Raiders can’t take advantage of strategy in first state appearance
By: Rudy Brandl
OLD BRIDGE If wrestling matches were contested on paper, Hillsborough High would have been in good shape in Tuesday night’s Central Jersey Group 4 quarterfinal match against South Brunswick.
The Raiders, making their first trip to the sectional team tournament, got most of the matchups they wanted. Hillsborough won the crucial coin toss at the start of the match, allowing head coach Steve Molinaro to make his moves and juggle the lineup to create favorable bouts.
Molinaro knew his team would have to combine better work on the mat with plenty of strategy to overturn a 46-16 loss to the Vikings back in January. Although the strategy was in place, the upset-minded Raiders couldn’t take advantage and were eliminated by South Brunswick by a 36-19 final score.
"Moves needed to be made for us to be in it," Molinaro said afterward. "In this case, it just didn’t work out. Certain people we expected to win didn’t win and when you have youth in the lineup elsewhere, it’s tough to come back."
South Brunswick won the match by defeating two of Hillsborough’s better wrestlers who were bumping up a weight class. Those victories created a swing of at least 15 points.
Junior Andrew Gewain moved from his customary 103-pound slot to 112, where the Raiders expected him to produce at least three points. Instead, Garrett Nasdeo controlled the bout and posted a 4-1 decision.
Molinaro still figured senior Randy Van Cleef could win despite bumping up to 130 against a solid Mike Fidacaro, but that plan backfired when the defending Region 5 champ was pinned at 3:25. Fidacaro had Van Cleef locked up for most of the match and scored the first pin of an evening to put his team ahead to stay.
"We didn’t win all the close matches we needed to win," said HHS senior co-captain Jared Wagner, who scored an 8-4 decision over Ryan Griffin at 140. "It’s great to be here for the first time but that’s not enough. If we wrestled better, we could’ve beaten them."
Hillsborough performed well in the early stages of the match, but had to settle for decisions when pins would have certainly helped. Twice, however, the HHS bench and fans believed the officials were more than a little stingy with calling pins.
Senior Kristian Molloy opened the match at 171 and rallied for a 13-9 decision over Brady Shellcusky. Molloy appeared to have the South Brunswick wrestler stacked in the second and third periods but the official only awarded near-fall points each time.
After the schools split the first four bouts, HHS sophomore Tye Wagner took the mat at 103 and put Vinnie Biondo to his back. Again, the referee didn’t call a pin and Wagner settled for a 10-5 decision that put the Raiders back in the lead.
A few early falls could have lifted the Raiders to a different level. The extra points and added confidence could have propelled the team to an upset.
"It helps on the scoreboard and it helps the momentum," Molinaro said. "It sets a different tone and it could’ve changed things."
"We had all the matchups we wanted," Jared Wagner said. "We just didn’t win all the matches and get all the extra points we needed."
After Gewain lost for just the second time this season to tie the team score at 9-9, South Brunswick took its first lead when 119-pounder Paul Strincoski posted a 6-1 decision over Kevin Herlihy.
Hillsborough sophomore Mike Detsis dominated Young Lee on his feet, scoring five takedowns in a 12-4 major that vaulted the Raiders to a 13-12 advantage. That was the last lead of the night for the Raiders.
Van Cleef’s shocking defeat gave the Vikings all the momentum they needed. The Raiders forfeited to state contender Kyle Nasdeo at 135 and South Brunswick was in command.
Other Raider winners included senior Dan Miller, who bumped to 189 and registered a 7-4 decision over John Nortesano. Pat Jastrzebski outlasted Matt Clancy, scoring a two-point near-fall in the second overtime for a 5-3 triumph. Sophomore 215-pounder Mark Amerman also gave a tremendous effort against state contender Derrick Cromartie, who struggled to gain a 6-3 victory.
"It was nice to be here," Molinaro said. "We came in as underdogs and we gave it our best shot."