PALMYRA TWP. — In a back-and-forth heavyweight wrestling battle, George Rafferty trailed Frank Scialpi by two points entering the third period Wednesday night.
The Wallenpaupack senior earned a stall point to cut the deficit to one.
With little time left in the match, Rafferty made his move, and secured the winning reversal before the buzzer.
“He threw the leg in and I was comfortable in that situation, so I just took his leg, picked it up and luckily got the reversal,” Rafferty said.
Rafferty’s rally slowed Abington Heights’ fast start, as the No.1 Buckhorns defeated the No. 4 Comets, 50-19, in the District 2 Class 3A team duals semifinals at Wallenpaupack High School.
Wallenpaupack will face No. 7 Delaware Valley, a 53-18 winner over No. 6 Wilkes-Barre Area in the other semifinal. That title match is scheduled for Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Wallenpaupack.
Abington Heights went toe-to-toe with the Buckhorns, as the teams split the first six matches. Luke Evans rolled to a technical fall at 145 to give Abington Heights a 5-0 lead. Tommy Toth answered with a first-period pin at 152 to take a 6-5 advantage. Then, Keith Yusinski picked up a nice win over Tristian Braxton, a 17-14 decision at 160. The last time the teams matched up, Yusinski lost to Braxton by an 11-2 major decision.
Brian Heard rolled to a tech. fall at 172 to give Abington Heights a 13-6 lead. Conan Kier’s tech. fall at 189 and Xaiden Schock’s pin at 215 gave the Buckhorns a 17-13 advantage with six of the 13 matches wrestled.
At 285, Rafferty secured the first takedown, but Scialpi answered with an escape and a takedown to take a 4-3 lead. Rafferty responded with a reversal for a 5-4 advantage, but Scialpi again escaped and secured another takedown for an 8-5 lead. Rafferty’s escape before the end of the second period cut the deficit to 8-6. Rafferty chose down to start the third, and just when he looked like he would escape, Scialpi grabbed his ankle as he tried to pull away, and Rafferty was awarded a stall point. He secured a 9-8 decision with the reversal, putting the Buckhorns ahead, 20-13, and stopping the Comets’ momentum.
“He did a good job,” Wallenpaupack coach Steve Krushnowski said. “He sucked it up when we needed it, and we expect George to do that. He’s a senior. That’s the expectation.”
From there, Wallenpaupack rolled, as Ayden Blaut (114), Nick Skokos (127) and Kyle Scartelli (133) secured pins.
Braghan Pallis (139) added a pin for the banged-up Comets, who forfeited 107 and 121. Pallis and Yusinski lost their matches in the first meeting between the teams, and Scialpi battled Rafferty, after Rafferty pinned him two weeks ago. It was also only the third time Scialpi went up in weight this season.
“I think we wrestled with a lot of heart tonight,” Abington Heights coach Greg Theony said. “I was proud of how we wrestled. Being down five starters, it’s hard to come back from that, but I was very pleased with how we wrestled.”
Wallenpaupack beat Delaware Valley, 46-17, on Jan. 9. The Buckhorns will look to sweep the Warriors this season and secure their first district duals title.
“They’re well-coached, they believe, they don’t make mistakes,” Krushnowski said of Delaware Valley. “The good thing is we beat them earlier. We have that and we did a pretty good job with them. All we’ve got to do is stay within ourselves, and we’re not afraid.”
Championship semifinal
Wallenpaupack 50, Abington Heights 19
145: Evans (AH) tech. fall Caufield, 15-0; 152: Toth (WAL) pinned J. Scialpi, :48; 160: Yusinski (AH) dec. Braxton, 17-14; 172: Heard (AH) tech. fall G. Caufield, 16-1; 189: Kier (WAL) tech. fall Kane, 19-4; 215: Schock (WAL) pinned Brower, 1:37; 285: Rafferty (WAL) dec. F. Scialpi, 9-8; 107: Kozarak (WAL) forfeit; 114: Blaut (WAL) pinned Baret, :47; 121: Lomanaco (WAL) forfeit; 127: Skokos (WAL) pinned Beck, :53; 133: Scartelli (WAL) pinned Quintilliano, 3:18; 139: Pallis (AH) pinned Brown, 3:19.
Championship quarterfinals
Wallenpaupack 44, Crestwood 16
133: Scartelli (WAL) tech. fall Ford, 16-0; 139: Stavitzsky (CRE) dec. Brown, 9-0; 145: M. Caufield (WAL) pinned Jeckell, 3:33; 152: Toth (WAL) pinned Hoovler, 2:00; 160: Braxton (WAL) pinned Costello, 3:22; 172: G. Caufield (WAL) pinned Bibla, 3:37; 189: Kier (WAL) dec. Wisnewski, 10-3; 215: L. Bibla (CRE) dec. Schock, 7-1; 285: Draina (CRE) dec. Rafferty, 4-1; 107: Bellas (CRE) pinned Kozarak, 3:18; 114: Blaut (WAL) dec. Webb, 6-0; 121: Lomonaco (WAL) dec. Jumper, 6-3; 127: Skokos (WAL) pinned Belanchik, :14.
Abington Heights 52, North Pocono 21
139: Pallis (AH) pinned Harvey, 1:15; 145: Dickson (AH) pinned Walton, 1:10; 152: Evans (AH) pinned Taft, 1:44; 160: Yusinski (AH) pinned Clancy, 2:31; 172: Heard (AH) pinned Stout, :34; 189: L. Antidormi (NP) dec. Kane, 7-0; 215: J. Antidormi (NP) pinned F. Scialpi, 3:22; 285: Wheeler (AH) forfeit; 107: C. Beck (AH) pinned Hall, 1:12; 114: Baret (AH) tech. fall Pisano, 15-0; 121: Craven (NP) forfeit; 127: J. Beck (AH) tech. fall Young, 19-0; 133: Powell (NP) pinned Quintilliano, 1:25.
Consolation quarterfinals
Crestwood 60, North Pocono 15
145: Jeckell (CRE) pinned Walton, 1:58; 152: Hoovler (CRE) pinned Taft, 1:17; 160: Clancy (NP) pinned Costello, 1:58; 172: M. Bibla (CRE) pinned Magnotta, 4:33; 189: L. Antidormi (NP) dec. Wisnewski, 11-4; 215: L. Bibla (CRE) pinned J. Antidormi, 3:50; 285: Draina (CRE) forfeit; 107: Hall (NP) pinned Bellas, 2:38; 114: Webb (CRE) pinned Radice, :21: 121: Jumper (CRE) pinned Craven, 1:25; 127: Belanchik (CRE) pinned Young, 1:44; 133: Ford (CRE) pinned Powell, 3:28; 139: Stavitzsky (CRE) pinned Harvey, 1:30.
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