Bethlehem Catholic High School wrestlers find a way past stubborn Easton in a thriller

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

It took a powerful -- if unpleasant -- image to help Bethlehem Catholic High School's wrestling team overturn 30 years of adverse history against Easton Area High School Saturday night.


"Coach (Jeff) Karam said losing to Easton at our place last year left us with an open wound that we healed tonight," said Golden Hawk senior 138-pounder Richy Cruz, whose one-point nailbiter of a win in the penultimate bout proved the decisive moment in Becahi's thrilling 29-26 Lehigh Valley Conference triumph in an all-time classic in front of 2,000-plus at Easton Area Middle School.

The win, the Golden Hawks' first over the Red Rovers since 1982, clinched a share of the LVC crown for Becahi (7-0 LVC and overall) Saturday night and the Hawks will stand alone as conference champs if Easton (15-2, 6-1) beats Parkland (7-0 LVC) Monday night and the Hawks defeat Whitehall Wednesday (the Parkland-Becahi match now set for Feb. 15 is not an LVC match).


"There's no doubt this was the most entertaining and emotional match I have ever been a part of," said Karam, an Easton graduate who defeated his gym teacher, Easton coach Steve Powell, for the first time in his career at Freedom and Becahi.


The unbridled joy on the Becahi sideline afterwards reflected the intense satisfaction the Golden Hawks took from beating Easton, thus checking off perhaps the one accomplishment they had been lacking in their recent revival.


"I'm not saying this was better than winning a state title (as Becahi did last year) but it feels awfully good," Cruz said. "The one thing we hadn't done as seniors was to beat Easton. As seniors we came here four years with Coach Karam and we've won a state title but we hadn't beaten Easton. People said, "We're (PIAA Class) AA, we're just Becahi, and now we come into their house, in this environment, and beat them and (clinch a share of) the league title."

Easton couldn't have done much more than it did to stretch Becahi's agony to 31 years. The Rovers pulled upsets at 120 and 126 -- senior Peter Stanley thumping Becahi sophomore Zeke Moisey 8-2 at 120 and Easton sophomore Elijah Brown downing senior Zane Heller 2-1 in a tiebreaker at 126 -- that erased a 23-17 Becahi lead gained by Darian Cruz's pin at 113 (Brown and Cruz shared the the Chuck Leiderman Award for the Most Outstanding Wrestler in the Easton-Becahi match, as voted by a media panel).

It was the second time Easton had rallied from a six-point deficit for a tie -- Becahi led 17-11 after 220 but Rovers Francis Slover (285) and Anthony Parisi (106) won decisions. The Rovers just kept on coming but Becahi always had just a little extra in reserve, and winning the coin flip allowed the Hawks to get the matchups they wanted, especially at 152 and 195.

Easton coach Steve Powell couldn't have asked for more from his team.


"It's awfully hard to see where we steal another win," he said. "Them winning the coin flip was huge. I thought our conditioning was really good and we wrestled very well. Francis did awesome, like he usually does, Peter's improved a whole lot, Elijah did great. We're proud of the kids, nobody quit. You have to love these kinds of matches."

What Powell may not have loved was a key decision by referee Matt Billy in the second period of Richy Cruz's 3-2 defeat of Mark Misczenski at 138. Billy awarded Cruz a takedown in a situation where Cruz's control of the Rover came and went very quickly. The takedown proved the difference.


"I wanted the match to come down to me," Richy Cruz said. "I dreamed about it all week and I wanted to be ready for it. I had to keep shooting and I knew I'd get an opening. I thought it was a takedown."

It is fair to say many in the crowd did not.


"If the ref says it's a takedown, it's a takedown," Powell said. "It was really, really close. You could say that was the (dual) match-deciding takedown."

Cruz's win followed Randy Cruz's 5-0 decision and put Becahi up 29-23. Easton hadn't led since after the night's second bout -- Rover senior Mitch Minotti had opened the match with a pin at 152 -- but Easton still had a chance to pin and win at 145.

The Rovers would have won a 29-all tie on the third criteria (most technical falls) but Becahi's Aaron Morekin wrestled smartly in a 3-1 loss to Kyler Kilpatrick.


"I told Aaron the only way we lose if you get pinned," Karam said. "I told him I wanted him to win but I wanted him to be smart."

"Kyler spent all he had," Powell said simply.

So did everyone who stepped on the mat Saturday night in a match few will ever forget.

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