Easton edges Nazareth 27-24 to remain unbeaten

FROM THE MORNING CALL

Easton won the final three bouts, including a thriller from Anthony Minotti, to shake a nine-point deficit and edge Nazareth 27-24 in the Lehigh Valley Conference on Saturday night.

A full house at Easton Area Middle School saw a tightly contested match, in which 12 of the 14 bouts went the full 6 minutes. Further, eight were decided by four points or less, with Nazareth winning five of those. The best came near the end.

In the night's penultimate bout at 145 pounds, Anthony Minotti edged Wyatt Miller 9-6, cutting Nazareth's lead to 24-22. That cleared the way for his cousin Mitch to clinch the match (remaining unbeaten in the process) with a technical fall at 152.

The Minotti-Miller bout was a classic, going to the final seconds. Leading 7-6, Minotti squirmed out of a takedown attempt then countered with a takedown for the final margin. Miller had taken an early 4-0 lead, nearly pinning Minotti from the opening whistle.

Bonus points proved the difference. Easton (9-0, 5-0 LVC) received key bonus-point wins from Kyle Baker, Evan DiSora and Joey Rizzolino.

Nazareth (7-3, 2-2) kept it close behind key decisions from Ben Bradley, Aaron Bradley and Chase Zemenak and a pin by Zach Horan. Greg Noll's decision at 140 gave the Blue Eagles a 24-15 lead with three bouts remaining. Easton's middleweight strength made up the difference.

EASTON 27, NAZARETH 24

103: Kyle Baker (E) tech. fall Tyler Tarsi 15-0 in 6:00.

112: Chase Zemenak (N) dec. Peter Stanley 7-3.

119: Evan DiSora (E) dec. Jose Delgado 15-5.

125: Franco Ferraina (N) dec. Robbie Rizzolino 6-3.

130: Zach Horan (N) pin Calvin Daly 1:18.

135: Greg Noll (N) dec. Mark Misczenski 8-3.

140: Joey Rizzolino (E) dec. Ian Stout 15-5.

145: Anthony Minotti (E) dec. Wyatt Miller 9-6.

152: Mitch Minotti (E) tech. fall 25-8 in 5:36.

160: Ryan Krecker (N) dec. Mason McIntyre 5-2.

171: Zack Bambary (E) dec. Eric Wolak 3-1.

189: Ben Bradley (N) dec. Jose Rotger 3-1.

215: Tyler Greene (E) dec. David Wilke 3-2.

285: Aaron Bradley (N) dec. Jalal Paige 3-2.

http://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/mc-wrestle-easton-0115-20110115,0,7054832.story