CHS wrestlers fall to OA, Franklin

The Canton High wrestling squad had another tough week as the Bulldogs fell to Oliver Ames on Wednesday, Franklin on Thursday, and rounded out the week with three tough losses at a quad meet held at Watertown High School.

Canton’s 43-33 loss to Oliver Ames did contain several encouraging performances from the Bulldog grapplers. Josh Matt, wrestling at 171 pounds, won by pinfall, as did John McCabe (160 pounds).

“Those guys really turned the match around for us,” said head coach Brian Caffelle. “They both got big pins when we needed it and helped to swing the momentum in our favor.”

Although initially down by a wide margin, CHS was able to ride the momentum created by Matt and McCabe and came within one match of victory. However, the Bulldogs were unable to get the decisive win in the heavyweight division.

“It came down to the heavyweight match, but you can’t put the loss on one guy,” said Caffelle. “As much of an individual game wrestling is, the bottom line is that it is a team sport.”

The Bulldogs’ tough luck continued in a 47-3 loss to Franklin. Senior captain Kevin Connolly (135 pounds) came away with Canton’s only victory for the match, while 103-pound Chris Sullivan suffered the first defeat of his terrific freshman campaign in the loss.

“Chris got a little rattled facing his toughest competition of the year,” Caffelle said. “But it’s a good lesson for him and he will be ready to face his opponent again at the Hockomock Championship. His loss also teaches us that again, we can’t have the same guys step up in every match. It’s got to be a total team effort.”

“Franklin is one of the premier teams in the state,” continued Caffelle. “You don’t necessarily expect to come away with a victory against a team like that, but it is a great opportunity to test yourself and get better. I told our guys before the meet that if you truly aspire to be a great wrestler, then you should relish the opportunity to wrestle against a team like Franklin.”

The Bulldogs finished out the week on Saturday with a quad meet at Watertown, where they went 0-3 with losses to Holliston (68-12), Hudson (39-36), and Watertown (42-35).

Connolly and Sullivan each scored wins by pinfall against Holliston, representing all of Canton’s 12 points.

The next match of the day was far more competitive, as Canton lost to Hudson by a mere three points. The best individual match of the afternoon happened to come in a loss, as Connolly was defeated by Pat O’Connell in the 135-pound match. Despite the result, Caffelle was thrilled with the intensity shown by his senior captain.

“[Connolly] wrestled like a man possessed,” said Caffelle. “Even though he lost in overtime, I told him that if you wrestle like that for the rest of the year, then there won’t be anyone who will stand in the way of you winning sectionals again, or even a state title.”

Junior Chris Parsons was another standout performer, coming up with a big victory in the 152-pound weight class.

The final stroke of bad luck came in the Bulldogs’ seven-point loss to Watertown. Freshman Quinn Merrigan suffered an injury, and CHS was forced to forfeit the 112-pound match and the decisive points.

“He wanted badly to go out there, but as a coach you have to protect your kids,” said Caffelle. “He showed a lot of heart wrestling through his injuries throughout the day. It was just a tough way to end the match.”

Despite the losses, Caffelle is still encouraged by the effort and resolve of the Bulldog matmen. “The silver lining is that their heads are in it, and they are wrestling their hearts out,” he said. “We’ll try to get back in the room and start improving as soon as possible.”

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Posted by Danny Joseph on Jan 27 2011. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.