Braves hold off Rebels in a key A North mat match

Manalapan tops
defending champions
behind Kaiser
By tim morris
Staff Writer

JERRY WOLKOWITZ Manalapan’s Nick Manochio controls Howell’s John Reilly during a 112-pound bout on Jan. 7 in Howell.

There was no reason to believe that the Manalapan and Howell wrestling teams would produce anything but a showstopper last Tuesday night in Howell.

Even though John Verderosa’s Braves were undefeated, winners of the Neptune Classic and ranked 12th in the state, and the Rebels were coming off an upset loss at the hands of Middletown North, there was no way Manalapan was leaving the Howell gym without having to wrestle its best, which it did.

Manalapan took a big step toward regaining the Shore Conference A North Division title, which has resided in Howell for the last three years, with a 33-23 win in the packed gymnasium.

It was Manalapan’s balance throughout its lineup and a huge win at 189 by a wrestler making his varsity dual meet debut, Phil Kaiser, that paved the way for the Braves’ win.

JERRY WOLKOWITZ Howell’s Zac Cunliffe shouts encouragement to a teammate during the Jan. 7 match with Manalapan.

"Matches never come out the way they are [plotted] on paper," said Verderosa. "It takes a lot of heart on the part of the team to win a match like this. Our hearts were in the right place.

"Howell wrestled us tough. They were stingy giving up bonus points," he said.

Had Kaiser stumbled, Manalapan would have won more matches than Howell, but it lost the match because the Rebels did a good job of staying off their backs.

Verderosa thinks he knows why pins were at a premium for both teams.

"No wrestler wants to be embarrassed in front of 1,000 people," he said. "It gives them a power surge."

In addition to staying off their backs and not surrendering bonus points, the Braves were outstanding in the close matches, winning by one point, two points and a double-overtime thriller.

Coach John Gagliano could find little fault with his Rebels (2-2), who are still learning what they can be.

"They wrestled very well. I’m proud of them," he said. "I thought it was an outstanding performance even though we lost. We were right there. Manalapan is a really good team."

Manalapan (3-0) had to battle from behind as the first matchup on the mat was heavyweight. Howell’s Mike Savoye gave the Rebels’ faithful something to cheer about with a 7-3 decision over Dan Brown. Critical here was Brown staying away from a pin, even though Savoye had him on his back early. Instead of six points, he gave up just three.

Chris Tapani, one of the pleasant surprises in the Rebels’ lineup, followed Savoye’s win with a technical fall at 104, and it was 8-0 Howell.

Manalapan’s state place-winners, Nick Manochio (112) and Dan Hilt (119), were on deck for the Braves.

Manochio decisioned John Reilly 10-4, and Hilt continued his mastery of the Rebels’ Jay Ucci with a hard-fought 3-2 victory. Hilt beat Ucci for the District 21 and Region VI titles last year, and in the Neptune Classic final this year. They will probably meet up again in February.

Scott Beckerman won one of the most dramatic matches of the night, a double-overtime, 8-7 decision over Chris Aquino at 125, which put Manalapan on top 9-8. Beckerman won with an escape point in the extra session.

Howell’s own state place-winner, Zac Cunliffe, would put the Rebel fans back on their feet when he took just 30 seconds to register a fall at 130. That pin put Howell back on top, 14-9.

The Rebels were now going into the teeth of the Braves’ lineup — the middle weights. That’s where Manalapan took charge of the match.

"Our middle guys are pretty solid and they came up with four straight wins," said Verderosa.

A major decision by Sean Burns at 135 drew the Braves within a point, and Joe Anastasio put them up for good with a decision. Mike Gaeta (145) and Brenden Provow (152) followed with major decisions, and the Braves were off and running.

James Fortunato stopped the bleeding for Howell with a 9-6 decision at 161.

Dominick Lipariti prevailed in a tossup match over Matt Metta, 5-3, for Manalapan, and Kaiser took the mat with the Braves holding a 27-17 cushion.

Putting Kaiser into his first meet of the season was not a spur of the moment decision by Verderosa; it was something he had been mulling over and decided on the day before.

"It was a coach’s decision to put him in," said Verderosa. "Phil had been doing so well in practice, I thought he gave us the best chance."

Verderosa’s decision proved to be the right one as Kaiser went out and clinched the match for the Braves with his pin of John Lejune in 3:02.

Despite the 10-point cushion, Kaiser took the mat under pressure. With Brian Farrington up next at 215, Howell had the decided edge there. Had Kaiser made a mistake in this tossup match and been pinned or lost by a one-sided decision, Farrington would have been in a position to win it for Howell. As it turned out, Farrington closed the match with a pin.

Middletown North’s 35-30 win over Howell on Jan. 4 thrust the Lions into the A North Division title chase.

In the mid 1990s, North was Manalapan’s big division rival before Gagliano restored the Howell program.

The two teams met last night in Middletown where the winner would take complete charge of the division.

"Everyone is pretty focused," said Verderosa. "This team has a lot of goals. Winning the division is our first goal."

With senior leaders like Gaeta, Hilt, and Provow, this is now a team that wants championships.

"These kids wrestled hard in the off-season, going to tournaments by themselves," said Verderosa. "That’s where championships are won. These kids are very motivated. I’ve never had a group like this."

This weekend, the Braves are going out of state to Orange County, N.Y., to participate in the Eastern States Wrestling Classic. They will be one of 32 teams from across the Northeast to participate in the tournament, which awards medals to the top eight wrestlers in each weight class.

"A lot of good things can come out of it," said Verderosa. "The guys will be wrestling against wrestlers they have never heard of."