By Mike White
Staff Writer
PAULSBORO — Winning on the road is never easy. Going into an environment that is known to be hostile makes matters even worse. Those were the conditions the Jackson High School wrestling team faced last Friday night when they traveled to Paulsboro.
Competing against one of the traditional powerhouse in the state, the Jaguars survived the difficult surroundings and escaped with a dramatic 30-28 victory over Paulsboro to remain undefeated.
Trailing by a slim margin with one bout remaining, Kevin Shelly shouldered Paulsboro’s Nino Polimini with less than 30 seconds remaining in the bout to give the Jags the road victory and set off a wild celebration.
"It was a great road victory for us," Jackson High School coach Scott Goodale said. "They are a program that has dominated in their conference for a very long time. They are well coached and have great athletes. We figured it would be a very close match. Our kids gutted it out, and at the end we were able to come through. A quality win like this is going to help us later down the road."
Shelly and Polimini were tied at 2-2 when it appeared the Paulsboro wrestler was about to take command of the match. However, Shelly reversed and managed to pin Polimini to give Jackson its ninth win of the season.
"He (Shelly) was super smart out there against him," Goodale said. "He maintained his aggressiveness throughout the bout. I think what happened is that he wore the kid down, which led to the pin. He is in terrific shape, so going the distance isn’t a problem. He came up with a very big win for us."
The last time a Jackson team competed at Paulsboro was back in the late 70s. Goodale purposely scheduled a match at their gym to ready his troops for the post season.
"It is a very difficult place to compete at," Goodale said. "The atmosphere makes it hard to concentrate and stay focused. We thought we might split 7-7 in bouts, so we figured bonus points would play a big role.
"We had brought a pretty good crowd with us down there for support, but being on the road at a program that is known to be one of the best makes it a huge challenge. We stood the test and wrestled well enough to leave with the victory. Our kids got a first-hand view of what the atmosphere could be like wrestling in the state tournament."
Joe Ferro and Adam Berking also registered key pins to help Jackson come out on top. Ferro won at 112 pounds, while Berking had a huge victory at 140, Goodale said.
"I think the big key to winning down there was getting those three pins," Goodale said. "It really was a team effort. When you beat a team of Paulsboro’s caliber, you need to get contributions from just about everybody."
Other winners for Jackson included Jeramy Edwards (171) and Giro Borgia (130). Both wrestlers won their respective weight divisions by pin. Jeff Pascarella (119) and heavyweight Joe Slisky both won by decision.
Dom Dimeola and Preston Brown wrestled well and made significant contributions, Goodale said.
"They both did a great job of not giving up bonus points," Goodale said.
Senior John Loff lost to Paulsboro’s Isaac Redman at 215 in a match billed as two of the best in the state.
"Redman is a very good wrestler," Goodale said. "It was a competitive match. It was a good test for John. He’ll bounce back. We just need to stay focused and positive."
Loff also competed last weekend at the New Jersey Coaches Association All-Star Wrestling Invitational at Rider University, where he suffered a 7-5 loss to Hunterdon Central’s Marc Eberstein. Loff had a difficult time adjusting to Eberstein’s quickness.
"He is going through a little bit of a difficult period," Goodale said. "He is having a tough time scoring points. He’s in great shape and going the full six minutes is not a problem. But now we need to score more points and be more offensive-minded. John doesn’t shy away from tough competition. It’s only January, and all the real important matches begin in March. We need to continue to focus and work hard."