Under pressure Friday December 7, 2007
Under pressure
Garden City holds on for 40-31 win
By Marshall Moore
mmoore@gctelegram.com
With the score tied at 31-31 and the 215-pound match on deck in Tuesday night’s wrestling dual between Scott City and Garden City, it seemed like everything rested on the shoulders of Mitch Bean.
The crowd at The Garden began to get antsy, already on edge after four straight Scott City pins eroded what had been a comfortable 25-7 lead earlier in the match. Now, with only two matches left, Bean had the chance to either put Garden City ahead or condemn them to wrestling the final match from behind.
The tension swept over the gym like a tidal wave, and nobody was immune to it.
Nobody, except for Bean.
“Not really,” said the 215 pounder when asked if he felt any pressure. “It’s just an extra incentive to go out there and win.”
As the second period wound down with Bean trailing Rylee Ward, 1-0, the Garden City sophomore got his first points of the match on a take down, and then gave the Buffaloes a six-point lead with a pin just five seconds before the buzzer, a lead they would expand on in the 275-pound match on their way to a 40-31 victory over the Beavers.
“The move I pinned him with, I’ve been working on it for the last week or so,” Bean said. “The guy gave me his leg and I shot in, and I was lucky enough to get his arm.”
In an early season face off between two state powers, Scott City took the early lead after last season’s 103-pound state champion, Francisco Antillon, defeated Junior Montinez 8-0, before falling behind after Garden City’s Colt McElroy pinned Kent Barman just 28 seconds into the 112-pound match.
After Scott City retook the lead by way of a hard fought 2-0 decision by Tyrel George over Alonzo Hernandez at 119 pounds, Garden City seemed to pull away after building an 18-point lead behind pins from Lane Greenlee and Michael Arellano and another six points by Jaime Quintinar and Joey Dozier.
In true form, however, the Beavers weren’t finished yet.
“Scott City takes a backseat to nobody,” said Garden City head coach Monte Moser. “You have to bring your ‘A’ game when you’re on the mat with Scott City. They’re the real deal.”
The Beavers would rally behind four straight pins from Dakota Hayes, John Avert, Chaston Hoeme and Logan Numrich. Hayes started the Scott City rally after a thrilling 145-pound match where he edged out six points over Moses Padilla despite falling behind 10-5 late in the second period.
“I just don’t know what happens out there, really,” Hayes said. “All three matches that I’ve won this year so far I’ve pinned the guys like that. It’s kind of weird.”
The only points Garden City managed during the Scott City comeback came on a forfeit in the 160-pound match.
That is, until Bean gave the advantage back to the Buffaloes.
“There’s no reason Mitch can’t place at state,” Moser said. “He’s got some little idiosyncrasies we have to clean up, but he’s the real deal. I expect him to win a lot of matches for us.”
Cody Wilson sealed the win for Garden City in the 275-pound match with a 3-1 victory over Juan Gardea.
Copyright:The Garden City Telegram
