A matchup between the Westfield Blue Devils and Scotch Plains-Fanwood Raiders is always a high energy game. Head coach Glen Kurz said, “Anytime we beat Scotch Plains, it’s a good win.” This match was nothing short of that as the atmosphere in the gymnasium was fired up for a Friday night rivalry. In a tight, back-and-forth match, the Blue Devils pulled away with the lead, beating SPF 44-33.
The second match of the evening was a real crowd-pleaser. At 165 pounds, junior Elias Wood met his opponent in the center of the mat, shaking hands and immediately getting down and working hard. With the match at 1-1 from escapes, both teams thought the match would go into overtime. However, in the final moments of the third period, Wood was able to find an open shot, get his opponent’s leg, and go for the takedown putting him in the lead.
Senior co-captain Jack McDermott said, “He [Woods] out-conditioned him and that’s why he was able to get that takedown in the final seconds.” Wood was tremendous at keeping his opponent down leaving no space for anything but a Blue Devil win. Kurz said, “Woods’ match kind of set the tone for us. That was a toss-up that we needed, and he came through big for us with the win.”
Despite Woods’ victory, senior co-captain Dylan Sontz’s tech fall, and senior Seth Becker’s loss in the third period, this matchup as a whole was a series of pins. The match opened up with senior Gavin Dwyer getting pinned by his opponent putting the Blue Devils down in team points right off the bat. Sontz said, “Gavin had a tough match, but, everyone has to fight, our coaches drive that into us, even though they got the first match, there’s 13 more and you make that up down the lineup.”
While the Blue Devils were pinned four different times, they were able to keep in the lead pinning SPF in six different matches. Kurz said, “They did a good job keeping composure. But, we didn’t expect to give up 30 points. We gave up too many pins, somebody got pinned, somebody went out and got those points back for us.”
The Blue Devils will face off against David Brearly at home on Wednesday at 6p.m. Moving forward in their season, Kurz said, “These guys just need to stay focused and stay motivated no matter who is wrestling because no matter who the opponent is, we need to be wrestling for ourselves.”
