Wrestlers lose to KP, go 1-2 at Pembroke

The Canton High wrestling team is learning that winning must be a total team effort. The Bulldogs went 1-2 at the Pembroke quad meet this Saturday, following a 46-12 loss to league rival King Philip on Wednesday. The Bulldogs are battling injuries, which have depleted the already undermanned squad.

Canton opened Saturday’s quad meet with a 45-15 loss to Pembroke High School. “The score may not reflect it, but we wrestled some great matches,” said head coach Brian Caffelle.

Senior captain Kevin Connolly registered his usual victory at 135 pounds, and junior Chris Parsons also took care of business at 152 pounds.

However, the match of the night was between Canton’s freshman star Chris Sullivan and Pembroke’s Brad Wong. Wong, who was a sectional finalist last year, gave Sullivan his biggest challenge of the season with his unorthodox style, but the Bulldogs’ 103-pound stud was able to pull out a 4-1 victory.

“It was a huge win for Chris,” Caffelle said. “It will really help him get seeded at sectionals.”

The next match of the afternoon was a slightly closer affair, as Canton fell to Beverly by a margin of 46-33. Caffelle told his team before the match that they couldn’t have the same guys step up every match, and that contributions were needed from everyone on the team. It appeared the message hit home, as a variety of Bulldog grapplers stepped up their game.

Connolly and Sullivan both won by pinfall, as did junior David Rosenberg (145 pounds). John McCabe also got a victory by pin at 160 pounds, and Parsons, who went 2-1 for the meet, registered a win at 152.

“Parsons is turning a corner for the better,” said Caffelle. “This is the best wrestling of his career. He has a lot of confidence in himself; it’s almost borderline cockiness, but that kind of attitude will help us through tough times.”

Although encouraged by the individual performance of Parsons, Caffelle stressed the importance of a total team effort. That effort finally came to fruition as Canton ended the meet with a 40-27 victory over Silver Lake.

“It was disappointing to not get a 2-1 record in the meet,” Caffelle said. “But it was great to end the meet with a victory and everyone wrestling well.”

Junior Quamine Heraldo had an impressive showing at 140 pounds, scoring six points in the third period of his match to erase a 5-0 deficit and pull out the win. Josh Matt had the other signature performance of the match, wrestling an aggressive overtime to get a win at 171 pounds.

The quad meet was preceded by a loss earlier in the week to King Philip. Highlights of the 46-12 loss included wins by Sullivan, Connolly, and Rosenberg. McCabe also had an impressive performance in a losing effort, getting a late reversal and near pinfall on one of the best wrestlers in the state.

“It was a tough night for the kids,” observed Caffelle. “They all worked hard, but we ran into a really talented squad.”

The Bulldog matmen, dealing with injuries to Andrew Vinciguerra, Craig Mills, and now Heraldo, who sustained a foot injury in the Pembroke meet, will have to dig deep and continue to improve as they get ready for sectionals.

“We don’t have the team we did last year; we don’t have the numbers,” said Caffelle. “But our kids battle and always give it their best effort, and I admire the heck out of them for it.”

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=1059

Posted by Danny Joseph on Jan 13 2011. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.