Easton cruises by Northampton in LVC wrestling

FROM THE MORNING CALL

Easton prepped for a fevered-pitch schedule next week with a victory opposing coach Terry Daubert said was defined by its work ethic. Next up for the Red Rovers: more practice.

"This time of year, you train, get tired, rest and train again," Easton coach Steve Powell said. "It's about peaking for states."

Easton won 10 of 14 bouts, earning bonus points in five of those, to overwhelm Northampton 38-14 in a Lehigh Valley Conference match on Friday. The Senior Night victory included a combined 5-1 record for the senior starters, who led the Rovers (15-1, 7-0 LVC) to within one match of the conference title. But that match will be part of a hectic week.

Easton will wrestle Phillipsburg on Monday in their annual rivalry match that likely supercedes an LVC title. Two nights later, the Red Rovers will visit Bethlehem Catholic in a match that will decide the LVC title. And next Friday, they most likely will be the top-seeded favorite to defend their District 11 Class 3A duals title.

As a result, perhaps the most important day of that stretch comes Saturday, when Easton finally will practice. Weather has kept the team out of the practice room for much of the last two weeks, and Powell is looking forward to it.

"In 35 years [of coaching], I've never seen anything like this," Powell said. "We've always been able to get in the building. It's totally unusual."

The Red Rovers compensated with a sharp effort against Northampton. Senior Jalal Paige (285) opened the match with a fiery pin, and Easton won the next six bouts to take a 24-0 lead. The Rovers held their opponents to four or fewer points in seven bouts.

"Easton wrestled really, really well," said Daubert, the Northampton coach. "They kept us off balance. To sum up the whole thing, I thought they just worked a whole lot harder than we did."

Among

EASTON 38, NORTHAMPTON 14

103: Kyle Baker (E) dec. Brandon Sommer 11-8.

112: Peter Stanley (E) dec. Paul Hetrick 5-1.

119: Evan DiSora (E) tech. fall Zach Valley 19-4 in 5:00.

125: Robbie Rizzolino (E) dec. Trey Daubert 12-1.

130: Calvin Daly (E) dec. Bobby Fehr 10-5.

135: Jason Stephen (N) dec. Mark Misczenski 13-5.

140: Joey Rizzolino (E) dec. Zach Wilson 13-3.

145: Mitch Minotti (E) dec. Cole Sheptock 8-0.

152: John Lambert (N) dec. Anthony Minotti 10-2.

160: Mason McIntyre (E) dec. Tim Kunkel 9-4.

171: Zach Bambary (E) dec. Brent Heintzelman 5-3.

189: Marcus Newsom (N) dec. Francis Slover 8-4.

215: Nick Sharga (N) dec. Tyler Greene 10-8.

285: Jalal Paige (E) pin Michael Wright :59.