Flathead flattens C-Falls
Flathead's Luke Fischer struggles for top position over Columbia Falls Wildcat Mike Clark during their 145-pound match Friday night in Kalispell. Fischer won by decision 10-9, while Flathead dominated the Wildcats 78-6. Karen Nichols/Daily Inter Lake
Let's get ready to … duck-duck-goose?
When the Columbia Falls Matcats were 50 minutes late for the Friday night dual - the team had to wrestle in Whitefish beforehand - the Braves' boredom bested their better judgment. After warmups, the team resorted to playing games.
Even the fans grew restless, chanting for some wrestling. At least the crowd provided some laughs, with a contingent of cross-dressers and toga throwbacks. Senior Paul Strickle irreparably stretched out some poor cheerleader's outfit, and senior Andy Gross did John Belushi proud with the traditional Greek get-up.
But the weary Matcats did show up, and they competed with virtually no warmup. For the Braves, it was a different dual with a familiar result - a lopsided win. Flathead rolled to an easy victory, 78-6.
Flathead looked flat, and Columbia Falls looked tired in the less-than-exciting matchup. Cory Pete (130 pounds) scored the lone win for the Matcats, pinning A.J. Stoick with 14 seconds left in the first period. Stoick was trying for an escape, and Pete snapped him to his back and stuck him with a half nelson.
Mike Clark nearly put some points on the board for Columbia Falls, narrowly losing to Luke Fischer 10-9. In the first period of their 145-pound bout, Fischer scored a takedown and then stretched Clark out with a strong leg ride.
The move appeared to injure Clark's shoulder, and a timeout was called. Clark was down 6-2 but battled through his injury.
He pulled to 10-9 late in the third when Fischer was docked for stalling. Fischer, who was battling a cold, didn't do much after the penalty, but time ran out and he held on for the win.
Flathead's Austin Zapata (125 pounds)
went on a scoring tear against Travis Pete. Zapata earned near fall points four times in the match, and won by technical fall in the third period, 16-0.
Levi Holt looked the most ready to wrestle out of anybody on either team. The Braves' 171-pounder came out strong and simply out-muscled his opponent, Matt Sauter.
The two were surprisingly quick on their feet for two big guys. Both did a good job using leverage and good footwork to stay on their feet. When Holt took him down, Sauter was immediately trying to spring back up. But Holt grabbed Sauter and threw him down to the mat in a head and arm. Sauter fell to pin shortly after.
The dual was short-lived due to Columbia Falls' five forfeits and the rest of the matches being decided quickly. Only two matches went the distance.
"We came out a little flat," Flathead coach Jeff Thompson said. "But looking at the team score, we've got to be happy with that."
The Braves, who moved into the No. 1 spot in the AA coaching poll, host Missoula Sentinel today at noon in a match that was rescheduled because of bad weather in December.
The Spartans have a few outstanding wrestlers in their lineup. Jake Love (98 pounds) is ranked first in the state and was an All-American at Junior Nationals last year.
His brother, Andy Love, is also a strong wrestler at 135 pounds. And Cash Fields, Sentinel's heavyweight, is ranked fourth, two spots behind the Braves' Dan Ogden. Ogden fell from the first spot this week after losing to Butte's Trevor Hass at the Rocky Mountain Classic in Missoula.
Flathead is now 12-1 in dual action this season and 84-18 in Thompson's six season with the Braves. A number of wrestlers are fighting with colds and other ailments, but are looking to make a strong push to the state competition.
BRAVES 78, MATCATS 6
98 - Dan Jenkins (FHS) won by forfeit; 105 - Brian Ham (FHS) pinned Kolton King 1:00; 112 - Ryan Thiel (FHS) pinned Jesse McCafferty 1:05; 119 - Ricky Janes (FHS) maj. dec. Cody Kolodejchuk 14-2; 125 - Austin Zapata (FHS) tech. fall Travis Pete 16-0; 130 - Cory Pete (CF) pinned A.J. Stoick :46; 135 - Duran Flaget (FHS) pinned Derek Pepperling :45; 140 - Ryan Nelson (FHS) won by forfeit; 145 - Luke Fischer (FHS) dec. Mike Clark 10-9; 152 - Mike Kuehne (FHS) won by forfeit; 160 - David Lau (FHS) won by forfeit; 171 - Levi Holt (FHS) pinned Matt Sauter 1:04; 189 - Scott Cassel (FHS) won by forfeit; 215 - Casey Poier (FHS) pinned Jesse Woodward :45; 275 - Dan Ogden (FHS) pinned Dan Peterson :48.