matches ended up tied (7-7), but we got pinned and they didn’t. But give Bergenfield all the credit, they just outwrestled us. It will give us some more motivation heading into the states next week.”

River Dell got a pin from standout D.J. Tirelli at 113 pounds and decisions from Dylan Mitchell, Danny Lynch, and John McLaughlin in the final four bouts, but it was not enough as the Hawks fell five points short.

River Dell's Cenzo Carridi posted a 12-5 win at 140 pounds.

For Bergenfield, the win represented a third straight league championship. But for the community, it represented so much more. It was a night were the Glover family (who was in attendance at the match and was part of a touching ceremony prior to it), his friends, and the Bergenfield wrestlers and coaching staff alike could take a break from grieving to follow the one thing Glover loved more than anything else, being on the wrestling mat and being part of a Bergenfield victory.

“This was as hard of a match as I’ve ever had to go through and Danny was definitely looking down on us tonight,” said Bergenfield head coach Kevin Manning. “We all had very heavy hearts and I thought our kids responded better than I expected them to. Danny was one of the best wrestlers to ever come out of Bergenfield and he set a great example for the younger kids who are some of my wrestlers now.

“Danny was a kid who wrestled hard every second of every match, which will be his legacy here. We’re all grieving right now, but this gives us a reason to smile because Danny would have wanted us to. We had to give back to him for all he had done for us and I couldn’t think of a better tribute to his memory than with the passion and effort we displayed tonight.”

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