Peterson keys Fitch wrestlers

By Eric Hamilton

Jake Peterson was one of five Fitch wrestlers to go 2-0 in team wins over Beaver Local and Canfield.

LISBON — The second week of the wrestling season is way too early for must-win matches or talk of league championships.

But when you’re Fitch’s Jake Peterson and matched up against a returning state placer with your team looking to get the inside track on the Eastern Ohio Wrestling League team title, you aren’t focusing on anything else.

“This week is basically for the EOWL division title,” said Peterson, after winning both his matches Wednesday night against Canfield and Beaver Local. “These are tough teams and we’re facing some very tough competition in the first 10 days of the season. We have some young kids, so the juniors and seniors at 145 and up have to step it up.”

Peterson did his part by defeating Beaver Local’s Dylan Ice 3-2 at 145 pounds. Ice finished fifth in the state last winter in Division II. Peterson rallied with under a minute to go to win the bout. Having faced him before, he knew what to expect.

“I knew it would be close,” said Peterson, who was one win away from the state tournament last season. “He is a good competitor and I want to face good competition early in the season. I didn’t give up and I think my conditioning came through in the last minute.”

Peterson was one of five Fitch wrestlers to go 2-0 in the tri-match, propelling the Falcons to team victories over Beaver Local (49-21) and Canfield (33-29).

Returning state qualifiers Louis Greco (160) and Chris Miller (275) each swept their bouts, while RJ Balog (152) and Andy Koch (215) also went undefeated.

“We’re a young team in the lightweights and they got baptized under fire tonight, but we have some veterans up top and they stepped up tonight,” said Fitch coach Brett Powell. “Canfield is an excellent pin team and they exploited us in a few weights that we didn’t expect. We were lucky to get the win tonight.

“A match like this really gets you ready for a tournament and pushes you early in the season. All three of these teams are strong and our guys know that we’re going to need everybody to do their part to be successful.”

Canfield built a double-digit lead against Fitch by winning five of the first seven matches in the lightweight bouts. The lone victories for the Falcons were Shawn Ague (112) and Dustin Welsh (135).

Fitch secured wins in five of the final six matches to close the gap to 29-27, heading into the heavyweight bout. Miller needed a win over Mark Douglas to put the Falcons over the top, but did even better winning by pin.

The Cardinals’ strong start was propelled by wins from three-time district qualifier Braylin Bellino (103), Dylan Frost (119), Rob Reed (125) and Leo Daprile (130).

Reed and Daprile each went 2-0 in the match for the Cardinals.

“This is a good start to the season,” said Reed, who pointed to his win over Fitch’s Scott Satterlee as a big confidence booster. “I really needed to beat him after losing to him at EOWL last year.”

Despite the narrow loss to Fitch, Canfield coach Dean Conley was please with the effort his team showed in a big match this early in the season.

“I am a little disappointed, but not in the effort,” said Conley. “I think we’ve closed the gap on them a little bit and we had that fight you look for. Fitch was down and fought back and earned it, but we aren’t that far away.

“We really liked the challenge of this tri-match. Beaver Local is no pushover, either. We’ve had this match the past six of seven years and it’s always a fight.”

Canfield won eight of the 14 matches against the Beavers to secure a 41-25 victory. The Cards got wins in five of the seven lightweight bouts to build a lead and pull away.

Pacing Beaver Local by winning both their matches were Johnny McComas (103) and Arizona Miller (119).